“But I do. She’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. She’s perfect.”
I take a heavy sip of my beer. What’s the actual fucking deal with these twins that everyone, including my brother, are losing their shit? Though, this is very Graham of him. He’s easygoing. Everyone loves him, and he doesn’t take life too seriously.
“I just don’t want to see you, Greer, and Lain getting hurt at the end of this.”
“I say this with love. Worry about your own fucking self, Cal.”
There’s nothing to do but stare at my little brother for a moment until we both just start breaking out in laughter. He pulls out his phone, a dopey grin on his face and I already know without a doubt that our brother’s evening is about to be crashed.
“Be fucking nice,” Graham warns, and I don’t really have a retort.
This morning, talking to Maisie was actually kind of pleasant. I’ve been in her shoes. Today had to be hard and I won’t be the type of man who adds on to an emotional day.
He goes to order the women beers and I shake my head.
“Don’t think Maisie likes it very much,” I say, and he arches a dark brow at me, wisely not questioning why I know that. “It’s not as if I mean to know this information. She’s just been at Greer’s enough for me to notice what she drinks.”
“I didn’t say shit,” Graham replies, and I sigh. This is what I get for being considerate.
It doesn’t take but a few minutes for the two sisters to enter the hole in the wall we found ourselves in. The woman who’s stolen my pack mates away from me is petite and always put together, though her face looks downtrodden as they approach us.
Graham automatically takes Birdie into his arms, leaving Maisie no other place but to sit next to me.
“Wine?” I ask and Maisie nods, tossing her purse on the counter.
“Please. Red, nothing too dry.”
Birdie is already sipping her beer, telling Graham about her day when I come back with a Cairn o'Mohr Gorse Wine for Maisie.
“Thank you.” Her voice is soft, with a melodic tilt. She takes a sip of the wine and hums under her breath. I secretly takesatisfaction in choosing something she enjoys, not because I want to please her, I just like being right.
“How did today go?” It’s all I can think to ask; it’s better than sitting here awkwardly while Graham and Birdie nearly crawl into one another’s skin.
“Good. I mean, I don’t know if good is the word. It was hard, but it felt cathartic in its own way, too. Saying goodbye is never easy.”
“No. It’s not.”
“What about you? Did you guys decide to buy that cow?”
“There was no coo,” I say and Maisie’s face turns toward Graham and Birdie.
“What do you mean there’s no cow?”
My brother’s cheeks heat and he clears his throat. “Well, see, I needed a reason to explain why I needed to come along and why I needed help from Callum.”
“Don’t mind my brother,” I tell her, because, well, Graham will be Graham.
“I take it you didn’t know I was coming either?” she asks me as she brings the wineglass to her lips. The red wine slightly tints her top lip and she licks it off. “This is delicious.”
“No, I didn’t. It’s a?—”
I’m about to tell her about the wine, and what I would pair it with when, against all the fucking odds in the UK, my ex and her pack walk through the door.
Maisie’s gaze follows mine and I feel like I’m stuck in place trying to compute that Fiona is right here in front of me. She doesn’t look the same. In some ways, in others, she’s exactly the same. She hasn’t spotted me yet and I’m trying to figure out what the fuck to do. I can’t trust myself around Leo, her Alpha pack lead. The last thing I need is to make bail in Oban.
Maisie’s gaze must follow mine and she curses under her breath.
“It doesn’t mean anything, okay?” she says and I break my gaze from the woman who broke my heart to the Omega sitting next to me.
