Page 49 of His Gift
“Definitely not really,” Enzo said with a wince. I was about to push him for more, but he said, “It’s embarrassing. That’s all it is, really. I’m embarrassed that I ever associated myself with him.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t entirely satisfied. Embarrassing seemed to confirm my idea of some sort of seedy matchmaking service. Instinct whispered that there could be more to it than that, but I didn’t want to be overbearing with my omega outside of the bedroom. I was still coming to terms with that side of myself anyhow.
There didn’t seem to be any immediate threat, and once we made it to my condo Enzo settled. That hint that something was wrong still hung in the air, though. I would give my omega a bit of time to figure out how to explain things his own way, but if his dad or this Rick person showed up in our lives again, I would get the full story from him.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Enzo
Whenever I heard stories about people who said their life changed overnight for whatever reason, I never really believed things like that happened. Stuff didn’t change overnight.
But as November turned into December, my job at the Wythe Foundation took on more of a focus on assisting Shawn with the company’s philanthropic endeavors, and my body started to soften and fill out, I was definitely starting to believe in lightning bolt change and miracles. I’d been to a super fancy obstetrician a couple times now, who had confirmed that I was actually pregnant. It was all real. At least the baby and I were healthy.
Shawn had bought me a whole new wardrobe of business and casual clothing, too. I felt awkward as hell about that, but I had to admit it was necessary for my new life. And we had our own washer and dryer in the condo, so I didn’t have to risk pervy alphas watching me wash and fold my underwear anymore.
My life had definitely taken a turn for the better, but it still seemed surreal.
“None of this seems like it should be happening,” I told Shawn as the two of us snuggled in bed early on the morning of December twenty-third, delaying getting up to dive into the final preparations for tomorrow’s big event.
“Why shouldn’t any of it be happening?” Shawn asked, rolling until he had me on my back, pinned under him. “And what are you referring to, the event that you’ve put all this hard work into, the two of us building a life together, or this baby I swear I can feel inside you?” He balanced on one arm and spread his large hand over my belly. “We made that baby in this bed, you know.”
My alpha’s touch was enough to turn me into a hot, giddy puddle of sexy goo. He was right about making the baby in the bed we were in now. Since the Christmas Eve supper was to take place in Norwalk, we’d temporarily moved from Shawn’s fancy penthouse apartment to, well, a fancy penthouse hotel suite. My whole life seemed to be up in the sky these days.
“All of it,” I said, sliding my hands over his hips to grab delicious handfuls of his tight glutes. “I keep waking up thinking I’m late for my shift at Variety Warehouse.”
Shawn chuckled and dipped down to kiss me. Neither of us was particularly fresh, but his kisses always made me feel good. “I can assure you, all of this is very real,” he said. He arched one eyebrow as he went on with, “And my parents’ disappointment will be very real, too, if we don’t make this the best Christmas Eve supper the Wythe Foundation has ever put on.”
I grunted. If ever there was a mood killer, that was it.
“Alright,” I said, wriggling out from under him and climbing out of bed. “Your papa is going to be at the Pullman Center today for the final set-up, isn’t he?”
Shawn sighed, like he’d been denied the activity he really wanted to participate in. “He is,” he said glumly. “And Dad is coming in later today. I don’t know if Walt will actually show his face, but Dad said if he continues to behave like he doesn’t want anything to do with the family or the company, he’ll make that a reality.”
I frowned as I walked into the bathroom to wash for the day. That was the biggest thing I’d learned in the last few weeks of being an adjacent part of the Wythe family. They looked slick and perfect on the outside, but they were a roiling ball of secrets, infighting, and manipulation on the inside.
The thing was, I couldn’t figure out why. They had everything, money, respect, a great company that did a lot of good things for people. I’d been working with Walt on the Christmas Eve supper for weeks now, and although he had some serious boundaries that kept us from becoming friends, he was actually a nice guy. He was also brilliantly intelligent. I’d interacted with the omega Mr. Wythe, Anthony, a few times, and he was actually pretty nice, too.
It would have been easy to say that Mr. Wythe was the problem element in the family, but that didn’t really hold up either. Yes, he was an overbearing alpha who ruled his family with an iron fist instead of showing them affection, but the more I interacted with people from Wythe Industries and those it had helped over the years, the more people told me that Mr. Tristan Wythe was a genuinely good human being, just a little grumpy.
Basically, the Wythe family didn’t make sense to me.
“My turn,” Shawn said, entering the bathroom, then stepping up close behind me as I stood at the mirror, brushing my hair. The way he loomed behind me, the heat radiating from his body, and the fire in his eyes as he met mine in the mirror sent shivers all through me.
“I know what you’re thinking,” I told him, grinning at his reflection. “And for the record, any time you want to play nasty Santa and show me what happens to omegas on the naughty list, I’m all for it.”
Shawn blew out a breath on a laugh and leaned down to kiss my shoulder. “Maybe some other time,” he said before peeling away to get into the shower. “Some other time when you least expect it,” he added in a menacing voice.
My heart was light and my body glittered with the expectation of future sexy times. This was the longest stretch of time I’d gone without logging onto the Dark Fantasies Club app that I could remember. But I didn’t need the app or the club anymore. I’d found the alpha I wanted to be with, and we were going to be so happy together.
I got dressed in the bedroom, then moved into the main room of the suite to get some coffee brewing. The suite had a full kitchen, but since Shawn and I had arrived three days ago, we’d only eaten out or ordered room service. I noticed one of the slips that the hotel staff slid under the door during the night asking for our orders for later lying on the floor by the door, so as the coffee maker did its job, I walked over to pick it up.
My heart stopped cold as I turned the note over and saw unfamiliar handwriting instead of the usual order form.
“You can’t back out of our deal just like that. My client wants you, and he gets what he wants.”
I felt sick. Panic rushed through me. I tore up the note and rushed to throw it away in the nearest trashcan before I could make myself stop and assess the reality of the situation.
But what was the reality of the situation? I’d gotten involved with some super shady people who evidently thought I’d made a real promise to them instead of just asking questions about what might be possible. Rick and whoever this client of his was didn’tactually have any claim on me. I didn’t think that would matter to them, though.
