“Why didn’t anybody wake me?”
 
 “It seemed you needed it.” He paused and rubbed the back of his neck. “And… umm… it smells like your heat may be coming. All the omegas in my family are tired in the days before their heat.”
 
 I turned to sniff myself. It was faint, but he was right: my scent had started to deepen.
 
 “Ugh,” I groaned. “Damn heat again. Guess I’ll have to let Owen know so I can take time off.”
 
 “Are they good about that there?”
 
 I nodded. “As good as can be expected. I get the day of my heat off, but sometimes it’s hard to get an extra day of recovery. That’s pretty normal in the restaurant industry though, so I’m used to it.”
 
 “You mentioned you don’t have an alpha. Does your heat partner have a hard time getting off?”
 
 I shook my head. “I don’t use a heat partner. I prefer to be alone for my heats.”
 
 One of his eyebrows went up.
 
 Here it is. He knows somebody who would help me through my heats.I thought.Alphas always know somebody willing to fuck an omega in heat.
 
 “Eh,” he replied. “Whatever works best for you.”
 
 Wait… what?
 
 “Where is everybody?” I asked, changing the subject.
 
 “Ian and Tony are in bed already. I think Beck is still working in his office.”
 
 “Wh-what time is it?”
 
 He glanced down at the laptop screen. “Just after midnight.”
 
 “Oh…” I mumbled, feeling guilty for keeping Freddie from bed. “I’m sorry. I… I guess I should head home.”
 
 One of Freddie’s eyebrows went up. “You’re welcome to stay in the guest room.”
 
 “Really?”
 
 He nodded. “Of course.”
 
 I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I know it’s an imposition, but I don’t like driving once it gets too late.”
 
 He chuckled. “Not an imposition at all. That’s what it’s there for.”
 
 “Still… thank you.” I smiled, and scooted a bit closer. “What are you working on?”
 
 Freddie turned the laptop so I could see the screen. “I’m reviewing some plans of Ian’s.”
 
 I blinked. “I thought you worked on historical buildings.”
 
 He nodded and turned the screen back. “I do, but this is one of those cases where our firms are working together. Do you know the Santuario downtown?”
 
 “You mean that old church?”
 
 “Yeah.”
 
 “I think I know which one you’re talking about. What about it?”
 
 “They’re investing in some outbuildings. Since it’s new construction they have to meet modern building codes, but they also need to meet the stringent guidelines of the historic society—which means they have tolooklike they were built at the same time as the church.”