Page 177 of Altius
“Being apart from Wyatt for a few days won’t make me—”
“It’s an opening.” Owen dropped his ankle and stood, both feet firmly on the ground, his mercurial gaze almost glowing in the dim light. “Or do you need me to elucidate in writing why I’d like to spend more time with you?”
Coming from Owen Redmond, such words were bold. Sincere. And disorienting.
I didn’t know how to take them…or handle him so early in the morning.
So, I opted to ignore him in favor of getting on the elliptical, determined to sweat out some of my frustration—with Owen keeping pace by my side on the treadmill, in perfectly companionable silence, for a full forty-five minutes.
Leaving me even more off-kilter than before.
***
The Lady Narwhals were on fire, passing the basketball from player to player with precision, easily outpacing their opponent, extending their lead to twenty-three points.
I sat courtside on a metal folding chair. Crossing my legs, I shifted my weight to the left to avoid aggravating my still-healing bruises.
Dr. Flemming eased down beside me, wearing a jaunty new navy bowtie with gray owls on it. Their feathers were a shade lighter than Owen’s eyes.
Ugh. Why did I have Redmonds on the brain?
It was Wednesday, my standing date night with Alijah. That’s who I should be thinking about, not to mention the shrimp scampi he was planning for dinner.
My phone buzzed. It was a text from Joaquin.
Help a guy out, doc. Alijah’s having a mini meltdown. Can he feed you something cooked with wine?
I stared at the message for a moment. It was a simple question. Yes or no. But I honestly didn’t have an answer.
Kelsey would know. She’d made me shrimp scampi numerous times over the years, but I had no idea whether she included wine.
The kitchen had a liquor cabinet, mainly for the sake of our parents, when Kelsey had friends over for dinner, or when she was trying to impress the occasional boyfriend.
My first impulse was to text her, but I couldn’t.
I was a thirty-two-year-old woman. A whole-ass adult, who should know if a splash of liquor would cause issues with their medications.
A quick internet search later, including looking up three variations on shrimp scampi and the warnings for all my meds, I replied.
Yes. A quarter cup or so shouldn’t be a problem.
You sure? I like my head attached to my body.
I won’t let you take the fall if anything goes sideways.
That’ll only work with Cal and Wyatt. Alijah holds grudges.
I stifled a laugh but still managed to draw Dr. Flemming’s attention. Shifting further to the side, hoping he hadn’t read any of our conversation, I bit back a smile as I typed a reply.
How interesting. Shall I use my newfound knowledge for good or evil?
That depends on who’s going to punish me. Alijah assigns chores. How do you handle naughty alphas?
A whistle drew my attention across the floor, where one of our girls struggled to get back on her feet. I was about to stand up when Dr. Flemming held out a hand.
“She’s just winded. Took an elbow to the stomach.”
I glanced at him. “How can you tell?”
