Page 186 of Knot That Serious

And yet… the other side of her neck still felt a little empty.

When she finally fell asleep that night, it was with Raj’s arms around her, one of his thighs between hers, and a plan forming.

“You’re kidding me,” Beckett breathed, pausing with his hand half-lifted out of the gift bag. “It’s—holy shit, it’s signed.” The bag dropped to the ground, falling off Beckett’s lap as he held the album sleeve in his hands. He lifted his head, jaw slightly ajar as he stared from Eli to Jack and back again. “How did you get this?”

“We know a guy,” Eli said with a shrug. She’d finally retrieved the signed album from Javi on a solo drive after work just a few days ago. Grabbed some less spicy tacos, and thanked him profusely for the favor by leaving a healthy tip in his jar, and ignored him as he’d yelled at her for it.

She’d made her decision that day. And as the few days passed after that, she hadn’t changed her mind.

In fact, she was enamored with the idea as much as she was the alpha himself.

“I feel really bad about your record collection,” Jack said, and Eli nodded along with him.

“We figured this could be one of the first in your new collection,” she added.

Beckett slid the light pink vinyl from the sleeve just to take a peek before pushing it gently back into place. “This is so cool. I can’t believe you got her to sign it,” he gushed.

Eli chuckled at his adoration, retrieving the gift bag and folding the tissue paper up before laying them flat together on the coffee table. She ignored the kissing noises from the couch for as long as she could before sinking onto the cushion next to Beckett.

Just as she settled, Beckett turned toward her, giving her the same treatment, smiling softly into the kiss. Eli chuckled, the sound spilling out around their lips before it deepened, before Beckett wove every bit of his appreciation into the gesture.

When they pulled apart, Eli glanced up at him and said, “You’re welcome.”

“We’ll listen to it one day, at our own place,” he said, turning back to the middle and placing a hand on both her and Jack’s knees.

Eli didn’t know why she found the whole situation a little funny, but she let a giggle slip free. She slid her hand beneath Beckett’s before lifting it to her lips. She pressed her smile to the back of it.

She felt fizzy, bubbly with happiness. Still grinning, she lowered Beckett’s hand and studied his nails. The pale blue he’d painted them to match one of his suits—and therefore all the accents on the rest of his suits for the week—was beginning to chip.

“Wanna paint your nails?” she asked, brushing a thumb over the back of one.

“Hey, you know, I could paint mine too,” Jack said, glancing at his own chipped black polish.

“Sure, why not?” Beckett said. “What colors do you have?”

And that’s how the three of them ended up sitting on the floor, around the coffee table. The surface was covered in polish bottles and nail files, cotton balls and other nail tools. Eli’s nails were bare—bakery rules—so she’d opted for painting Jack’s right hand, since he always complained about it.

“No way, your hand looks way better than mine,” Jack whined, showing Eli his smudged black polished nails on his left hand. The paint was pooling in his cuticles, which meant it wasn’t going to set very evenly.

“Where did you even get that hair from?” she asked, pulling his hand toward her and holding his finger up to the light to find the tip of the hair.

Eli grimaced as she pulled it free, leaving a sticky mess behind, while Beckett leaned over and cooed, “Aw, it’s not that bad. Just clean up the cuticles and you’ll be fine.” He even provided the little silicone-tipped tool for Jack to do just that.

“The top coat will smooth it out?” Eli guessed. Maybe.

Grumbling, Jack leaned back against the couch and began swiping at his cuticles with the most precise care, both hands only inches from his face.

“Where’s Raj tonight?” Beckett asked, head bent over in precise concentration as he dragged the brush across the surface of his fingernail.

“He wanted to do a bit more work tonight,” she explained. Which was true. Once she’d told him her plans, he decided he’d like to stay to work on the pack house plans, finishing up the final touches so they could begin reaching out to contractors. She couldn’t wait to be under one roof with them all. Then she wouldn’t have to split her time between Raj’s apartment and their own, and she wouldn’t have to miss anyone.

“Well, he’s just missing out, isn’t he?” Beckett asked without looking up, painstakingly applying nail polish to his right hand.

Eli shared a knowing look with Jack and smirked as she hummed in agreement.

“Aw, do you miss him?” Eli teased, only for him to mutter under his breath.

She giggled again, unable to contain the sound. She couldn’t help it! Eli just felt so bright, so fucking happy. And she knew it was because she had everything she wanted.

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