Page 71 of Knot a Good Idea

I won’treallyleave, but that’s fine. I’ll just be a street away.

I slept in my car years ago while we were creatingAxtonin Donovan’s storage unit.

We’ve come a long fucking way since then, but I’m happy to slum it again for the Omega in front of me.

She makes a face and sets her glass down on the kitchen counter. “No,” she admits in defeat. “No, you don’t have to go.”

Victory.

I smirk at her. “Then what do you want to do, doll?”

Her face flushes a brilliant pink, and it makes me want to tease her more.

She likes me, even if she’s not ready to admit it.

“I don’t suppose you brought any games with you, did you?” she asks hesitantly.

If I wasn’t in love with her before, I am now.

“You know,”I say as I match a calico cat tile to another one. “I’m usually an asshole. Not as bad as Donovan, but asshole-y enough.”

April sits across the kitchen table from me. She moved the bouquet I brought Tammy, and now the surface is covered in complicated maps of cat trees and kitten cards.

So what if I like cat strategy games?

It’s fun.

April places a Siamese cat card down next to my tabby card. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Just letting you know how much of an impact you’ve made on us so far, baby.”

I catch her shudder at the namebaby.“Is this your way of trying to get into my pants?”

“Is it working?”

She bursts out laughing, the sound music to my ears. “No, it’s not,” she says. “Don’t press your luck.”

“Damn.”

I place a black and white cat card down, the nameWilsonprinted on top. “Twenty points. Now you have to draw a litterbox card.”

She looks at me with a puzzled expression. “Why? I’m ahead!”

“Wilson is a wild card. His negative effect is filling up litterboxes too quickly.”

“This is…a bizarre game,” she mutters.

“It’s Liam’s favorite. I bought it for him to help with his anxiety.”

April places her cards down. “That was really kind of you,” she says quietly.

I shrug. “He’s had anxiety since we were kids, and when we became successful, it got worse, instead of better. Board games help ground him, so I started playing with him.”

“What made you want to bring it here?” she asks.

“I noticed little things about you at the gala.”

“Wait, you did?” She tilts her head curiously, and vanilla and brown sugary essence fill the room.

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