Page 70 of The Omega's Alpha
“I did. Thanks. Did Bram leave any blankets here?”
Bax shook his head. “He doesn’t have many yet, so he’s been taking them back and forth.”
“Ah.” Maybe a blanket would have been a better gift.
Or maybe not. Bax moved to the bed and ran his hand over the cloth. “Oh, these are lovely. I think I’m jealous.”
“A little luxury is good for all of us,” I said to cover my embarrassment.
Bax continued to stroke the sheets. “You two getting along better now?”
I shrugged. “Yeah.”
Bax left off his sensual exploration of the sheets and came to take my hand. “I know it was hard for you, seeing him gifted so easily with what you couldn’t have—”
I interrupted him “It wasn’t easy, though, was it? None of that was easy. But—” I ran a hand through my hair and turned to look out the window. It wasn’t right to resent Bram for all he’d thrown away that night, but I still had my moments where I fought that last tiny seed of bitterness that he’d had everything I could have wished for and he’d nearly thrown it away out of carelessness and wrong-headedness. And at the same time, if we’d grown up together, I would have liked him, because of that core of maturity and sweetness that made up the base of his personality, despite the silliness that lay on top of it. “Never mind. I’ll sweep up here then come down and help you finish up in the kitchen.”
“All right.” Bax put a hand on my forearm and squeezed gently in understanding, then headed for the stairs again. And I picked up the broom and began to methodically ensure that not a speck of dust or dirt would be visible when Bram moved back into his home.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
“Supper’s ready,” I called and began setting the plates out on the table. Agatha was learning to set it, and I wondered why she thought jam was something a person might want to eat with saucy meatballs. But whatever—if they’d eat it, and it was healthy, I’d feed it to them.
“Yay!” Dorian yelled and scrambled off the couch where he was playing games on Quin’s phone. Quin laughed and got up more slowly. “Gotta wash up first, bud,” he said, scooping Dorian up before he could climb onto his chair. “Let’s go get your sister and get cleaned up.” My two men walked out of the living room, Dorian giggling uproariously as he hung from Quin’s grip on him.
I got the plates set out, changed out the big forks at the pups’ plates for little ones, and set out some paper towels and dish cloths I could tuck into the pups’ shirts to keep them from dripping on their clothes. “You guys ready?”
“Coming!” Agatha yelled and raced through the living room, freshly washed face and hands gleaming. “Saucy meatballs!” She climbed up onto her chair and sat impatiently waiting for the rest of us to sit down. It was something we were working on, the whole not stuffing your face as soon as you sat down and waiting for everyone to get to the table first. Some days were better than others. I handed her a dishtowel and watched as she tucked it awkwardly into the neck of her t-shirt.
Quin set Dorian on his chair, boosted by a couple of cushions so he could reach the table more easily, and tucked his towel in for him. Then we could all sit down and begin eating.
I’d only gotten two bites in and heard one story about the shenanigans at daycare when I heard my phone buzzing on the countertop. It was suppertime—I ignored it. This was our time as a family and if anyone really needed me they would either leave a message or keep trying.
And that’s exactly what they did. My phone buzzed and buzzed until finally Quin said, “Go check it. Maybe it’s your designer friend with more money.”
“Ha!” I said, but I slipped out of my chair to go pick up my phone. “It’s Bax. And Jason.” I checked my voicemail; Bax’s voice said, “Bram’s baby is coming. His mom is here to look after the twins but he’s asking for you.” And then Jason’s, saying pretty much the same thing. I looked over at the table. Quin was watching me, but the pups were completely absorbed in their suppers. “It’s Bram,” I said. “The baby’s coming.” Quin’s eyebrows raised in inquiry. I shrugged. “Bax says he’s asking for me.”
“Then you should go. I’ll take the evening off—there wasn’t really anything pressing anyway. We’ll watch a movie, maybe, or go over to Uncle Abel’s. Or maybe we’ll come by to keep the twins company.”
“You don’t mind?”
“He’s asking for you,” Quin said, in that tone he used when I was being ridiculous about my family responsibilities.So sue me.It wasn’t like twenty years of training disappeared overnight.
“All right. I don’t know when I’ll be back.” I sat down and began shoveling my food into my mouth.
“Holland!” Agatha said, aghast. “You’re eating too fast!”
Considering we’d been working on that too, I was caught, trapped by my own words. “You’re right, sweetheart. I should slow down.” I did, but it was tough, especially with Quin smirking at me from the other side of the table. I frowned at him and he grinned.Jerk.
I still managed to finish faster than I usually did.
“I’ll get the dishes. The pups can help me put them away,” Quin said. “You go. If I don’t make it over, let me know if you’re going to be late.”
“I will.” I dropped a kiss on his cheek, then kissed both the pups on the tops of their heads. “You guys be good.”
“Uh huh.” Agatha said.
“Can I go too?” Dorian asked, his face smeared with dark brown sauce.
