Page 13 of Eddie

He’d shown up on time, at least. That was about the only thing he could claim credit for. Everything else had gone sideways the moment he’d arrived at the house and pulled out his phone to check if Matthias had texted him yet. He had.

Jenna snores. I’m pretty sure the people two rooms over could hear her. I haven’t slept this badly since we were kids and she went through a phase of crawling into my bed in the middle of the night.

Eddie had laughed at that and typed back something that probably didn’t make a whole lot of sense. It didn’t matter. Matthias had responded anyway.

That had set the tone for the entire morning. Matthias texted when he wasn’t driving, and Eddie checked his phone every chance he got, which was definitely more often than was probably safe on a construction site. He knew it, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

“You’re going to drop something on your foot,” Valentine said, appearing behind him without warning. He had that look on his face that meant he was amused and had no intention of letting Eddie forget about it any time soon. “Or someone else’s foot.”

“I’m not going to drop anything on anyone’s foot,” Eddie said. Although if he did, he’d try to make it Valentine’s.

“You almost dropped the hammer yesterday.”

“I almost dropped it on myself. That’s different.”

Valentine didn’t look convinced. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched Eddie with an arched brow. It was a little irritating. “Who is it? Matthias?”

Eddie didn’t answer immediately. He focused on what he was doing, which didn’t fool Valentine for a second.

“Nobody,” Eddie said.

“Right,” Valentine said. He clapped Eddie on the shoulder and walked away, clearly not believing him.

The thing was, Eddie wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed. No one would blame him for being moon-eyed when it came to his mate, least of all Valentine.

He checked his phone again.

Jenna wants to stop at every roadside attraction between here and Green Hill, and at the same time, she wants to be home as soon as possible. I’ve told her no twice. She’s currently not speaking to me, which is the best thing that’s happened all morning.

Eddie grinned and typed back, how long do you think that’ll last?

The answer came while he was trying to focus on work again. She lasted four minutes. New record.

Niall walked by, glanced at Eddie’s face, and stopped walking. He had the same look on his face that Valentine had earlier, except on Niall, it was a little sharper, less amused, and more like he recognized something in Eddie. Niall had been there not that long ago, distracted and a little dazed. He didn’t say anything, which Eddie appreciated. He just nodded once, slowly, and walked away.

That was the thing about working with men who were mated. They knew. They didn’t need to be told what was happening. They just looked at Eddie, and, for the most part, they left him alone with it because they remembered what it felt like.

Eddie had watched most of them meet their mate, and each time he had been happy for them. He wasn’t jealous, and even when it had seemed like it would never be his turn, he hadn’t resented them for it. He’d just waited.

He was tired of waiting, but luckily for him, it seemed like it was over.

He wanted what they had. Not just the mate or the bond, but everything that came with it. The person who texted him stupid things in the morning and made him laugh before he was fully awake. The person he thought about when he was supposed to be working. The person who made everything worth paying attention to.

His phone vibrated again.

She’s asleep. I have approximately one hour of peace before she wakes up and starts complaining again. I’m thinking of you.

Eddie stared at that last sentence for a moment. It was four words, but it still did something to his chest that he wasn’t sure how to describe. He typed back, good. I’m thinking about you too. Have been all morning.

And all of yesterday, but he didn’t add that.

He slid his phone into his pocket and tried to focus, but it was a losing battle, and he knew it. Everyone on site knew it. The sun was shining, and the house was noisy, and he was here in body only. His mind was somewhere on the road between wherever Matthias had spent the night and Green Hill, riding along in a truck with a man he barely knew but who already felt like he’d been waiting for his whole life.

“You’re useless today,” Valentine announced eventually. He was grinning. “Genuinely useless. I’ve seen you do more work with a broken hand.”

“I’m fine,” Eddie said.

“You’re not fine. You’re somewhere else entirely.” Valentine cocked his head. “When are you seeing him?”