Page 37 of Knight Life In Vegas

“I don’t. I panicked before getting any of their information.”

Beau nodded thoughtfully, moving from towels to the boys’ clothes. I had another basket full of hangers, and he meticulously added items to them, neatly laying them over the stack of towels. “I imagine that must be uncomfortable.”

“It is,” I agreed, switching to loading up the dishwasher. “I don’t want any of the matches, so if this would make that possible, I’m open to the idea.”

His blue eyes snared mine when I glanced over to him. “What are the rules?”

That was a good question. I hadn’t expected to get this far. “I’ll handle any questions my children have as they come up.”

“Entirely fair. Are we allowed to touch?”

I suppose there wouldn’t be much point in agreeing if we couldn’t. That was what our instincts wanted us to do. “Platonically.”

“Can I touch you right now?”

Longing washed over me in a wave and I ground my teeth together, my jaw aching to silence the omega whine that formed in my chest.

“Okay,” I croaked out.

Beau moved awkwardly toward me and tension ratcheted through my body. I rinsed my hands and dried them hastily, turning back to see him paused in the opening of my tiny U-shaped kitchen. Stepping closer, I couldn’t stop my breath in,drawing all of that spiced vanilla into my nose. I shivered as I set a careful palm on his chest and moved near enough for his arms to go around me.

I didn’t know what to do with how hard I was shaking, but it wasn’t all from me. His eyes were enormous and I ducked my head, letting my forehead rest against the hollow of his throat. His scent was strong here, like I was huffing straight from a perfume bottle. He was so warm. The shaking in his fingers dulled as he pressed me closer, his grip on the back of my shirt stilling him.

I cursed quietly. My body wanted the scent matches,allof them. I wanted to wriggle up inside his shirt and fall asleep to the sense of safety I knew I would find there.

Fate was ridiculous.

Beau and I weren’t meant for each other. My omega instincts preened over being held by my alpha. I cut that thought off. Beau wasn’tmyalpha. He never would be, but in this moment his scent wove through me, offering a comfort I couldn’t get from anywhere else.

A tiny weight slammed against my leg. Ollie stared up at me. “Why are we hugging so long? Are you sad again?”

“Honey, you’re supposed to be in your room.”

“I finished all my jelly beans. Sammy told me to ask for more.”

“You can have more after dinner for dessert,” I promised.

Beau carefully extracted himself. What little tension had dissipated returned with a vengeance, the two of us standing frozen, looking at each other.

“Mommy!” Ollie’s voice jolted me. “Why can’t we have jelly beans nooow?”

“Treats wouldn’t be special if you got to have them all the time,” Beau told him.

Ollie scrunched up his face.

“Baby, go play with your brother, please. You can spend time with us soon.”

He pouted, but he went, loudly announcing to his brother that I wasn’t giving them more jelly beans.

Once we were alone again, I fixed my gaze on Beau. “Where would you stay if you moved here?”

His face brightened for a moment before his expression crumpled. I didn’t have to guess why. The hope that he would ask to stay here clashed against the reality of that being a terrible idea. On top of not wantinganyoneto stay here, I certainly wasn’t set up for guests.

“I’ll find a short-term rental,” he eventually said. “I’m sure we can sort out a schedule to mitigate the effects that’s not too inconvenient for either of us.”

“I’m sure we can, too.”

“I’ll have to go back to New York briefly. I’m not prepared to work remotely, so I have to get myself organized.”

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