“You can only fish for so many hours in the day.” Mal paused. “Wait, I can take you foraging too. Okay, you should forget about opening a law office with your dad and become my assistant.”
Cain gave him a considering look. “What kind of perks are there?”
“Good meals and free kisses.”
“I’m in.”
Mal grinned. “I didn’t say who the kisses would come from.”
Cain eyed the pet bed where Betty and Truffle slept. “I should know better than to jump into an ambiguous contract.”
Mal chuckled, a lightness spreading through him. Cain wantedhim. “Don’t worry. I’ll give you kisses too.”
Cain leaned forward, face solemn. “Are you alright with this.” He waved a hand between them. “With us? I don’t do things half-way Mal.”
“Are you alright with this?” Mal asked instead of answering. “Until last night, I wasn’t sure that you were even attracted to me. You’re in love with Jasper.”
“I’mnotin love with Jasper. I thought I could possibly fall in love with him.” Cain scowled. “There’s a difference.”
“Do you not think so anymore?” Mal tilted his head, curious about Cain’s use of past tense. Trust a lawyer to pick and choose his words carefully.
Cain’s lips curved upward, his eyes shining with humor. “I think my tastes have drastically changed over the course of a week. I’m more interested in eccentric omegas now. One who is still admirable but is also completely unique.”
Mal grinned and pointed to his chest. “I’ve been called eccentric. Okay, maybe I’ve been called weird, but same thing, right?”
Cain nodded. “They are basically synonyms of one another.”
“I’m sure someone out there admires me,” Mal continued. “My confidential informant really likes all the pranks I pull on the Wilsons. He’s nice enough that he will say he admires me if I ask him to.”
“I think more people admire you than you realize.” Cain took his hand. “Are you alright with this?” he asked again. “You said you were ready to move on, but this is fast.”
Mal couldn’t help but laugh. “My family’s motto is basically ‘fall fast and love completely.’”
“Now you really have to explain that.” Cain laughed. “Are you secretly a Wilson? That seems to be their family motto too.”
Mal winced and promptly ignored Cain’s question. “Let me tell you a story. It all began with my paternal grandparents, David Reed and Vivian Marks.”
“Should we get comfortable? Is this a long story?” Cain smiled, brown eyes sparkling.
“Absolutely.” Mal stood and sat on the sofa. He patted the cushion beside him. “Come along.”
Cain sat down and pulled Mal into his arms, adjusting them until they were comfortable.
Mal soaked up the warmth of the man’s embrace, savoring the smell of Cain and rain. “Grandpa was born out of wedlock in a time when society was not very accepting of things like that. His mom had a one-night stand with an omega that lived a few towns over. Her parents were horrified, especially when they found out the omega had already met and married an alpha. They refused to let their daughter ruin a proper relationship, so they convinced her to not even tell the omega she was pregnant.”
“That is not the warm and fuzzy story I thought was coming.” Cain kissed Mal’s cheek. “I’m sorry that happened.”
“Me too.” Mal sighed. “Shortly after he was born, Grandpa’s mom died. His grandparents raised him, and they never let him forget that he was evidence of his mom’ssin. Their words, not mine. It had a profound effect on Grandpa. He felt he had to act a certain way to keep his grandparents’ love, so he set out to be the perfect beta man.”
“What about his father? Did he ever reach out to him? Surely, he would be happier with him than with grandparents like that.”
Mal shook his head. “Nope. His dad had a husband and kids of his own. His grandparents didn’t want him messing that up, and he agreed with them.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“It really is.” Mal sighed. “Grandpa would have been a lot happier growing up if he had went to his father. But he didn’t. He dated the girls his grandparents introduced him to and ignored the fact that he was only attracted to other boys.”
“No,” Cain groaned. “That never works.”
