Page 162 of Knot That Serious

Raj would be there any minute. And he’d know, probably from first glance, that she and Jack had… figured things out.

Absent-mindedly, she brushed her fingertips over the bite, shivering at the echo of sensation that danced through her. She could feel Jack. He was… elated. Things must have gone well with Beckett, then.

If not from the bond alone, then from the flood of text messages she waded through as she anticipated Raj’s arrival.

The thought made her excited. Beckett was part of the pack. He was in.

Holy shit, she couldn’t wait to see him. This was real! It was happening.

Now all she had to do was figure things out with Raj.

A gentle knock sounded from the back door. Eli sucked in a deep breath, glancing once again at the clock. He wasn’t a minute late.

With a nervous sigh, she whirled and crossed the spotless floor of her bakery kitchen to the back door.

“Hi,” Raj said, standing on the other side. The smile he offered her was blinding, and she felt a little dizzy as she motioned him in.

“Hi,” she echoed. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, and… sniffed. Then he lifted his head and sniffed. Her stomach flipped.

“It smells like you have something to tell me?” he said softly, staring down at her.

Her cheeks flushed, and she tucked her hands behind her back. “You could say that,” she whispered, clearing her throat. “Jack and I kind of… worked things out,” she offered, rocking on her heels, tilting her head to the side.

“Eli, that’s such good news,” Raj said, voice gentling. “You’re happy?”

Her chest went tight. Of course his first concern was her.

“Yeah. We talked last night. For a really long time,” she confessed, shaking her head at the memory, at how quickly things had changed. “I also may have heard… that you and Beckett talked, too?” she guessed.

Raj nodded, running a hand through his hair. She tried to keep her gaze on his face, but his bicep was just there and flexing as his fingers slotted through the long strands of his dark hair. “I knew it wouldn’t stay a secret. I just wanted to help,” he said, shrugging.

Eli snapped her stare back to him. “I know, I know,” Eli said, studying him. “I’m just surprised you didn’t mention our arrangement to him.” According to Beckett, he’d had plenty of opportunities.

Raj shrugged. “It wasn’t my story to tell.”

The words were on the tip of her tongue. Are you sure it’s not because…

"I was in a pack once," Raj said suddenly.

Eli swallowed. "You did mention that." This did not bode well, and she tried to choke down the nausea of rejection.

"To be honest, I never imagined myself finding another pack. Connecting with people like that again."

Oh, no.

"So when I ran into you, and you told me your story, I had to help. And I'm so happy you have finally sorted out things with Jack. It worked!" he said.

Of course. He'd done his part, and another pack wasn't in his future so he was done, going to leave and return to his normal, not-fake dating life--

The beeper on the oven went off, and she startled.

“Right.” She cleared her throat and trailed to the oven, pulling open the door and sliding a tray out with her mittens.

Raj stayed out of her way, but he narrowed his eyes at the tray of donuts she sat on the workstation.

“Are those...”

Eli bent down to tug open the fridge, pulling out her piping bag of cherry donut filling and laying it out beside the ingredients she needed for the glaze.

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