“Just us,” he said slowly, as if he was testing the idea out loud.
I nodded again before signing,you like control, I like pancakes.
His smile widened into the warmest one I’d ever seen from him. “All right, a date.”
Leaning in once more, I kissed his cheek to say thank you.
I wasn’t sure how to ask about the omega on his screen, or to tell him about the twins, but all that could wait. The first step was breakfast, and everything else would follow.
Chapter 13
Vinny
Violet was a lot of things. Mouthy? Sure. Spoiled? Absolutely. The biggest cause of headaches in my entire life? One hundred and ten percent. But, amongst all of those almost irredeemable qualities, Violet was soft.
Not the kind of soft people talked about when bad shit happened and someone managed not to turn cruel because of it. Her gentleness didn’t come from survival, or spite, and it didn’t even seem like she had to learn to do it.
Nope, Violet washonest-to-Godsoft. The kind that made you pause and reassess everything you thought you knew about a person. The kind that made you wonder if she was an angel or just plain stupid.
And I knew it wasn’t the latter. Stupid people didn’t pick up ASL in six weeks.
The rest of the house could mostly stumble through it after the lessons, mostly when it came to deciphering Violet. But, when she signed, her fingers flicked as if she’d been doing it her whole life.
And, while everyone else would take a moment for their brains to buffer, I had practice signing. My first Omega had been deaf, and I’d learned ASL just to impress her. Thank God for that.
Because it meant I caught every little thing Violet did. Like how she knew more conversational signs, but stuck with the formal ones, or how she’d rather finger spell words than have her sentences appear improper by English standards.
And, once I noticed that, slowly I noticed everything else.
The way she tip-toed through the house so as not to disturb it. The way she’d help Benji clean up after being told a million times that it wasn’t her job. How she always knocked on doorframes before entering a room, even when it was technically her home too.
She was gentle with Skye in a way that went above a normal omega-omega bond. She’d swap seats with him so he didn’t have to sit near a draft, or get him a snack before he even knew he was hungry.
She thanked Benji every time he cooked, even though she rarely ever ate. Although, she’d put away her body weight in pancakes and eggs at the diner during our date.
And, I wasn’t going to stop her. She was pregnant for God’s sake, her finally eating was a prayer answered, one I’d never thought I could ask for.
Now, standing in the aisle of a baby boutique—something I didn’t think existed until now, there was a very real, very noticeable curve to her middle. Not enough to scream pregnant to strangers, but enough that the fabric of her dress rounded instead of falling straight.
And, I was a little obsessed with it. In my defense, her scent was strong today, leaving the world to smell like the best version of a bakery. Sugar and vanilla and something unmistakably hers. It had my protective instincts kicking into overdrive, every part of me hyperaware of her presence.
So I kept touching her.
Nothing inappropriate, I could grab her tits and finger her when we got home. Instead, I’d touch the small of her back, or brush my fingers against her side, or, if I was feeling particularly bold, I’d rest my hand on her bump. Loving on the baby I’d put there, grounding myself in the fact that this was real and happening and mine.
Violet was not having it.
Every time I touched her, she shrugged me off with a huff and signedQuit itwithout even looking at me, clearly offended by my lack of self-control.
I smirked, completely unrepentant.
“You’re glowing,” I murmured, leaning in just enough to annoy her.
Violet shot me a look sharp enough to kill, then deliberately took a step away, only to wobble slightly and grab the edge of a display.
To her credit, she regained her balance on her own.
I am not glowing. It’s sweat, I am disgusting.
