Page 23 of A Home for His Omega

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay.” She strode to the door, then turned around. “Oh, I almost forgot. Papa says you have to come to his charity ball in two weeks. Everyone’s going to be there, so he wants all of us present.” She smiled sweetly at Teague. “Including the newest addition to the family.”

“Say what?” Teague looked horrified.

“You’re family now, and the Powell family has responsibilities.” Audrey sniffed. “I’ll take care of your tuxes. I assume Sam is your plus one?”

“Do I have to go?” Teague asked.

Sam patted his leg. “Sorry, love. Timothy is offering an olive branch by inviting you. We should go.”

“Two tuxes then.” Audrey nodded and opened the door. “Three if you bring Casey and you really should. Papa is a pushover for babies. Bye-bye.”

The room was quiet for a while after she left as they focused on feeding puppies.

“I don’t want to go,” Teague mumbled, breaking the silence.

“I don’t either,” Henry admitted, hands shaking as he cupped the puppy close to his face. He hadn’t been to a party in New York since Keaton had dumped him. His family was close to Keaton’s so the asshole would probably be there. So would all of his so-called the friends. The people who had believed Keaton’s lies. “I really don’t want to go.”

“We’ll be there with you,” Sam said and squeezed his knee.

Henry couldn’t help but smile. He had never told Sam about any of the issues he’d had in New York, but his friend supported him, no matter what. He never pushed or asked questions. He just patiently loved him.

“Well, I haven’t seen Papa in months, so I really should go.”

Sam set his puppy back into its padded laundry basket bed. “So, how was last night?”

Henry sighed happily. “I’m in love.”

“That’s so sweet.” Sam hugged him.

“Hope Tomás is ready to meet Audrey,” Teague said, scowling. “Why do I have to go to a stupid ball. I’m not Cinderella.”

Henry ignored his grumbling as the situation really set in. “Shit, Audrey is going to the house where Tomás is.”

“She doesn’t know about him.”

“It doesn’t matter. She’ll be Audrey all over everything. What if he doesn’t like her? Sometimes it’s hard to see her good qualities.”

“Maybe you should go back.” Teague gave him an encouraging look. “We’ll cover chores today.”

Henry took a deep breath, then shook his head. “No. I need to trust Tomás. Plus, I have responsibilities.”

Sam kissed his cheek. “I’m so proud of you. I like you high on Dolly Parton.”

“Tomás better keep treating you right,” Teague mumbled, scowling again. “He should come to the stupid ball too.”

“I’m not doing that to him.” Henry shook his head. “Not until I’m absolutely sure Papa won’t chase him off.”

“What happened to trusting Tomás?” Sam asked, snickering.

Tomás

Tomás let Juan choose the music for the day. He owed him bigtime for whatever he had done with Henry that morning. Tomás had never seen his omega look as free and happy as he had while dancing to one of Juan’s favorite songs.

Juan and Carter focused on installing the new counters in the kitchen while Tomás worked on sanding the floors one final time. He’d already completed Columbo’s corner, so he put the table and pillows back so Journey and Mitzy had somewhere to sit. The two dogs curled together in the sun, enjoying a late morning nap.

“This looks so much better,” a woman said, walking through the front door. She was tall, blonde, and expensive with an air about her that reminded him a bit of Henry.

“You must be Audrey,” he said, turning the sander off.

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