Page 21 of Knot Their Girl
“Is there anything else? Or should I hurry home and write that offer?” he asks, though I’m not sure what he’s expecting me to say.
“Hurry home,” I instruct him. Before I end the call, I add, “Oh, and I like the color pink.”
He shakes his head a little, then slides his phone into his pocket. We meet eyes across the driveway, and he gives me an adorable little wave before getting into his car and driving away. I watch him go, the realization of what I just did sinking in.
I just agreed to move in to an alpha’s house, the one thing I never wanted to do. Granted, I wasn’t moving in for Gideon himself, but for his nephew, but still. I literally hired Alabaster Security to give me backup the night of the choosing ceremony so I wouldn’t get any stray offers.
Something’s got to be in the air. Or there’s just something about that man. Can’t say what.
Once the alpha and his car are out of my sight, I sigh and head inside. I shut the front door and lean against it, wanting to smack myself for agreeing to a deal like this.
Honestly, though? It’ll get my mom out of my hair, and I’ll be off-limits to the rest of the world. All I have to do is play nice with some mute beta. Should be easy. I can do that. I can play nice. I think.
I eventually return to my mom, who’s still on the phone with my dad, telling him all about Gideon Chase’s miraculous offer and how I didn’t leap at the chance. I try to get her attention, but she smoothly ignores me, chatting away like I’m not standing directly in front of her: “I don’t know if she thinks she’ll be overflowing with options or what, but—”
“Mom,” I say loudly, loud enough for my dad to hear on the other line, “I accepted. ‘Kay bye!” I spin on my heels and hurry away, making it all the way to the stairs before she realizes what I said and starts to call after me—but I’m already gone, dreaming of the day when I won’t be under her thumb.
The things kids do to get away from their parents, am I right?
When Nicole comes home from school, she rushes into my room, without so much as knocking. The brat. She throwsher bag down on my carpet and runs headfirst into my arms, throwing me into an endearingly—and sickeningly—sweet hug that would’ve threatened to break ribs if she had an ounce of strength in her small body.
“Mom told me you accepted an offer! I’m so happy for you!” she squeals into my shoulder, squeezing me like her life depends on it.
“Yeah, yeah.” I pull her off me.
“I—wait. You said you didn’t want offers, I thought?”
“Well, this particular offer was too good to pass up, so I didn’t. Pass it up, I mean. I accepted. I’ll probably move out by the end of the week.” I can only hope it moves fast; now my mom has started talking about babies.
Yeah, already. Babies. Grandchildren, as if my brothers’ kids aren’t enough.
Needless to say, if my mom knew I have an IUD, she’ll probably have an aneurysm and then take me to the doctor to have it removed. The only thing she’s aware of is the scent-blocking cream; she doesn’t know about the IUD, and she sure as hell doesn’t know about the injections I take or the humongous vibrator that got me through my heat.
Nicole pouts as she studies me, perhaps trying to peer into my head and see what I’m really thinking. “Who is he?”
“Gideon Chase.”
“Chase?” she echoes. “Chase, as in—” She reaches for the sparkling necklace hanging just below her collarbone—a pretty omega symbol encrusted with mini-diamonds. My mom got us each one when we presented, a Chase specialty.
“Yep. That Chase.”
She gasps. Yes, my little sister actually gasps at that, like she really can’t believe it. Then again, I sort of can’t believe it either. “Oh, my God. That’s amazing!”
I make a face. I don’t know anything about it being amazing. To my sister and my mom, to the rest of the world, the match is real. They don’t know that Gideon simply enlisted me for his nephew. In the end, all I do is shrug.
She stares at me for another few moments, and then she hugs me again as she whispers, “I’m going to miss you when you move out.”
With a roll of my eyes, I pat her back. “It isn’t like we won’t ever see each other. I’m sure Mom will still drag me to family dinner every now and then—and if you want to come over, it’d probably be okay with Gideon. He seems pretty laid back.”
“Laid back?” That description causes her to sharply end the hug.
“Yeah, so?”
“Don’t walk all over him. He’s the alpha, not you,” she parrots something my mom has told me a million and a half times growing up. There’s a place and time for being bratty, but I tend to push it too far.
I give my sister a pat on the head. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head. As soon as I’m out of this house, I’ll be the perfect omega.” Even as I say it, I don’t believe it, and judging from her face, she doesn’t believe it, either.
“Somehow, I don’t really believe that,” she huffs as she grabs her bag and leaves.
