Page 69 of Crushes and Confections

I was absolutely in love with them.

CHAPTER 22

Vance

Waking up to our entire pack in bed was quickly becoming my guilty pleasure. Adrien was always an early riser, and while I got up at a reasonable hour most days to spend time with him, he’d usually already accomplished so much by the time I was up.

This morning I was awake before them all. Claire was nestled into Adrien’s arms, her hair wild and gorgeous as it flared across the pillows. Riley was sprawled out with one leg hooked over hers and one arm over his face.

Adrien looked content. In fact, that was something I never thought I’d see on my husband. Each day we spent with the amazing omega and beta we’d claimed as our own was changing us in the best of ways.

We worked less and appreciated life more. What had been a way to hide ourselves away was no longer necessary. Of course, we still loved what we did, both of us were living our dreams. Those dreams were simply shifting and changing now.

Adrien was adorably excited to bring home new treats. I always thought I was a good hype man, but I couldn’t hold a candle to Claire and Riley’s reactions to the rich, decadent treats. And we did the same for Claire’s own baking.

The way we’d somehow melded our lives so easily and seamlessly was hard to wrap my mind around. But I was also insanely grateful.

Not just them, but this whole damn town. Seeing them all rally to protect us from Adrien’s parents was one of the most touching things I’d seen.

“That’s an awful lot of thinking for this early in the morning,” Claire grumbled as she side-eyed me. Even with yesterday’s smudged makeup, she was a sight to behold.

“Not really thinking. More like appreciating,” I said in response. I’d settled with my back against the headboard as I stared at them. At least she didn’t think it was over the top or weird. She just shrugged and nuzzled back to sleep, stirring Adrien awake in the process.

He met my gaze and smiled softly. Happiness looked amazing on him.

“You going for a run?”

“Shh, you worked your calories off yesterday. Go back to bed,” Riley complained, swatting playfully at us.

“Don’t boss us around, beta,” I shot back as I ran my fingertips up his side. He squirmed and let out an annoyed huff but couldn’t hide his laughter.

“New pack rule. No tickling before…” he trailed off and leaned up to look at the clock on the side table. “Before six.”

“It’s six now,” Adrien pointed out. “Does that mean torture commences?”

“Only if you don’t value your life,” Claire warned. “He fights dirty. I let Corey take morning bakes for a reason and I’m going to cherish that. ”

“Thanks, Claire Bear,” Riley chimed, pulling her away from Adrien so she was cuddling him instead. They were asleep in seconds but Adrien and I didn’t even try to get more sleep.

He went to the bathroom to freshen up while I went to start grinding the beans Claire kept stocked for us and prepping the French Press. It was a well honed morning routine, with a few new additions. When he was done, so was I, and we could switch.

It almost felt strange to spend these little moments alone now. But I appreciated them even more since they weren’t as common anymore.

“What are you planning for today?” Adrien asked as he handed me my coffee, made to perfection.

I took a sip and hummed. “I’m actually stopping by the bookstore. Remember how I said Natalie wanted to set up a book signing? Well, I called her, and we arranged a time for me to come by today to discuss details. I guess that’s my first plan of action. Then we had a few things on our list to grab, so I figured I’d make a quick store run.

“I’ve got a delivery at eight,” Adrien said. “Swing by after your meeting and let me know how it went?”

“Of course,” I promised.

“Riley called us a pack this morning,” Adrien mused with a smile. “We’ve all been using the term.”

A warmth filled my chest. “We should talk to them more explicitly, see how they feel about bonding, and ask Claire about her heats.”

The next hour was busy. Claire and Riley waking up last minute and panicking at the time. Neither of them were used to sleeping in. Somehow they got ready in enough time to take coffee in a travel mug and rush out of the door right as we did.

They were the chaos to our calm.

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