Page 50 of Sunshine

Maybe she wasn’t comfortable being alone with me in circumstances that didn’t involve work. My heart sank at the thought. Maybe she was only interested in Julian but just liked me as a friend.

I held back my sigh. Trying to date as a pack was hard.

If I had Luca’s charm, I’d place my hand on the small of her back. Before I could get the nerve up, I’d already walked back to the stoves on autopilot. Instead, I patted the high-top counter in front of me. “Have a seat.”

When she’d rested against Julian in that ice bath, something had clicked into place. She didn’t just lust after my omega. She trusted him. Trusted him enough to let him talk her through being in a stressful situation.

I didn’t know what to do with that information. I didn’t think Julian realized it, not as a conscious thought, at any rate, and neither did Luca.

I put a bowl of pasta in front of her. “Eat.”

She pulled out a stool from under the other side of the counter-top and sat down, a pretty smile on her face. “You don’t have to feed me every time I see you—not that I don’t love the food.”

I snorted, moving some of the pans into the sink. Feeding her was the only way I knew how to flirt. I had told Julian to slow down, to let Sunshine flirt back in a way that let us all know she was ready for the next step.

Now, I wasn’t so sure that had been the right call. Maybe we’d missed some signal, something that was her way of telling us she wanted more. She never treated us like anything other than friends, but that didn’t stop her soft linen and sky scent from getting stronger when we were around.

I couldn’t get the image of her and Julian out of my head. They’d looked like they belonged together, like she was already in our pack.

Sunshine twirled her fork in the fettuccine Alfredo. “Do you do small parties like this often?”

“Nah.” I added the final swirls of raspberry coulis to the vanilla bean infused panna cotta and garnished it with a pistachio tulle. “Mrs. Braxton owns the country club and lets me use the kitchen when I need it. Sometimes I do small parties for her in exchange.”

“Oh, that’s a nice set up.” Her brown eyes lit up, and my heart lurched in my chest. It was all I could do not to lean over and kiss her.

She licked some of the cream sauce off her lip. I sucked in a breath, the scent of the kitchen and Sunshine flooding me.

“Is Julian coming too? Iwassupposed to meet you guys here, wasn’t I?” She looked around the kitchen like she thought maybe she was in the wrong place.

“He’s on his way.” I shifted my weight, feeling like an idiot. I wished knew how to woo people. I hadn’t charmed Julian so much as thrown myself at him.

“Okay, great.” Some of her honey blonde hair escaped from its bun, and I pulled my hand back from reaching over the counter to push it out of her face.

“Luca’s on his way too.” I moved the rest of the pans off the stove, grateful for something to do other than stare at the beautiful beta looking at me.

I should ask her personal questions. That’s how people got to know each other. With personal stuff. I didn’t bother with social niceties. I sucked at them, and people made their own assumptions anyway.

But, for Sunshine, I would make an effort. She and Julian played video games together and had an easy banter, so maybe that was something that she’d enjoy talking about.

“How’s the racing game with Julian?”

Sunshine blinked. “Good? He still beats me.”

I grunted, not sure how to follow it up now that I’d started this conversation. I hadn’t had to ask questions to get to know Luca and Julian so much as they’d volunteered information to me.

“Animal Crossing isn’t so competitive. It’s just rearranging your village and decorating your house and doing chores.”

“Julian says he likes those chores better.” I didn’t see the appeal of video games, but I could manage the racing game when Julian wanted to play.

“Oh, crap.” Sunshine sat up straight and whipped her phone out. “I forgot to order the silverware.”

I watched as she typed furiously on her phone. I was used to her seemingly random thoughts. Somewhere in her mind, the two were connected. Years of dealing with Luca’s scattered thoughts made it seem normal she would remember silverware from a conversation about video games.

When she’d finished, I leaned against the counter. “Julian said you were still stressing about the proposal for Mrs. Cullen?”

Her face went pale, and she looked like someone had punched her. She forced a smile. “I have some really nice mockups, but I don’t think she’s going to get the whole vision.”

“What’s wrong?”

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