Page 14 of Bailey-Rose: The Complete Duet

Not willing to let her go just yet, I tugged her over to sit on my lap, side saddle, so she could still see the others. “So who gets to go next? I set the bar pretty high with my answers, so let’s see what these pack brothers of mine have.”

“I pick you,” she announced, pointing at Vili.

The man practically bounced in his seat, so excited to be chosen next. “Oh yah, I so happy to be picked next by our pretty lady. My name is Vili Rantala, and I from Numoland. Three years ago, my family decided to expand business to Preidon and put me in charge.”

Out of all my packmates, Vili was the one who was perfect for Bailey-Rose. He was like a living teddy bear full of joy, boundless energy, and could always make you smile. Vili was also the only one of us who didn’t have any siblings. Which made it even more impressive that his family sent him to another country to run this branch of their business, knowing he would be looking for a pack. I’ve heard him talk to his parents on the phone or through video calls, but for one reason or another, we were never introduced to them.

“What kind of business?” Bailey-Rose asked as she adjusted herself in my lap to rest her head on my shoulder.

Was she tired? Were all of us being here too much for her? Should I make her rest? I had to snap myself out of the spiral I was clearly going down as my Alpha nature demanded I ensure our Omega was taken care of. I had to remind myself that Bailey-Rose has been living with this condition her whole life, so if she needed a break or to rest, she would tell us, right?

“We are in business of jewelry,” Vili answered. “My family owns Silveda, a high-end jewelry company that specializes in one-of-a-kind pieces. You see, we make all things by hand, no automated machines do work which means no two pieces are same. It is one thing I love about my job, gifting people with something that make them feel special.”

“Ooh… so that’s why you asked about my monitor,” Bailey-Rose commented, connecting the dots.

“Yes, I make you something special,” Vili assured her. “No pretty lady of mine can wear something so hideous. It would make me cry to see it on you.”

I was a little worried she might take offense to that, but Bailey-Rose just smiled. “I would love to wear something you’ve made for me.”

Vili’s smile was blinding at her answer as he adjusted his glasses. “It be perfect, just like you.”

“Well, that covers the things he likes and doesn’t like, wouldn’t you say?” Warrick pointed out, making me roll my eyes, knowing he was hoping she would ask him next.

If Vili was a teddy bear, then Warrick was a damn puppy. He loved making everyone laugh and liked to be around people all the time, soaking up the energy they gave off. Warrick was the life of the party, unlike me who enjoyed a quiet night with the guys. Anytime something new and interesting popped up in the city, he’d try to drag us along to experience it with him. I’ll hand it to the man, though, he knew how to run a business and made a damn fine cocktail.

“Let me guess, you have your answers all thought out and want to go next,” I teased, my voice dry with sarcasm.

I snorted as Warrick shot dual finger guns at me with a wink. “You guessed it. So what do you think, little cherub, can I go next?”

I cringed at the pet name, but it made Bailey-Rose laugh, so I didn’t make fun of him for it. However, if he thought that was going to stick, I was going to have to nip that in the bud.

“Cherub?” Ulysses commented with a raised brow.

Warrick scowled. “I was testing it out, okay. Sometimes you don’t know how something is going to sound until you say it out loud. Clearly, that wasn’t the right choice, but we didn’t know until I tried.”

“Whatever you say,” Ulysses mumbled.

I knew Ulysses was a good guy and a perfect fit to our pack, but there was something to be said for the fact the rest of us have spent way more time together. The man had no idea the strange rabbit holes that Warrick would take us down. Some of them had us laughing so hard we nearly pissed ourselves, while others made me wonder how hard it would be to smother Warrick in his sleep.

“Guys, enough,” Yun-Sun said in his soft, commanding voice. “Sweetheart, who would you like to hear from next? This is your moment to get to know us how you feel most comfortable.”

In our world, there are Alphas and then there are Alphas. In our pack, we had two of the latter—Ulysses and Yun-Sun. While Ulysses had a commanding presence that made you stand at attention, Yun-Sun was one of those Alphas who didn’t need to do or say a thing to let you know they were in charge. Yet when he opened his mouth to speak his mind about something, everyone shut up and listened.

Bailey-Rose tilted her head back and looked at me. “Who should I pick? I don’t want either of them to be offended that they were last.”

Why in the hell she was asking me, I had no fucking clue. Sure, I could be a blunt glass-half-empty kind of guy who always had the snappy comeback, but I wasn’t the person you went to for people advice.

“No matter what you do, someone will always go last. It’s just the nature of taking turns doing something,” I reasoned. “None of us will think badly of you no matter which of them you pick to share next.”

She frowned at my answer, making a little wrinkle appear on her forehead. I worried that my answer upset her, so my solution was to press a kiss to that damn adorable wrinkle in hopes it would distract her. When I looked at her face pulling back from the kiss, her eyes were wide, and her cheeks were redder than they had been a moment ago. My gaze fell to her lips as she nibbled on the lower one, making me wonder what it would be like to kiss those glossy lips.

One of the guys cleared their throat loudly, snapping me out of that thought process. I had to shift how I was sitting slightly to hide the boner that sprung to life at the mere notion of kissing her. I sheepishly grinned at the others, knowing they guessed where my thoughts had been heading. Fuck, Warrick was right—she was so goddamn cute.

“Um, right,” Bailey-Rose stammered. “Warrick, why don’t you go next since you’re so excited.”

“Yesss,” Warrick cheered, nearly jumping out of his seat. “Ah, sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to get that excited. I promise I’m not so volatile, but when something monumental comes along, I have a hard time keeping my shit together.” Warrick flinched at the swear word, quickly looking between Bailey-Rose and Ulysses. “Oh fuck, I didn’t mean to swear. Goddammit, I did it again.”

Warrick had gone from manic, playful puppy to sad, dejected puppy in all of five seconds. Bailey-Rose pulled out of my arms and sat next to Warrick, who looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and forget he existed.