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“Hey, no hogging our omega,” Hunter said, pulling my back to his chest and locking his arms around me.
“You should totally hog her,” Claire piped up, her curly hair wrapped up in a messy bun on top of her head. “All three of you should.”
“And let us watch,” Riley chimed in, the two of them turning together at the same time and high-fiving.
“I’m pretty sure the two of you put on enough of a show for the whole town,” Jack said, giving the two best friends a look as he walked out of the bedroom with another box in his arms.
“I don’t know what you’re referring to Halston,” Riley said, turning his head up as he narrowed his eyes.
“Hey now,” Jack said, setting his box down and holding his hands up in surrender. “I’m just saying half the town has bets on when the two of you will realize you’re meant for each other.”
Claire rolled her eyes before bumping her shoulder against Riley’s.
“Of course we’re meant for each other,” she said. “I’m pretty sure we realized that in middle school.”
“Exactly.” Riley shot her an adoring look, but I didn’t miss the slight downturn of his lips when he looked away. “So what do we have left? I was promised pizza and beer in return for my fabulous muscles. Now that I’m a partner I should definitely be getting paid accordingly.”
After all of Riley’s hard work, and the fact that he was basically running the entire crop and production side on his own, I thought it only fitting that I make him a partner at Cedarwick’s. There was no way in hell that I could do it without him. Especially, since I had a lot on my plate itself.
Not only would I be partnering with Holiday Hollow on the hands on community space at the orchard, but I would also be helping the locals with their own business and marketing needs. To top it all off, in conjunction with Claire and one of the firms I’d made a counter offer to, Cedarwick goods and products would be available to more than just our little town.
I wouldn’t be making them myself, a small relief, and we agreed to start out on a small scale to make sure quality control was kept in check. Either way, it was an exciting step forward.
Optimistic people always say that you can have it all if you want it enough. I liked to think of myself as a realist. The fact that I was able to stay in Holiday Hollow, with my pack, and still achieve my dreams that I worked so hard for felt surreal at times.
A wave of love and reassurance flowed down the bond, Hunter’s arms tightening around me.
“Let’s head back home,” Boone said, as he looked over the now sparse apartment. “The fridge is stocked and we can pick up the food on the way.”
“Why don’t you ride with the guys so you can pick out what you want?” I offered Riley. “Give me and Claire a little time to gossip.”
Riley chuckled. “Whatever you say, boss.”
“Oh hush,” I said, shooing him out the door.
Jack gave me a knowing look, looking back and forth between the two. “Have fun, pumpkin.”
Claire surprisingly didn’t say anything at my offer, acting suspiciously docile as the guys made us promise that we’d drive the whole two miles safely.
I gave her all of one minute before I turned to her.
“Okay, what the hell is going on with you and Riley?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said unconvincingly.
“I know you’ve both been best friends since grade school, but the looks you’ve been giving each other lately are a whole lot more than friendly.”
She shook her head, her curls bouncing slightly. “There’s no way that Riley looks at me like that, you know he’s into guys.”
“And…”
“And what?” She asked exasperated as we finished loading the car and hopped in. I didn’t answer until we were driving down the road.
“Sexuality is fluid, Claire.”
“Okay so maybe he’s never explicitly said he’s only into guys but he sure as hell has never dated a woman before,” she reasoned. “Even if Ihypotheticallyhappened to be madly in love with the man, he’s had every opportunity to express interest if it was there.”
“Hypothetically?” I teased.
