Page 53 of Perfect Alpha

The thought of proposing to Victory makes my head spin. “I need some air,” I tell them, rising to my feet. “Let’s go get some work done.”

“And then I’ll out hunt both of you and kick ass on the field like it ain’t no thing,” Bobby drawls.

“After Greg puts you back together,” Gavin replies, referencing the team’s on-staff massage therapist.

“Fuck you,” Bobby growls, chasing his brother outside.

I start to follow them but pause to call Victory with my heart racing. No time like the present, right?

It’s no surprise when she immediately directs the call to voicemail.

Chapter 20

Victory

“Oh,God,Ihopeit fits,” I groan.

Hannah is helping Aidan into his firefighter costume because even though it’s early, he’s ready to head out. If it doesn’t fit, he’ll be a ghost, which consists of me cutting holes into a white sheet to hide his crying face.

Hannah grins when she fastens the last button and proudly sets Aidan in front of the full-length mirror in the hall. “Look, baby, you’re a firefighter!”

Aidan shrieks with glee and jumps into my arms. “Tank you, Auntie Victory!”

I kiss his sticky toddler face. “I love you, little man.”

“Love you,” he replies solemnly.

This will be a short, rushed visit, but I’m still glad to be here. The joy painted all over Aidan’s face is what holidays are about. He’ll never be an almost-three-year-old firefighter again, and these are the moments I don’t want to miss, even if I live thousands of miles away.

“You dress up?” Aidan asks hopefully. “Mama be witch.”

I smile. “Your mama and I planned it all out, little man. I’m dressing up, too.”

My mom enters the kitchen to take over watching Aidan so Hannah and I can go upstairs to change. Before we go, Hannah insists that Aidan wears a bib to avoid ruining his costume, which there’s no way he’s taking off, and he happily agrees.

Once we’re in her room, Hannah changes into a loose black dress with ragged sleeves, thick black tights, and black knee-high boots. “Do you think I should paint my face green?” she asks thoughtfully. “Or is that going overboard? Maybe it’s too Wizard of Oz?”

“It’s perfect,” I encourage, nervously taking out my dress. “Aidan will love it.”

I slip the white dress on while Hannah heads into the bathroom to do her make-up. I chose my outfit carefully to be sexy enough to make Cade pant, but conservative enough not to raise any alarm bells.

I carefully pin my hair up exactly how Cade loves it, exposing my neck and leaving strategic pieces loose to frame my face. I go full-out sex kitten with my make-up, slip on white thigh-high stockings, and nestle a halo into my hair. I’d love to wear heels, but since I need to walk, I settle for white ballet flats.

“Goddamn,” Hannah whistles when she emerges. “Are you trying to give him a heart attack or what?”

“Too much?” I ask, echoing her earlier question for a completely different reason.

Hannah grins. “Aidan is too young to give a shit. Cade, on the other hand… I think you look perfect, babe.”

She’s gone theatrical with her make-up and even added a fake nose complete with a wart.

“How can you breathe?” I ask, through my giggles.

“You don’t need to breathe if it makes your kid happy,” she cheerfully replies.

“Yeah, no oxygen is a minimal concern. Let’s go get the kiddo.”

Hannah enters the kitchen before me and sneaks up on Aidan, attacking him with tickles. He’s confused at first, temporarily looks terrified with wide saucer eyes, and then relief washes over his face when he realizes it’s his mama in the cutest series of vignettes.

---