Page 22 of Building My Pack

He chuckles, "Been there done that. Had a pretty good clue."

Never have I ever left anyone visiting standing on the porch, but after recalling everything that happened last night all the way to the point of being rejected when I invited him inside, it makes me wary to revisit that scenario again so soon. Kit takes the decision away from me as he asks, "I don't have long, but can I come inside for a minute?"

"Sure," I tell him, swinging the door wide so he can walk through.

Following me back to the kitchen, he takes one of the seats as I set the bag on the counter and open the cabinet to get some coffee started. As soon as I walk back over to lean down on my arms to look at him, we both start talking with an apology at the same time, which makes us laugh for a second.

Just like the kind person he's proven to be, he motions for me to go first, and I have to take a deep breath before I do. The only thing worse than having to admit to your own mistakes is having to apologize for something embarrassing. At least in my personal opinion, anyway. "I'm sorry about yesterday. After everything that happened, I wasn't really myself."

"Mitchell and Waylen are going to be some sad idiots then," he teases. "They seemed to rather like you just the way you were last night. Minus the sadness, you know?"

"I've never drank that much before," I admit. "I'm normally pretty boring and don't do anything like that. I especially don't throw myself at the guy who was nothing but kind in one of the darkest moments I've ever had and even picked thorns out of my hands. I'm sorry about last night when you dropped me off."

"Please don't be like that to yourself," he says, rubbing a hand over his neck. "It wasn't that you aren't my type or anything, because you are a very beautiful woman. It's just that you were drunk and vulnerable from having a god-awful day. Plus, I don't stay in one place for too long, Bryce. I'm not saying you'd ask for anything more than a one-night stand, but if it became something more, I don't want to be one more thing in your life that you'd have to survive. That's not fair."

I didn't think it was possible for him to be any better of a person and he's proving me wrong. Not every man out there would be willing to turn a woman down for a reason like that. That insecure voice in the back of my mind questions if it's just his way of letting me down easily without hurting my feelings, but even thinking that doesn't feel right.

"I could always use a friend," I tell him honestly. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate you listening and taking me out with you last night. You guys were pretty incredible, by the way. I don't think I got a chance to tell you that."

"Thanks," he replies quickly as though he is as much of a shy person about praise as I am. "I'd been in town a couple weeks and walked into the bar one night to find Mitch and Waylen having a drink and complaining about not being able to find a guitar player for their band. Something about the last guy up and quit on them because he got a job practically living out of town. So, we played together one Saturday, and the rest is history. Been playing with them two or three nights a week ever since."

Walking over to grab a cup of coffee midway through him speaking, I offer him one but he shakes his head. I bring mine back just as he finishes. "What are they going to do whenever you decide it's time to move on?"

He shrugs sadly, "They've known it's inevitable eventually. I'm sure they'll have no problem filling my shoes now that we've started bringing in a good crowd. Speaking of those airheads, they've been bugging me all morning to ask if they could have your number when I stopped by."

"So, theyarekind of dumb-dumbs, huh?" I tease. "The crazy yesterday wasn't enough for them?"

"They, and I quote, said ‘any woman that can let loose and dance like you would be worth it.’" He smiles. "Well, Waylen said it and Mitch agreed. I'm also supposed to tell you that if you say no that they'll beat up the lowlife loser for you in trade."

Unfortunately, I'm taking a rather large drink of my coffee as he says this, and it goes spewing across the counter with the laugh I can't contain. I apologize in between snickers as I wipe the droplets off his arm that was laying in front of him.

"I'll tell them you'll gladly accept their courting gift then," he says, waiting until utter panic sets in before he barks out his own laugh. "Sorry, I had to. It's only fair after being hit by flying debris."

"You're so not funny," I tell him, not meaning it in the least.

"Yes, I am," he retorts, standing up. "I'm also going to be very late to my next job if I don't get going."

Meeting him at the end of the counter, he pulls me into a tight hug. "Have a look inside the bag and eat what I brought you. It helps. Promise. Do me a favor today, though?"

Angling my head back to get a look at his face, makes my heart stutter a bit in my chest. Kit is one of those guys who is just gorgeous without even trying. Those same butterflies pop back up in my stomach about the time I notice the ocean breeze engulfing me. I could swear for just one second that he might kiss me. Then he gulps hard and says, "Don't do any yard work today. I'd hate to drive by and see you out there taking a chainsaw to the trees."

I mock gasp and pull away from him and he leaves me staring after him with a goofy grin on my face. When the door closes, I turn back to the counter and spot the bag sitting on the edge. Curiosity wins more than hunger at this point as I open it and start laying out the contents. A small container filled with berries goes beside another filled with scrambled eggs and a couple slices of toast. There's also a banana and plastic bottle of orange juice. Down at the very bottom is a small slip of paper. As I take it out and get a good look at it, I'm glad I'm not drinking anything.

The offer stands.

Mitch

That's all it says, but that's all ithasto say. Just knowing there's an option to have George pummeled into a dirt patty is enough to actually keep me from doing it. I will say, though, that I'm sad Mitch didn't include his phone number, too. Hopefully, because I didn't decline directly, Kit will give it to them.

And just exactly what am I going to do with two more alphas chasing behind me? Especially right now when everything is upside down.

I decide that's a question that's better saved for probably never as I dig into the breakfast Kit so thoughtfully made for me. Living as a beta my entire life, I would've not been so quick to jump into anything with absolute complete strangers. It's weird having two different mindsets feeling like they're warring back and forth against each other. As a beta, all motives are questionable and people around you always have motives. As an omega, I'm literally running on gut instincts, and emotions. So far, the latter of the two choices seem to have led me in the happiest direction.

With nothing on my agenda for the rest of the day, I have the idea to call all of my current clients to make sure that they're being taken care of. All but one of them have heard what's going on and are already set up to meet with someone else in my former agency. Not a single one of them sound like they are happy to hear from me in the least. Mr. Johnson actually yells a few explicits before hanging up on me. From what I could gather between the swear words is that I've wrecked their chances at finding the right house and that they hope I choke on a certain part of male anatomy. A bag of them as a matter of fact. I always knew I disliked that couple for a reason. The only person who hadn't been contacted was one of my high-end clients who preferred to stay out of the limelight and had requested to not involve the agency until the last possible minute.

"I hate to hear that you're being forced to take your life in a different direction," he'd said. Not exactly my words, but it works either way. Nevertheless, I did tell him that I'm not out of the business for good. Just for now until I can get everything straight. He didn't need to know the gory details and infringe on that professional relationship, so I hadn't told him the entirety. Only that I am an omega and had decided the agency wasn't a good fit for me going forward.

"Whenever you straighten things out and get ready to sell again, be sure to save my contact information for it. I'll still be looking I'm sure," he says. "You really have been the easiest person to work with."

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