Page 62 of All Packed Up

Mirth in her eyes, she searched out Nic to share the moment with him and she found him stopped and staring at the two alphas ribbing Tate from the porch. However, she hadn’t expected to discover sadness in his amber eyes. The twist to his lips made her think of longing, and she followed his gaze to Griffith, who barked out a laugh and scrubbed a hand through Tate’s hair messily.

Warmth flared through her, burning into her cheeks and tightening her stomach.

That was not the most appropriate reaction. Hiding her hot cheeks and steamier thoughts, she buried into her coat and returned to her task.

This is definitely the heat’s fault.

Nic and Griffith were exes, so the idea of them… well, together wasn’t that shocking.

But it was completely inappropriate and inconsiderate of Nic’s feelings. Which clearly still lingered, just like his gaze as he stole another piece of lumber and looked away.

The sun was beginning to slip lower and lower into the sky, and Wendy glanced doubtfully at the wood Nic was arranging. It was going to get dark soon, and even colder.

“Guys!” she gasped, an idea occurring to her. “Why don’t you assemble the bedframe inside the house? Then we won’t have to fight the light and no one will have to carry the whole thing up the stairs.”

Each one of them paused, turning to her with grins on their faces.

“That’s genius,” Nic yelled. “And thank the fucking skies, because I’m cold!” There was no hint of the slip of emotion she’d found earlier, tucked away behind a smile.

“Yeah, yeah,” Griffith said. “I guess now we gotta carry all this wood in though.”

“Someone’s jealous they didn’t have the best idea,” Arlo muttered to Wendy.

Griffith’s head shot in their direction so fast he’d surely given himself whiplash. The glare on his face was priceless, and Wendy couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of her.

By the time she composed herself, Nic was walking into the house with planks of wood balanced in his arms. “I’ll see you inside,” Nic said, and scurried into the house, clouds from his puffing breaths trailing behind him.

Wendy made her way over to the makeshift table that was the back of Griffith’s truck. He’d backed it in to make the wood transfer easier, and now it was like home base. They didn’t have that many more pieces to mark and cut. “I bet we can even finish cutting the wood for both beds tonight. Whether you guys want to put them both together tonight is up to you, but… we made good time!” she babbled.

Sue her, she was excited.

Wendy was a good girl, staying focused on her pencil strokes and most certainly not thinking about Griffith and Nic in the bedroom.

Actually, she was so focused on her measurements, she almost missed Nic’s return for more wood. Tate’s saw was shrill in the background, and Arlo took her piece away and she grabbed another. Griffith was pointing down to something in the pile of wood, and Nic was staring intently, listening closely to every word the alpha was saying. And the alpha in question had eyes only for Nic, staring at him while Nic was distracted.

Even as far away as she was, she recognized the emotion in his gaze as something no less than adoration.

The cold nipped at her cheeks, and she lowered her head back to the slab of wood, thoughts racing.

Clearly Nic and Griffith weren’t as over as they both thought they were.

Her stomach pitched south at the thought.

Oh, now we’re jealous, are we?

Wendy ignored her inner voice and tried to analyze her emotions, tried to separate them from her heat flare ups. The weirdly shaped pencil scraped across the square.

The pinch in her chest was genuine, not just her whiny omega coming out but…

Her gaze trailed back to Nic.

The realization hit her with the same shock as the ice-cold breeze did as its pace picked up.

Wendy wanted Nic. But Wendy… didn’t mind if Nic wanted Griffith?

That warmth stirred in her again and she cleared her throat.

Alrighty then.