Page 18 of I Replaced His Husband
"Calm down, I know. By the way, you probably saw most of it when we lived in the dorm."
Adam made a harrumphing sound. "Yeah… I really don’t need to imagine all of that going into my brother’s poor body. That’s… something that really shouldn’t exist in my mind!"
"Enough, you two!" Marco growled in disgust, his brow furrowing with anger. "Seriously, can we not?!"
"I didn’t start it," I muttered, low-key amused. "And I protest calling his body poor. It seems to respond well to my ten-incher—"
"Can you just shut up?!" Marco snapped.
I shrugged and went quiet. Teasing them a bit felt like letting out some pent-up energy, though it was probably pretty distasteful.
"So. Kay let you stay long enough to nap?" Marco cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow. "That’s major progress."
"Yeah, it is," I said, nodding. I pointed toward the kitchen just off the living room. "Mind if I grab something to eat? I’m starving."
Adam jumped up. "I’ll whip something up."
I waved him off. "Nah, I love cooking. Just show me where everything is."
Adam laughed. "Oh right, I remember you used to take those extra cooking classes back in college. Guess that stuck with you?"
"It did. I was the one doing all the cooking when I was with Brian—" I trailed off, that name still sour in my mouth. Adam caught the change in tone and quietly began showing me around the kitchen, steering away from that subject.
After digging around for a bit, I pulled together ingredients for a quick spinach and mushroom frittata with cheese.
As I cooked, I caught their reflections in the window, both watching me with an uneasy stillness. Marco looked especially tense, and Adam kept shooting him sidelong glances. Something was definitely on their minds. But I wasn’t about to get into it. My head was already spinning with everything that had just happened.
Once the frittata was done, I plated a serving for myself and gestured to the rest. "Help yourselves."
Adam hesitated, then asked softly, "Would it be okay if we took some up to Kay?"
"Of course. Go ahead."
With my plate in hand, I stepped outside into the garden, aiming for a quiet corner I’d noticed earlier. I needed space, just a peaceful spot to eat and think, without any more questions.
???
After finishing my meal, I decided to go for a short walk to help with digestion. Adam’s garden wasn’t fenced, but thick bushes lined the edges, almost like a hedge.
In one spot where the greenery was a little thinner, I managed to slip through to the other side. It looked like there was a faint, narrow path leading into the woods. I followed it, taking deep breaths, trying to relax and clear my head without focusing on anything in particular.
Maybe thirty feet in, I spotted a moss-covered rock that looked almost like a bench. I sat down on it, facing Adam’s house, which I could just barely see through the treetops from where I was. Between the branches swaying gently in the wind, I caught a glimpse of Kay’s window.
A strange feeling crept over me. Had someone been coming out here, sitting on this rock, watching the house? Keeping an eye on the young omega’s window?
Or maybe it was just a coincidence that the rock happened to be in such a convenient spot. But when I looked down, I noticed a small patch of flattened ground, like someone had been standing there over and over again.
I sat with the thought for a minute, but decided not to blow it out of proportion. I knew Adam smoked a lot of weed, something his family didn’t exactly approve of. His habit had gotten worse after his breakup with Dominic back in their sophomore year of college, and it still led to occasional relapses. Maybe he’d just slipped out here for a doobie. The explanation was probably something simple like that.
Eventually, I lost interest in the mystery of the rock and kept walking along the hedge toward the lake. The bushes ended just before the beach, letting me loop back onto Adam’s property.
???
I was still hanging out in the garden gazebo with my laptop and a coffee around 6:30 pm when I suddenly noticed Kay heading down the path toward the shore. He didn’t see me, but for some reason, I felt compelled to follow him, quietly, of course.
The wind rustled gently through the leaves, casting flickering shadows over the path as Kay made his way down toward the lake.
After pausing to look out at the water for a minute, he sat down on the same fallen tree I’d rested on earlier. I slipped into the shadows and leaned against a maple trunk, just watching him. He was wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and gray sweatpants. His long braid hung down his back, with a fewstrands escaping the hairband, catching the wind and brushing against his face now and then.
