Page 54 of Alpha & Omega

I laughed quietly. “You’re reading my mind again.”

“Well,that’sa cool superpower to have.”

“I wouldn’t gothatfar.”

Kingston’s fingers twirled in my hair, making me drowsy, but before I could fall asleep, he pried his body off mine, sticking to each other a little before standing and reaching for my hand. “We better bathe before we’re glued together for the night.”

I said nothing as I grabbed his hand and followed him into my bathroom.

Thenextmorning,Harleymade us coffee while I picked up our clothes off the kitchen floor, even though we slept in until ten thirty. Since I had nothing else to wear, I tossed them on and cleaned up the chocolate mess I’d made last night. We picked up just in time because the front door slammed, and his son called out.

“I’m home!”

“I wasn’t expecting Hudson home so early,” Harley said quietly, shrugging. “I guess youget to meet him now.”

“Is that okay? I can go run and hide,” I said only half-jokingly, but I was eager to meet Hudson finally.

He grabbed my hand and threaded our fingers together. “Don’t you dare. Yeah, it’s perfectly okay. I want you to meet him.”

A teen boy, nearly as tall as his dad, with the same long dark hair and eyes but clean-shaven, walked into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks. He was the mirror image of his father, but half his age.

“Oh, sorry. I guess I should’ve called to let you know that Oliver and his family had to run.”

We pulled our hands apart, but Harley slung an arm over my shoulders, and I wrapped my arm behind his back.

“I guess it’s time you two finally met,” Harley said. “Hudson, this is Kingston McLaren, my…”

“Boyfriend,” I finished and reached for his son to shake his hand. “I hope that’s okay with you.”

“Hey, Kingston. Totally. I’m glad to meet you finally.” He shook my hand and smiled back and forth between us. “He’s cute, Dad.”

Harley’s face pinked, and he went about pouring us some coffee.

Once we had our coffees, the three of us sat at the kitchen table to get to know one another. I took a sip of my drink and set my mug down. “Tell me about yourself, Hudson. Do you play sports? Art? Theater?”

He smirked and rolled his eyes. “Thanks for not making it all about sports. Everyone always asks the guys only about sports.”

“I like to assume people have other interests than that.”

Harley draped an arm over the back of my chair, leaning close to me. “Hudson is not only talented at art, but he also writes.”

“I don’t know about talented. I mean, I like those things, but I prefer science.”

“What type of science?” I asked.

“The plan is to get a B.S. in Environmental Science or a B.A. in Environmental Planning, where I can work on energy consultations, carbon offset… you know, things that will help with the environment. If I go the business route, it’ll be more money, but probably less rewarding.” He shrugged.

“Wow, and brains, too. That’s impressive, Hudson.” My laugh was self-deprecating. “I barely graduated high school, though I started out making good grades.”

“Dad said you were in foster care?”

“I was.”

“Do you know the success rate of foster care kids?”

I nodded. “It’s very low.”

“Yet, you did graduate, and you own a business. I think that’s pretty coolandsuccessful.”

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