Page 6 of Knot Their Reality

Jace's face goes serious then. "My parents are gone, too. My mama passed one night in her sleep—it's the best way she could've gone. Both of my dads followed quickly behind her within days. I just don't think they could handle being here without her. It's called the widowhood effect. It's more common than you'd think, and since I'm the only child they were blessed with, it's pretty much just me. I have a couple of uncles and a cousin or two, but we're not close. And at this time in my life, it just doesn't feel necessary to reach out and try to become close, you know?"

"Absolutely." Glancing over Jace's shoulder, I see Reginald signaling for me to wrap it up.

"Well, on that happy note," we laugh together, "it was really amazing to meet you, and I can't wait to hear more about you later."

Jace nods. "Same, doll, same."

He leans over to press a kiss to my cheek before heading toward Jackson. This time I do watch him walk away, partially to check out his ass—which, damn, that is one fine ass—but also to check in on Jackson. He gives me a nod before turning his attention to Jace and introducing himself.

I squeeze my eyes shut as I force myself to face forward once more. Come on, libido. I need you to remain calm while I meet two more suitors. You can go crazy later.

And now I'm talking to my libido. Great.

Chapter Three

Sophia

When I feel calmer, I open my eyes to find Reginald standing in front of me. He seems to be at least attempting to hide a smile, but spoiler alert, he's failing.

Choosing to ignore him, I turn to face the driveway once more as I hear the tires crunching again. I never realized just how easy it is to pick out that sound when you're not surrounded by the noise of the city. I was born and raised in Los Angeles so it's all I've ever known. I've left the city for vacations before, like the cabin in the mountains two years ago...

No. I'm not going to get lost in thoughts of them again. I'm starting fresh. They're in the past, and I need to stop obsessing over them. It's pathetic how I can't seem to let go of people who didn't give a damn about me. Which is the exact reason I'm here. I need to stop thinking about that trip—about them.

A throat clears, and when I look up, I realize the next suitor has already climbed out of the car and is standing in front of me.

"Well, that's not at all embarrassing," I say with a smile. "I apologize. I must've gotten a little lost in thought."

I take a moment to take in the stranger in front of me. He seems very comfortable in the tux he wears. His thick, sandy brown hair is brushed to one side, and a short beard lines his face—this must be the beard group. He's attractive in a boy next door kind of way, but sharper somehow? It's an interesting combination.

His blue eyes have been trailing up and down my body before meeting mine, and for just a moment, I see a wrinkle in his nose. It's gone almost before I've even registered it, but I'm fairly certain of what I saw—and I don't like it.

When his scent finally hits me, I take a moment to inhale it before releasing a sigh. But, damn, does he smell good. Cedarwood with hints of lavender weaving around it. It's almost calming, and that's when I realize that's exactly what it's supposed to do. He's a beta.

“I’m Ezra Overton, and you’re the season’s omega, Sophia Durham. I’m thirty-five, and as I’m sure you’ve already gathered from my scent, I’m a beta. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t applied myself throughout my life, much like yourself with law. I’m the founder and CEO of a Fortune 500 company called Nest Oasis. We specialize in home goods—furniture and decor, things like that—but we cater especially to omegas. I’m an only child of two alphas, who were very disappointed when I revealed as a beta. They disowned me on the spot and I worked hard to get myself through school and then to start my company.”

I blink at him for a moment, as that was a lot of information to take in at once. "Wow. That's terrible, but I'm glad you were able to succeed on your own. I'm sure they regret their decision now."

"Unlikely. They weren't the most loving of parents, but it doesn't matter now. Even if they tried to contact me now, I wouldn't want anything to do with them." He shrugs. "I don't have time for things like that. It's frivolous and unnecessary. I no longer need them to tell me what a good job I do. I already know."

"Uhhh... okay. Yeah, that makes sense." I honestly have no idea how to take Ezra. He seems nice enough, I think, but it feels like there's a bit of a disconnect somewhere. "I'm thirty-four, in case you weren't aware—"

"Oh, I'm aware. I read over the packet they provided many times. I'm sure I could recite verbatim."

I force myself to keep smiling because that's a little creepy. "That won't be necessary. What are some hobbies you love?"

He shakes his head. "Hobbies are something I don't have time for either. If I'm not working, then I'm working out, eating, or sleeping. It is how I became so successful."

"And when you find your pack, do you plan to cut back on work?" I ask because it's something I know I'll need to do myself and will expect of my pack as well.

"If I cut back, then the company would fall apart. I have to stay on top of things, but I guess I could hire someone to assist. Only if I had someone well-trained that I could trust would I be able to cut back."

I nod my head slowly, glancing at Reginald to see if it's time to wrap up the meeting. He gives a small shake of his head.

Great. So I have to keep this conversation going. I refuse to rule someone out based upon a first meeting unless they're blatantly disrespectful of me, so I'm not ruling out Ezra as a potential mate. But I'm going to need to learn how to communicate with him, as what we're doing right now isn't working for me.

"That makes sense. You built the company from the ground up so of course you'd have to have someone you trusted to help out."

He hums. "I've never had a reason to need help, but I think a pack would be the perfect reason to do so."

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