Page 176 of Finding the Forward: Part One
“Yes, we are. For me?” Grif opened the box, an excited look in his green eyes. He withdrew a wooden box with his name burned into it. Nestled inside the box lay a custom, handmade, wooden conducting baton.
“For when you conduct the Boston Symphony. It’s all set for you to conduct a piece at their big anniversary concert this spring.” I met his gaze. Lots of places wanted him to conduct. So far, I’d been having my assistant vet the offers, but we needed to either find him an agent to handle those appearances or get a pack publicist.
But this offer, this one was a given, ever since he’d told me that it was his backup plan when he was at BosTec. A story that the current Boston Symphony conductor foundhilarioussince she was a huge hockey fan.
“It is? It’s set?” Grif put the baton back in the box, then carefully put it on the nightstand. “Thank you. This is amazing.” He embraced me tightly, his scent flaring.
“Do you accept my gift?” My eyes met his.
He grinned. “Oh. We’re a pack now.”
“We are.” My heart roared in my ears. I knew he wouldn’t turn me down, but still…
“I accept your gift.” His eyes met mine, amplifying the weight of his words.
I kissed him, feeling him yield in my arms.
This was what I’d wanted for so long. I’d liked him from the moment I saw him at rookie camp when we’d hoped to be Hurricanes. But I’d loved him, wanted him to be my omega, since he’d come to me frantically when his illegal blockers failed. He’d been terrified to leave his room to get more and didn’t know who else to trust.
When he’d overdosed on blockers and nearly died, I knew I couldn’t lose him.
Now I had him, and I looked forward to the day when I could publicly call him my omega.
“You know I love you, Boo-Boo,” I told him.
“I love you, too, Pepperjack.”
I couldn’t wait to bond with him. Now we just needed that pack contract.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Verity
“Hi, Calista, is he busy?” I asked, waving to AJ’s assistant as she typed on her computer.
“Hi, Verity, your makeup looksamazing.New look?” Calista asked as she looked up from her work.
“I had a photo shoot today, and I liked it so much. I didn’t want to take it off.” The makeup artist even gave me a mini-tutorial so I could recreate it.
“Go on in, and please, take him away so I can go home,” she giggled, putting a manicured hand over her mouth.
I walked into AJ’s office, which felt a bit like a terrarium, with its glass walls. At least he had a window to the outside. He hunched over his laptop, working as usual.
Christmas and New Year had passed and most people were back at work. I’d been spending as much time as I dared at the lab, trying to get a handle on what went wrong and working on the next batch before the new semester started.
They were yielding results. Thank goodness.
“Hi AJ, I brought the plant food.” I took a small sack out of my backpack and put it on his desk. The plant I’d gotten him when we all exchanged presents–string of coinsto bring prosperity to his work–hung in the corner. It wasn’t anything compared to my comfortable and adorable shoes, but he seemed to like it.
As usual, AJ dressed impeccably in an expensive, tailored suit, fancy watch, and sunglasses on his head. He’d been favoring silver-colored watches recently, probably to match his pack ring.
They were a pack now, and I was so excited for them.
I wore black pants and the boots he’d gotten me. Also, I’d thrown on a sweatshirt over my outfit, under my coat, since we were headed to the Knights game.
“Hi, Verity. Thank you. That’s a very striking look for a hockey game. Something I should know about tonight?” AJ looked up from his laptop and smirked.
He and I had settled into some sort of friendship. AJ was a great guy. Though there were definitely times I wouldn’t mind a little more.
