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Her cheeks were flame red. “So, about that…”
I briefly dipped towards her ear and whispered, “Do you want me to cover?”
She stiffened a bit more, and whispered back, “No, it's okay.”
Nicky took a deep breath and slipped her hand into Jasper's.
“I can go,” offered Jasper.
“No.” Nicky squared her shoulders and took a deep breath as she turned to her parents. Nerves rolled off her in waves. “Mom, the person you heard on the phone was Jasper. He had to dip out for a work emergency, so Gabe came with me instead.”
Her mother scrutinized the three of us. “I don’t understand. Which one of these men are you dating?”
“Both?”
I bit down my laugh. Obviously, I had some work to do to remove the question from that statement.
By this time both of her parents were looming in the entryway with us. Her father turned to me. “You’re okay with this?”
“More like she's okay with me and him,” I explained. “Jasper and I were already together when we met Nicky. He actually met her before me. I was just lucky she's an open-minded sweetheart.”
Nicky flushed an even darker red.
“Nice to meet you, Jasper!” Allie said, bursting onto the scene. “What's in the box?”
Her interruption gave Jasper a moment of recovery. “Oh, I brought scones. Apology ones since I missed most of the evening.”
“Fuck yeah. Any chocolate ones in there for me?”
My omega extracted his hand from Nicky's grip and lifted the box lid. “Double chocolate, actually. I grabbed a few off the rush order I completed, not that I was taking them from a client. I made extra. Just to be clear.”
“You’re the baker, then?” Luca asked. “Your cookies wereamazing! There’s no leftovers. I have to get your recipe.”
Jasper smiled softly. “Yeah, absolutely. It’s my grandmother’s recipe.”
“Luca,” Allie said, nudging him. “Go grab another chair. I’m ready for dessert after my dessert.”
Nicky's parents still looked a little unsure, but I figured they were both too polite to prevent Jasper from coming inside. A good thing, too, because I was certainly not going to tolerate them being rude to my omega, and I didn’t want things to be ruined with Nicky because of her parents. We would definitely have to ease them into the whole pack idea.
“Come on, babe,” I said to Jasper, kissing his cheek. “You can’t woo anyone with your wonderful baking while standing in the doorway.”
I could see the gears turning in Nicky's father's head. He must’ve decided on a favourable outcome because his next question was, “Peach, raspberry, or lime for your Italian soda, Jasper?”
Nicky let out a relieved breath, her shoulders dropping a fraction. Tension slid off me at Mr. Marino’s quiet acceptance.
“Raspberry sounds amazing,” said Jasper. “Thank you.”
25
NICKY
“Comehere.”
I slipped into Gabe's arms in my parent’s driveway, angled out of the line of sight of the bay window.
“You too, Jasper.”
Jasper pressed up against my back, sandwiching me between the two of them.
