Page 48 of Stella

“What do you think?” Julian nudged my shoulder. He was very physically affectionate, even for an omega. But I knew better than to read anything into how he brushed his hand against my arm or stood closer than was polite.

“About what?” I lost track of the conversation.

“About the menu, among other things.” Luca grinned, his eyes lighting up. His curly black hair was wild today and I wondered how much of a caseload he had. He was a lawyer at a high-powered firm and worked long and strange hours.

Logan kept his head down, chopping onions.

“Delicious.” I washed my hands and picked up a knife. I liked helping in the kitchen even if I couldn’t be trusted to actually pull the meal together. “Asian fusion is a good idea.”

“Not only because we’re using Mom’s recipes, either.” Julian bumped my shoulder again. “Stella gonna be okay? She found a pack yet?”

Logan gave Julian a look I couldn’t decipher. I shrugged, chopping some onion. “She will. Evan and Jerrick are great, too.”

“So long as they’re better than her last pack.” Julian pulled more groceries out of the bags.

“Hey,” Luca said with a warning tone. “Don’t be rude.”

“It’s true.” I shrugged. “They seem better, but Stella is convinced she’s not going to let herself belong to another pack.”

“Ahhh, the baggage of being an omega,” Julian sighed. “Anyway, what did you need to talk to us about?”

“Oh.” I grabbed more onions. “Raina will give you a much more professional run down but, basically, these retreats are a big hit. We’re booked out for the year already.”

Luca took his suit jacked off and rolled up his cuffs, revealing bronzed forearms lightly dusted with hair. A flash of heat consumed me, and I missed a question.

“What?”

Julian gave me a knowing grin. “Being booked out for a year is good, right?”

My cheeks flamed and looked down at my onions. They were sweet yellow, so my eyes didn’t tear up when I chopped them. “It’s great. Cosmic Bonds wants to hire you to cater more events, and also lock you in for the next year.”

“I like the sound of ‘lock you’ in,” Julian teased.

Luca rolled his eyes. “You’re hopeless. You just finished your heat.”

Another flash of heat burned through me. I was glad I could blame my flushed cheeks on being next to the stove. The image of Julian writhing with need on a bed, being taken over and over, our bodies a tangle of limbs.

I blinked hard. I needed to pull my mind out of the gutter and fast.

Julian winked. “Doesn’t mean I don’t still get hot and bothered at the idea of being locked in.”

I considered teasing both of them. Julian was always flirty, but he was more…intense now, probably from being around Stella’s heat hormones. But I sucked at flirting.

At some point I would need to have a sexy comeback and then I would get stuck and end up staring at them.

Besides, Julian was joking about being locked, and I wasn’t a female alpha. Betas couldn’t take a knot nearly as well as omegas, something my last pack made sure to remind me about every chance they got.

“Behave.” Logan switched from the prep station to the stove. “You’re making Sunshine uncomfortable.”

“I’m okay.” I scraped the onions into a bowl and handed it to him. He dumped them into the pan, and the immediate sharp-sweet scent of frying onions filled the air. “Anyway, think about it.”

“Yes.” Julian hovered between me and Logan, helping by eating more deviled eggs.

“Seriously, think about it first.” I grabbed another onion. The three of them together made a perfect sight, and even me as a beta could sense how settled their pack bonds were.

“I did think about it, and the answer is yes.” Julian handed me another deviled egg.

I took it from him, ignoring the little zig from when our fingertips touched. “It’s notyourcatering business.”

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