Page 75 of Knight Life In Vegas

“Totally on Tyler. He won’t even notice.”

“Sure. I guess my nails have gotten kind of raggedy.”

Madison let out a squeak of excitement. “Yay! Just so you know, I’m going to keep finding excuses to keep you longer.”

“What a tragedy. How will I ever recover from girl time?”

Madison giggled. “You’re so much more fun than the ladies Tyler wants me to hang out with. He’s always up my ass about schmoozing some business man’s wife. It’s exhausting.”

“I had to do that all the time for my ex.”

“Why can’t they schmooze themselves? Are they that incompetent at making friends?”

“Certainly seems like it sometimes.”

“Oh, oh my god, you have to invite me to Night of Knights when your boys are working so I can meet them.”

“You could meet them anytime.”

“But it’s not as fun if they’re not dressed up on horseback. Plus I can have wild imaginings that one of the other knights is for me. There’s gotta be at least a dozen of them, right?”

“There’s definitely a few. I thought Tyler didn’t want you to pack up?”

“That’s why I get toimagine. It’s not so bad being a one-alpha omega. Tons of time to myself. What would I even do if I had a full pack?”

“I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”

“Does that mean you’re thinking of packing up?”

“Not really. How am I supposed to trust anything?”

“Leap of faith,” replied Madison. “Sometimes that’s all you can do. You can still be on guard while giving things a chance.”

“I guess that’s true. Feels like a very all-or-nothing thing.”

“I’d hope that your fated matches would be reasonable, considering your past. If they’re going to be assholes about it, they don’t deserve the gift fate’s given them.”

We got quickie manicures at a salon that knew her by name the moment she walked in, and afterward I helped her get all of her order home before I finally had to depart to collect my kids.

They bolted toward me when they caught sight, slamming their little bodies against me while excitedly telling me about their day.

“I’m glad you had so much fun. Ready to go home?”

“Yep!” they chorused. I got them safely buckled into the vehicle and made the short trip home. The apartment smelled incredible when we stepped inside. Something was tented in foil on the counter, and a bowl of salad sat next to a plate of sliced fruit.

Beau held up one finger as we entered, requesting our silence as he quickly ended whatever call he had been on. “Oh, good, I timed it correctly.”

“You cooked for us?”

“I said I was going to. It’s my chore now.” He closed up his laptop and rose from the couch, walking straight over to me, and pulling me into his arms. I was caught in a cloud of vanilla musk and cinnamon, lavender weaving down to my core to light me up from the inside. He breathed deeply, nuzzling his cheek against my hair, before finally standing tall again. “I’ll still have to work a couple hours in the evening, but I think this is manageable.”

We’d explained away our physical closeness to the kids with my omega nature. I needed extra cuddles and Beau was going to help with that. Luckily they didn’t ask too many questions,seeming totally unfazed by their pseudo-uncle’s father moving in. They already knew and loved Bryce, so they had easily extended that affection to Beau.

He glanced over me. “You got your nails done?”

Andrew had never noticed when I’d gotten anything done, only when I’d failed to meet standards.

Beau scooped up one of my hands, admiring the purple polish with a metallic sheen. “It looks lovely on you.”

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