Page 79 of Devoted

Theo

does that mean no hitting on him?

I sighed, turning the screen dark with a click. As much as they all gave me shit, I knew they wouldn’t intentionally fuck this up for me. Especially not now that Micah had given a direct order.

Trusting him to sort them out in the chat, I closed my eyes again, refocusing on my mate’s sorrow. My hand touched the wall and I could almost feel his pain bleeding through the space.

I’m here, baby. I’m right here.

Ididn’t sleep a wink that night. I stayed in my position by the wall until Sam finally left the bathroom, retreating to his bed. Only when his breathing told me he’d fallen asleep did I move from my spot.

Even then, I didn’t go far. I had a quick shower and agonised over what to wear. After changing outfits a third time, I realised I was being ridiculous.

As I’d told Sam before, my looks weren’t the problem. It was my personality that tripped me up.

Seeing as there was nothing I could do to change that, I just had to pray that fate knew what it was doing, pairing the two of us together. Sure, we hadn’t had any real issues so far, but most of our interactions had been limited to screens or over the phone.

Now was the real test.

I spent the rest of the night putting together a plan of action. Messaging the group thread, I made sure everyone knew what needed to happen, starting with one of them dealing with the glazer at Sam’s house. I didn’t want him going back there, but at least I could get that sorted.

Given how much shit they gave me on a daily basis, I felt no guilt about putting them all to work.

Operation Make Sam Comfortable was a go.

As soon as I heard Sam stirring, I sent out the first alert. Less than a minute later, there was a soft tapping at the outer door to the wing.

I opened it to find Theo there, a heavily laden tray in his hands. I pulled the door in tight to me as he tried to peer over my shoulder.

“I just want a glimpse,” he whined as I took the tray from him. “Can’t believe you’ve met your mate before me.”

“I think you’ve got some growing up to do before you meet your mate,” I said before remembering he was helping me out. “Thank you for the breakfast, I appreciate it.”

Theo’s mouth popped open before he gathered himself. “Um, you’re welcome, I guess.”

He walked away scratching his head.

I closed the door quickly, carrying the tray over to the small coffee table. Not knowing what Sam preferred, I’d asked them to grab a little of everything. Even though Theo had brought the tray up, I knew Rami had been the one to prepare it. It was in all the thoughtful touches, like the slightly warmed croissants paired with tiny pots of both strawberry and raspberry jam.

Not wanting to disturb Sam before he was ready, I sent him a message.

Zeke

I’ve got breakfast for you in my living room. No rush.

His door creaked open barely a minute later. Sam was in his pyjamas, his curls in wild disarray. There was a pillow crease on his cheek and he was blinking owlishly.

It was a sight I wanted to wake up to every day. He was positively beautiful.

“Thank you,” he said around a yawn. “You didn’t have to do this.”

He took a seat beside me as I filled his mug from home with tea. “Technically I didn’t. Rami prepared the tray and Theo brought it up.”

Sam’s cheeks flushed. “They didn’t need to do that.”

“They wanted to,” I said simply, handing Sam his tea. “You’re important to me, so you’re important to them. They want to make a good impression on you.”

The sleepiness cleared from Sam’s face. “I’m important to you.”

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