Page 17 of Alpha Bear Accountant

“Got cold?” The weather was cool, but hardly cold enough to rival my furnace.

“Yeah. Without we keeping you warm.” He stuck out his tongue playfully and followed it up with a kiss on my cheek.

Touche. “It was warmer with you there.”

“I’ve only been up about twenty minutes—perfect timing. The coffee just finished, and I’m ready for omelets.”

“Omelets?” My omega was making me a fancy breakfast. I should’ve been the one to get up early and cook, but also, I wasn’t going to turn down a home-cooked breakfast.

“Yeah, omelets. I don’t know how to make a lot of breakfast foods from scratch because I cheat with my pancakes and waffles by using mixes. And cinnamon rolls always come from a bakery. But Icanmake a mean omelet.”

“I love all of that, and I can cook too. My breakfast speciality is French toast.”

“Yum. Next time, breakfast is on you.” He clicked on the burner and added butter to the pan. “What kind would you like?”

I looked at the selection of ingredients he had laid out and opted for an “everything” omelet.

“Sorry, I don’t have more to offer. I didn’t think to bring breakfast toppings, and it looks like it’s probably grocery day for you.”

“Yesterday was, actually.” I chuckled as I thought about how bare my fridge was. “But really, this is perfect.”

He cracked an egg and started working. “Sit down and enjoy your coffee. This won’t take long”

“How about I get on toast duty, and we make breakfast together?” The bread I had was sourdough I bought a few days ago. It was perfect for toasting and not much else at this point.

“Works for me.”

We worked side by side to make our breakfast, then sat down to eat together. We talked about our plans for the day because I wanted to make sure he had time for whatever his father or the office might need, but I also wanted to spend every waking moment with my mate.

Thankfully, he felt the same.

After a quick stop at his dad’s house for a change of clothes and probably to explain why he hadn’t come home the night before, we had to run a few errands. We stopped at the hardware store to grab what he needed for the bathroom, then hit the grocery store and picked up some steaks to grill for dinner.

It was normal.

Boring.

And all kinds of perfect.

A bear could get used to this.

“Niam?” I held my breath, committed to saying something that would change everything.

He looked up from his phone. “Yeah.”

“I think I love you.” My heart was pounding in my chest, but it needed to be said. I couldn’t keep my feelings to myself anymore.

His breath hitched as tears filled his eyes. “I love you too, alpha.”

14

NIAM

“And done.” Todd closed the folder with all the paperwork in it that we’d gathered for the IRS audit interview and shut the laptop. “All that’s left is our meeting.”

I’d hardly describe it as “all.” A whole lot was riding on that interview, but at least we were prepared and had some time to spare. There had been way too many times since my father first called me that I feared we’d never make heads nor tails of the mess my brother created, but with Todd’s help, we did.

We also figured out that my brother hadn’t simply made mistakes or tried his best and failed. He actually knew exactly what he was doing. I doubted he wanted the audit, but the chaos that triggered it was 100% intentional. It was a good thing he disappeared, because if he hadn’t, I’d have wrung his neck by now.

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