Page 28 of Talk About… Rivalry

I wasn’t even sure why I still did this. It wasn’t like my dad wasn’t a grown-ass alpha. He could take care of himself, but at this point it was a habit, and it just felt like my duty.

That and maybe I just really enjoyed my Sundays here.

When she found Charlie, I offered to take a step back, but Mama Whitaker refused. She promised me that having him part of her life, changed nothing about her taking care of her kids. And I was one of those kids.

Just as I closed the front door behind me, tires churned on the gravel driveway. I groaned, knowing damn well who was about to storm out of that truck.

“Kill me now,” I muttered, quickly looking around for a place to escape as I dropped the containers on the counter.

Charlie and Mama Whitaker froze, looking between me and the door as Maverick stormed in.

“Sidney, why the hell did you leave like that?” he demanded. The way he barked the words at me had me freezing.

But not his mama.

She grabbed a wooden spoon off the counter and glared with every ounce of fury in her little omega body.

“Maverick Whitaker, I did not raise you to talk to omegas like that. Don’t ever think you’re too old or big for your mama to beat your ass with this wooden spoon.”

I was almost positive that she had never once truly raised that spoon at her kids. It was just an empty threat that she clung to, making her seem more fierce than she was.

Maverick leaned against the kitchen island, his hands still in fists, muscles tight as he closed his eyes and took a breath.

“Sorry, Mama,” he mumbled before looking at me. His eyes were shadowed enough that I couldn’t read what was really happening in his head right now.

“What did you want me to do, Maverick? Stay behind while you argued with the beta about me and his existence in town?”

“A beta you apparently know,” he shot back in accusation.

“What does it matter if I knew him from school? That has nothing to do with the beef that you have with him,” I argued, throwing up my hands.

“Wait, who do you have beef with?” Mama Whitaker asked, the wooden spoon clattering as she dropped it and crossed her arms. “Somebody better fill me in, especially if you’re going to yell back and forth across my kitchen island like this.”

“Some asshole beta is opening up a bar in town,” Maverick said.

“Apparently, it’s aloungeand not the same target audience,” I supplied, which only made Maverick glare harder.

I don’t think I’d ever seen him angry with me and honestly, I both loved and hated it. The growl in his voice and darkened eyes were sexy as hell. It also gave me something to focus on.

“Apparently, she knows this asshole,” Maverick tacked on, waving his hand at me.

With an eye roll I turned back to Mama Whitaker, catching her up and not letting him paint the picture worse than it was.

“Remember the guy in middle school that was always trying to one up me? We fought like cats and dogs over everything from grades to any petty thing we could use against the other.”

“Oh lord. Yes,” Mama Whitaker said, shaking her head “I always just assumed he had a huge crush on you.”

“Look, guys are weird when they’re young,” Charlie added in with a chuckle.

“I highly doubt that,” I said before rushing on. “Apparently, he’s the one opening the bar, no, I’m sorry, Lounge.”

Sarcasm dripped from my voice. Maverick let out a low growl but didn’t say anything else.

“Then tell me why you’re mad at Sidney because she happens to know this beta that you’re really angry at.”

“I’m not mad at Sidney. I was trying to see why she left the way she did,” he defended on a sigh. He ran a hand through his long, black hair, making it fall out of the tie and into his eyes. I rarely saw him with it down and it made my cheeks burn.

“You guys were arguing and having a pissing contest that I wanted no part of. I had plans and cold food, so here I am, and clearly, you knew where to find me.”

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