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CHAPTER 8
“Gage Larson, back awayfrom the oven.” Tibby’s stern voice filled the kitchen of Pack Russo’s Sausalito house as she wagged a wooden spoon at the giant man in question. Everyone was gathered together for Sunday night dinner, and Tibby had commandeered the kitchen to try out a new oven-roasted tri-tip roast recipe. Gage, the only other person who actually liked cooking amongst the two packs, had been having trouble letting the red-headed omega take over his kitchen despite the fact that it happened at least once a month.
“Sorry.” He rumbled, holding his hands up in surrender.
“Tibby, leave poor Gage alone.” Eloise said with a laugh as she swept into the kitchen holding a grumpy Vivienne who was fresh off of a nap. “Here Gage, hold your daughter, it’ll give your hands something to do.”
Gage willingly took the infant, his normally stony features softening as the baby grumbled her irritations to him, clearly unhappy about being woken up from her nap.
“The more he opens the oven to check the roast, the drier it will be.” Tibby sniffed, and put the spoon down on the counter. Matteo, ever the soother of Tibby’s ruffled feathers, twirled her away from the stove and made her laugh with one cheeky look.
I watched from my place at the breakfast nook, sipping on a glass of Pinot Grigio. The two packs had come together like one giant family. Gone were the days where issues abounded with Ric’s pack, and they were replaced by so much love and laughter that I didn’t know how to function sometimes.
I still remembered the days when they had tried to court omegas. I had been a teenager at the time and had watched several omegas come through and quickly leave, deflated by Leon’s attitude towards them. Now, I watched as Leon snagged Eloise’s hand and drew her in between his knees to rain kisses all over her face.
It was a joy to watch Tibby and Eloise with their packs and the way that they worked together so seamlessly, but it also brought a constant twinge of jealousy to watch.
Iwashappy that the two women who’d become my best friends had found their happiness. Especially since that happiness brought happiness to the men who’d taken over raising me. But the jealousy was the tiniest little kernel in the center of my chest that whispered ‘what about me?’
My mind immediately went to Rio and Adair, two alphas who were very clearly interested in me. I liked them, but I also held no hope that I’d be swept off of my feet by them. I’d never dated alphas before, and most alpha packs, while accepting a beta or two, tended to be holding out for their omega to come along and complete them. Besides, they only saw me at face-value, like everyone else around me.
Sweet, cheerful, ever optimistic Maddie.
Not selfish, cynical, Madeline who was a burden on everyone around her.
“A penny for your thundercloud thoughts?” Ric’s voice cut through my thoughts, and I blinked away at the dark edges of my self-hatred before smiling at him. I also made sure to loosen the death grip that I had on the wine glass in my hands.
“My thoughts cost more than a penny, Ric.” I teased with a grin, slipping back into my cheerful self again. This dinner was the first time that everyone had been together in a while, and they didn’t need my cynicism to ruin it.
Ric’s expression told me that he was onto my sudden shift in attitude, but luckily he chose not to push. I think he understood better than anyone how I felt, we’d grown up in the same place, after all. “Madeline, if you ever want to share those expensive thoughts with me...I’ll always be available to listen.”
The sudden seriousness of the conversation made my eyes burn, and I nodded, not making eye contact, and instead, choosing to stare into my almost empty glass of wine.
“Dinner’s ready!” Tibby crowed, effectively cutting our conversation off and saving me from embarrassing myself in front of everyone.
I reached out and gave Ric’s hand a squeeze before standing. “I’ll help you set the table.”
Twenty minutes later, we were all sitting around the long table that was now practically bursting with people. Platters of sliced tri-tip, bowls of sides, and a basket of bread were passed around the table until everyone’s plates were full. I was just biting into a juicy piece of meat when Eloise’s brown eyes found me and she smiled mischievously.
“So, Madeline, have you decided where to go on your date yet?”
I shot her a glare, but it didn’t have any heat behind it. I’d called her and Tibby as soon as Rio dropped me off at my apartment yesterday. Both of them knew about my crush on Rio, so they were super excited about the fact that he’d asked me on a date. They didn’t even ask specifics about how I’d run into him outside of my normal coffee run.
“No I haven’t yet, seeing as it was literally a day ago that I was asked out.” I replied primly as I popped a roasted potato in my mouth, and was immediately greeted by the distracting burst of garlic and butter that was so good that I nearly groaned. Damn, I wished that Tibby could cook for me all of the time.
“Date? What date?” Ric looked between Eloise and I with a frown.
“Madeline has a date with a cute guy who owns a coffee shop.” Tibby jumped in, her eyes sparkling as she joined in on Eloise’s teasing.
“Do we know who he is?” Asked Leon, who was shifting into protective older brother mode faster than you could say ‘pass the potatoes.’ Both Gage and Ric had similar expressions of immediate distrust on their faces. Of the three people that I’d dated, they had liked exactly zero of them.
I wanted to say no, but the three of them could sniff out a lie like bloodhounds on a hunt. “His name is Rio Malik and he owns Golden Gate Grind.”
Someone gasped at the other end of the table, and I realized that it was Aria, one of Tibby’s alphas. “He’s a part of Marcus’s pack.”
“The workaholic?” Tibby asked, sounding surprised. I had only told them Rio’s name yesterday, and I wasn’t sure if Tibby would have put two-and-two together or not.
Aria covered an inelegant snort with her hand. “Yes, honey, that’s the one.”
