Page 142 of Ashley & the A-Listers

Cam nodded, leaning back in the booth. “All I do is stop taking my suppressants. They don’t stay in the system for long if you don’t keep taking them, so they should be gone by…” He checked his fancy smartwatch. “Tomorrow morning. Then we just… wait,” he explained with a shrug.

“Is it safe for you to be… out?” Dylan asked.

“Oh, now you want to be a bodyguard?” Cameron muttered.

“Well, I don’t think any of us want your heat kicking into gear out on the sidewalk, do we?” Dylan groused.

Cam, properly chastised for once, waved a hand. “I’ve been on them for so long, it’ll take more time than that to work its way out of my system. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be sequestered to the apartment, running lines if I can, and waiting.”

River knew he’d be nesting more than anything, but let him have his fantasies. If Cameron could eat, sleep, and breathe acting, he would.

He probably saw his heat as more of a hindrance than anything, and River felt a pang lance through him. River saw it as a chance for them both to be together. Alone, reconnecting. No matter how chaotic life got, River knew the heat would bring them together, even if just for a bit.

River already had a few surprises tucked in the bed to hopefully soften Cam up—he’d see them when they got home.

For now, Cam’s attention was rapt on Ashley, and River tried not to feel alittlejealous.

Did Cam want her for the heat?

They’d never brought in another person before, but Ashley was analpha.A female alpha.

As rare, if not more rare, than a male omega. They were practically made for each other.

The more Ashley and Cameron seemed to fit together, to drift toward one another, the more it felt like Riverdidn’tfit. River would be remiss if he didn’t admit the fact stung, just a little.

Their food arrived in red baskets and checkered paper, and with it, the scent of fried food and carbs.

“God, this smells great,” Cameron said.

Ashley grinned across the table at him and crunched into a too-hot onion ring.

“I don’t get to eat stuff like this often,” Cameron said, and picked up a tater tot. Eager, he ate it far too soon and had to make that funny breathy noise as he chewed.

They all chuckled and his cheeks flushed, but River laid a hand over his thigh to soften the laughter.

Ashley’s gaze bounced between them, and River felt it, her attention warm like afternoon sunshine. It had nothing on the way Dylan stared at her. Whenever she wasn’t looking, Dylan was gazing at her as if she were the reason the sun rose.

They leaned into each other, laughing and being cute and sharing inside jokes. Being a couple.

River removed his hand from Cameron’s thigh, glancing around the restaurant, paranoid.

No one even noticed them.

Sometimes River wished they would.

They munched their way through chicken tenders, burgers, fries, and every other combination, sneaking bites from each others’ baskets.

It was… comfortable. Nice.

It wasn’t lost on River how easily they all meshed. How easily Ashley had fit right into their little… well, they weren’t a pack, were they?

But they could be.

Did River want that?

He hated this tug of war inside him. He adored Ashley, how genuine and sweet and hardworking and badass she was. Having these thoughts made him feel as if he was betraying the connection they’d made when he’d gotten to see her home. He loved the way she slotted so easily into their lives, but a small part of him begrudged her that ease.

River had worked so hard and sacrificed so much to cling to his spot at Cameron’s side, and some days it felt like it was all for nothing, because at the end of the day, River was still a secret.

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