Page 2 of Knight Life In Vegas

Both of them nodded like little bobble heads.

“How come you’re not sleeping over with us?” Sammy asked.

“I’m having some mommy time tonight,” I said carefully.

Sammy pouted. “You could have mommy timewithus.”

“I will, baby,” I promised. “Tomorrow, after Lucy’s birthday party.”

My children had been especially clingy over the past year after their father had gotten himself arrested. I loved them so much, but the cling was starting to feel closer to strangulation. They adored Ava and her pack, so I was hopeful they’d do well tonight. I could always come over in the night if I needed to, but this would be good for all of us.

“You packed Waffles for me?” Ollie asked.

“He’s in your backpack.” The stuffed dog had seen better days, but Ollie refused to part with it. I wouldn’t have had the heart to toss it anyway since it had been a gift for him my parents had given me when they’d found out I was pregnant with him. It was the only gift they’d ever been able to give him before they passed.

We passed the drive with the radio blasting, both of them singing along with misheard and mispronounced lyrics.

I couldn’t tell who was more excited when we arrived: my boys, or Ava and her pack.

“Hey, stranger!” Ava smiled at me from the doorway. Her dark blonde hair, almost the same shade as mine, was tucked up in a high ponytail to show off a heart-shaped face that matched my own. Her hazel eyes, also like mine, shone with happiness.

She’d been such a wonderful friend to me. I almost laughed. It was still so strange to call her that when she was actually my ex-husband’s unwitting mistress. Looking at her sometimesstill felt odd with how similar we were in appearance, knowing my husband had chosen someone who looked just like me, but twenty years younger. Mostly, I tried not to think about that part. I couldn’t hate her for what had happened. She hadn’t known a thing about me or my children, and she was so genuinely sweet. After everything had gone down with the exposure of the affair and my ex-husband’s arrest, as depressing as it had been, Ava and her pack had felt like the only ones I could turn to for support. They’d been a soft place to land and I’d be grateful to them forever.

“Hey! Thank you again for having the boys over. They have so much fun when they’re here.”

“We love having them.” She beamed.

Ava and her alphas had probably spent more time with my boys this past year than their father had in their whole lives, and my children thrived on the attention. The situation was complicated, with Ava’s daughter being my boys’ half sister, but we were both willing to give it a try for them to grow up with their siblings, even if their sire had done his best to ruin both of our lives.

The boys each gave me a hasty hug before running inside, where the alphas swung them around, making them shriek with laughter.

“What’re you up to with your kid-free time?” Ava asked.

“I have a whole plan for the night: window shopping for things I can’t afford anymore, dinner with a view, and not tripping over a single toy.”

I didn’t add that maybe, if I was brave enough, I’d find someone to pass a couple of hours with.

Andrew had spent years isolating me from my friends in New York, forcing me to socialize with people who were also being forced to do the same. None of us cared about one another. They never would have helped me if I’d gone to them. But Ava cared.

I knew that my connection with her was a trauma bond—we had both been hurt deeply by the same man—but Ineededthat connection.

“That all sounds good, minus the not affording.” Ava frowned.

“It’s fine. I couldn’t fit a single new thing in the apartment anyway. Trying to practice minimalism with myself and leave room for the boys as much as I can.”

“Snacks are ready.” One of her alphas, Jesse, came up behind her, looping his arm around her waist and leaning to kiss her cheek. “Charlotte, are you going to join us? You’re always welcome.”

“Not today, but thank you for offering.” I pasted on a smile, though my heart ached every time I saw how gentle Ava’s pack was with her, how obvious it was that they loved her. Their behavior had been a spotlight on all the ways Andrew had neglected and belittled me. It was hard to lie to myself that everyone was probably as unhappy as I’d been for years with Andrew when I could see how contrary that was in reality. Happiness, devoted partners, safety, and security that didn’t come at the cost of my own humanity weren’t fairy tales.

They’d been the reason I was brave enough to call Andrew and, even with my voice shaking, tell him I wanted a divorce when all the years of misery with him had crashed over me at once.

“Lucy’s well?”

“Yep,” said Jesse with an easy smile. “Just woke up from her nap. She’s getting fast at walking around using the furniture, so we have to keep extra eyes on her.”

In the background she was clinging to a chair, Ollie encouraging her to walk toward him, and my heart swelled to bursting. Every time I wondered if I’d made the right choices bringing my children here, allowing myself to acceptthe kindness that Ava and her pack offered me, I’d get little reminders like that. Our lives might be unconventional, but they worked for us, and that was okay.

Another of the alphas, Micah, slipped up to the door, standing close to his omega. “Hey, Charlotte. You’re off for the night?”

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