Page 58 of Tempting Frey
Oliver scoffed. “Of course not! But I get why you freaked out.” He threw his phone onto the sofa cushion next to me and put his hands on his hips, in a move not unlike his father.
“Now I’m pissed he won’t talk tome.”
I let out a helpless chuckle. “You should have seen his face. He was disgusted. This is the last way I wanted him to find out about us.”
“It’s just a misunderstanding. Once Dad calms down enough to listen, it’ll take two minutes to clear it up.”
“Fuck, Oliver, this is a disaster…”
“Let’s go to my pa.”
I wasn’t sure I could take any more indignant disappointment.
“Oliver, baby, they won’t be happy. Can you imagine how this will look to them? You just came home from college, and you work for me. They’re my closest friends, and I owe your dad so much. I was nobody when I appeared in Beauville, little more than a rootless drifter, and your dad took me under his wing. And I repay him by taking even more from him. I should have handled this differently. I should have…”
My omega grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands from my face. He was kneeling before me, and I had no choice but to look into his eyes. They were fierce.
“Teddy, this is my choice. I returned homefor youbecause I’ve always wanted you and I was tired of waiting. I hoped that coming back would mean exactly this—being with you and having your baby. I chose this with my eyes open, and whatever my parents think, they will have to respect my choice.”
He glowed like the sun, my Oliver. No, I couldn’t have done anything differently. Oliver came back for me and took me. I was just a sitting duck. A very lucky sitting duck.
“I had no chance of resisting you,” I murmured, properly humbled.
He grinned happily. “None. You could have run, but I would have chased you down.”
I shook my head. “No running. Let’s talk to your pa.”
Oliver gave me a kiss and hopped up, offering me his hand.
I’d better buckle up. I’d always found Phil way scarier than Chickie, but at least he didn’t have a gun.
16
OLIVER
Teddy spent the walk up the hill to my parents’ cottage clutching my hand. A few good people of Beauville saw us in the street, including Morris, who was so stunned he walked into a lamppost and nearly hit his head. By lunchtime, every bear in town would know about Teddy and me, but that didn’t matter anymore. The only people who deserved an explanation were my parents.
“It’ll be fine,” I told Teddy for the umpteenth time.
“I know,” he mumbled, sounding unconvinced.
“You’ll be eating dinner at their table tonight.”
“I messed up, Oliver. Ishouldmake amends.”
“Feel free. But only after my dad apologizes for hanging up on me.”
Teddy chuckled. “I wish I had your confidence.”
As we neared the gate, I lifted his hand to my lips. “It’ll be just fine.”
I did become nervous, but mostly because it was so strange to knock. I’d never in my life had to knock on the door to my childhood home. Teddy shifted from foot to foot.
My omega dad opened with a broad smile on his face. It fell when he took in our expressions.
He glanced from me to Frey and back, his eyes going wide. “What’s going on? What did Hawke do?”
I couldn’t help but snicker at his assumption. My alpha dad had always been a hothead, and even though he’d calmed down with age, when something extraordinary went down in Beauville, Hawke “Chickie” Klondike was just as often the cause of a mess as he was the one smoothing things over.
