I took the elevator up to Verity’s penthouse, nervous. It wasn’t necessarily that I thought she’d yell at me. Honestly, I deserved it.
Shit, I deserved to have plants thrown at me.
Probably more than that.
It was the idea that I disappointed her that unsettled me. It would be like disappointing our omega dad.
Would he be disappointed in me? I knew the alpha parents would be.
But then everything disappointed them.
The private elevator opened up into their living room, which I always thought was kind of weird.
“I’m here,” I called as I hung up my coat on the coat rack, and took off my boots. They had a shoes-off house.
“Glad you’re here,” Verity called from the kitchen.
A piano sat in the living room, which opened into the kitchen and dining room. Outside the kitchen was a beautiful view of the city.
“You brought me presents?” Mercy flew down the stairs. She had her own little area on the second floor of the penthouse.Honestly, she had a pretty sweet deal, living rent-free with practically zero expenses. I didn’t blame her for not moving out, even though she was eighteen and could afford her own place.
“Yeah, I have a lot of presents. I was hoping Verity could help me mail the things.” I had several big furniture store tote bags with all the dolls. I took out a bag which had both the shirt I’d gotten her and the needle point pillow I’d bought at a shop Fiona dragged us to.
“Arson? Oh, you mean crime brûlée, I love this.” Mercy laughed, holding it up.
“Did I get a present too?” My big sister Grace came over and gave me a huge hug. She was really, really short, like not even five-feet-tall.
“What are you doing here?” I figured it would just be Verity, maybe Mercy if she was free. I looked around to see if anybody else was lying in wait. Creed maybe?
But it was quiet. Verity’s hockey mates were probably already at the rink for the game. Carlos was in his boxers, making a smoothie to take with him, when I left.
Verity’s other mate was probably working; he worked a lot.
Grace looked up at me with her big blue eyes, blue eyes that were different from Dad’s. “Moral support.”
“Are any of your mates here?” I asked, surprised that she was alone. One of her mates was always with her. It might be nice to talk to Evan, since he worked for the Omega Center.
“We just came out for the day. Spencer had some meetings,” she brushed off.
Meetings, my ass. It was New Year’s Eve. He was the one who ran Compass BioTek, where I’d interned over the summer, and she and my brother Creed worked.
“You’re just along for the ride?” I teased.
“Well, and to go to the game. I have to meet these mates of yours,” Grace joked back as we went into the kitchen.
Verity was taking something out of the oven.
“I’ve got that, Princess,” AJ, who apparently had been in the kitchen the whole time, took a big pan from Verity and put it on the table, which had been set with breakfast.
It smelled amazing.
AJ looked over at me. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.” I had a cup of coffee and a pastry this morning, brought from a little coffee shop down the street. But I could use more. We were pretty hungover. Fucking shit, Saoirse could drink.
So could Dimitri.
When I woke up, the townhouse was already in full delivery mode, which included appliances being replaced in the kitchen, furniture being delivered, bathrooms remodeled, and rooms painted.
