Page 54 of Knot in Bloom
“Morning,” Levi says, looking up from where he’s reading a book His hair’s mussed from sleep, and there’s something domestic about seeing him barefoot in my space that makes my pulse quicken.
“Sleep okay?” Caleb asks.
“Yes,” I say. “Reid mentioned you all had plans for today.”
“Only if you want,” Levi says quickly, his bookish tendency to overthink showing in the careful way he phrases it. “No pressure if you’d rather rest or have space or?—”
“I want,” I interrupt, then feel heat rise in my cheeks at how eager I sound. But I don’t take it back. My scent sweetens involuntarily, honeysuckle blooming richer as my omega sideresponds to being wanted by three alphas. “I mean, it sounds wonderful. Spending time together.”
Reid’s nostrils flare slightly at the scent change, his bergamot warming in response. “Individual time, we thought. Easier to get to know each other without managing group dynamics.”
The way he frames it in business terms makes me smile. Even discussing dates, he can’t help thinking in organizational terms.
“Breakfast first,” Reid continues, his scent shifting with anticipation, “then Levi’s lunch adventure, then dinner with Caleb. Strategic sequencing.”
I look between the three of them, these men who somehow ended up in my life at exactly the right moment. “That works for me.”
Levi kisses my cheek soft and sweet before heading home to change and plan. “I’ll collect you around noon,” he promises with that gentle formality he uses when he’s excited but trying not to show it. “I’ve been wanting to share this place with you.”
Caleb’s goodbye is more lingering, his lips finding mine with gentle command. “Enjoy your morning,” he murmurs against my mouth, voice dropping to that gravelly tone that makes my knees unsteady. “I’ll see you tonight.”
The possessive way he says it makes my omega side practically purr. Fresh slick dampens my underwear as my body responds to being around him.
And then it’s just Reid and me, standing in my kitchen. The air thrums with anticipation and the layered scents of three different alphas who’ve marked my space as theirs. Without my suppressants at full strength, I’m acutely aware of how my body craves their attention.
“Ready?” he asks.
“More than ready,” I say, and I mean it. The excitement bubbling up in my chest surprises me with its intensity. “I can’tremember the last time I looked forward to something this much.”
Something’sdifferent about Reid today. He keeps glancing at me, adjusting his mirrors unnecessarily. The polished confidence from yesterday has been replaced by something more uncertain.
“You seem nervous,” I say, and immediately wish I hadn’t. What if he’s having second thoughts?
“I am nervous.” His honesty surprises me. “I’ve wanted this for weeks, and now that it’s happening...” He glances at me again. “I don’t want to mess it up.”
The vulnerability in his voice makes warmth bloom in my chest. “You won’t mess it up.”
Though honestly, what do I know about not messing things up? I flooded my own shop last week and nearly ruined the most important wedding of the year. But he doesn’t need to hear about my track record right now.
“Tell me about your work,” I add, because I want to know more about him. “What you actually do when you’re not in Honeyridge Falls.”
His shoulders relax at the familiar territory. “Architecture. Commercial buildings and mixed-use developments.” He seems more confident now, talking about something he knows. “Right now I’m consulting on a project in Pine Valley—that’s how I discovered this area.”
“Happy accident,” I say.
“The best kind.” His smile turns genuine. “Pine Valley’s nice, but this town has something you can’t engineer. Real community.”
“You mean the way everyone knows everyone’s business?”
He laughs. “I mean the way everyone actually cares about everyone else.”
When we pullup and park the car. I see the café and it’s perfect—exposed brick, hanging plants, the kind of place that feels intimate without trying too hard. When Reid takes my hand as we sit down, the contact sends electricity up my arm. Being this close to his scent while my suppressants rebuild makes my omega biology sing with contentment.
“You really researched this place,” I say, leaning forward. The movement brings our joined hands closer, and I catch his full scent—cedar and leather and something purely alpha.
“I wanted everything perfect.” His thumb traces circles on my palm. “I wake up thinking about you, Sadie.”
My scent sweetens involuntarily, and his pupils dilate in response. This close, with my system still vulnerable from yesterday’s missed dose, he can smell exactly how his words affect me.
