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And let’s not get started on the way my body came alive when he touched my hand. It was electric, as if time stopped for a moment. He’s that magnetic.
“What?” Em asks. “I want to know. Why is omega pretty?”
Finn smiles at her. “First, thank you for the compliment. Second, anyone can be pretty or handsome or beautiful.”
Ben’s face turns sour. “Yeah. But people only care about omegas.”
“Benjamin!” I gasp.
“What? It’s true. Just look at Dad. You know it. I know it. It’s time Em knows it too.” He storms from the room, dropping the screw gun on the kitchen table on his way. He slams the door of the bathroom, and the shower turns on.
I know Benjamin is hurting. I’ve tried talking to him about it. And we’ve had some conversations. But it’s obviously not enough.
Emmaline tugs on my dress. “Omegas, good guys or bad guys?”
“Omegas are like anybody else.” I shake my head, frustrated at Ben for lashing out at his sister. She understands that her father doesn’t live with us and we’re not together. I’ve never given her a reason, not like that.
“I didn’t mean to cause a problem,” Finn says sheepishly.
“You didn’t. It’s a touchy subject around here, that’s all, and you walked into it. Thank you so much for childproofing the locks for me and teaching Ben. You were good with him.”
He gives me a dubious look, pointedly eyeing where Ben stomped off. “Clearly.”
The self-deprecating comment tugs my lips into a begrudging smile. At least this omega isn’t full of himself. He’s been kind when so many folks aren’t. “Really, I mean it. My ex left, as I’m sure you gathered. And Ben’s been taking it hard.”
Finn’s face is full of compassion, his green eyes catching mine. “I’m sorry he hurt you all. I wish I could fix it.”
He sounds so earnest, as though he genuinely means it, that his words pierce through all my safely tucked away hurt. My smile is fragile, but I manage. “I think you’re doing enough with the doors.”
“Not nearly,” he says softly. “But I’ll finish up at the front so I can get out of your hair.”
Emmaline asks for milk, a tell that she’s getting sleepy.
I nod to the omega. “I’m gonna put Em down but come find me when you’re done.”
“You got it. Good night, Emmaline.”
“Good night, pretty,” she says with a yawn.
I’m two for two with the out-of-pocket things my kids have said tonight. I want to die of mortification. Finn only laughs.
Twenty minutes later, I’ve got Emmaline in bed after a story, and I managed to get a grunted apology through the bathroom door from Ben before he hurried straight to bed.
I make my way to the front as Finn is finishing up.
“All set,” he says, showing me how to work the new addition to the door. “This will keep you safe all around.”
“Thank you again,” I say, watching as he bends to gather his tools. His bubbly butt is a work of art.
He catches me checking him out and smirks. “Want me to drop something?”
My cheeks heat, but his tone is playful, so I go for it. “Yes, and slower on the rise this time.”
He laughs, and it’s a fizzy pop of soda. “Like this?” With over-the-top movements, he pretends to drop something, then bends to pick it up seductively.
I know he’s being cheeky, but he’s so sensual that it feels like a personal stripper was delivered to my front porch. My blood heats, and my throat goes dry. I’m hit with a plume of his perfume, and the smell of it almost makes me moan. He’s leather, oak, and fresh air.
His eyes watch me as he rises, his voice deeper when he speaks. “How did I do?”
