Page 40 of Knot Your Kismet

The text message pops up on screen, and I force myself to turn away from where the SUV drove off. It was suspicious as fuck that Will had someone to pick him up so quickly after Ivy left him behind.

I jog my way back to the café bookstore and find Cali sitting across from the lawyer. Turning in her seat, Cali glances my way. She holds an iced coffee without drinking it, her hand slightly shaking.

I want nothing more than to pull her onto my lap and twine my fingers through hers until her tremors vanish, but I force myself only to sit next to her. She immediately leans into me as if she wants to melt into my very being. I’d allow her to if it were a possibility.

“Mr. Kismet, firstly, I want to apologize personally to you. I had no idea that Cali wasn’t on board with signing a bonding contract to allow her to return to Nevada with the Daines.” The lawyer huffs a breath and leans back. Her apology seems to lift the weight of the situation off her shoulders. “And secondly, Cali explained your situation to me. I’d like to assure you that Cali is my client. Not the Daines. I do not and will not ever work for them. My specialty is Omega Law. Usually, it’s ensuring omegas get the best out of their bonding contracts, but I also handle estate affairs. Yours is a bit complicated, but I think we can work things out so your pack can live happily and maintain leadership.”

“What about Cali’s stipulation, Miss…” I peek at Cali, knowing that her priority is what happens with her body and how it affects our future. It’s important to her, so it’s important to me.

“You can call me Georgia.” Georgia reaches into her bag and pulls out a business card. Across the top reads Galloway Law. “And as for an Omega Sterilization…it’s not unheard of. It could take a while and is quite costly, but with the right contracts and your cooperation, I think Cali can get what she desires.”

“I can?” Cali bounces on the loveseat, her scent exuding from her in a strong wave of excitement. The sweet orange blossom and vanilla scent wafts to my very core. I wish I could savor it forever.

“Yes. There are just a few stipulations to ensure the courts approve everything for the transfer of the estate.” Georgia turns her attention to me. “I’d also like to read over the contract between your father and Cali’s mother.”

“That can be arranged,” I say, gathering my thoughts. I have questions about everything, and I’m sure my brothers will too.

“This is amazing. Thank you! Let’s proceed.” Cali doesn’t give me the chance to ask anything else; her excitement transfers to me, igniting my own. I don’t think I’ve ever seen and felt—smelt—her truly this happy, and I don’t want to ruin it.

“Great, get that contract to me and the one of your estate, and I’ll start right away,” Georgia says, getting to her feet. She offers her hand to me. “This will be a pleasant change for me. Everything will work out in your favor.”

“Promise?” Cali asks, hugging my arm beside me.

Georgia remains smiling. “Yes, of course.”

Why do I have a bad feeling about this? It all seems easy. Too easy.

I guess we’ll find out.

I just hope it doesn’t destroy Cali’s happiness. If it does, it’ll ruin mine too.

“There are too many fucking priorities. Can’t they wait a few hours?” Jensen crosses his arms, leaning against the doorframe.

“Only one of us needs to stay with Cali. The faster we take care of everything, the quicker we can put this all behind us. You think I want to confront those rejects? You know I can’t do it alone, but I don’t care who goes with me. You guys can fight that out. You have five minutes.” Nolan doesn’t give Jensen a chance to argue and pushes past him to enter Cali’s suite. I catch sight of her sitting at the table with the contracts. She insisted on looking at things first.

I crack my knuckles. “You heard him. You’re going to have to fight me to stay here.” The last thing I want to do is to leave Cali after our meeting with her lawyer and the Daines. I’m not even sure she’s had enough time to process everything yet.

Jensen fists his hand and swings, aiming to the side of me. His knuckles graze the wall as he stops short. “I’m not fighting you because I’m better at protecting Nolan than you. I’m not going to let my desire to stay here with our girl put him at risk. You’re a poor hit.” Jensen glowers at me, thinking his words will make me argue. I know he’s trying to bruise my ego, but that kind of thing doesn’t bother me. I don’t need to get into a pissing match.

“I’m glad you think so highly of yourself. Don’t fuck up. I’ll take good care of Lis.” I smirk and open the suite door, leaving him standing in annoyance.

“Jensen volunteered to protect you, brother. He thinks you need it,” I say, letting the door close in Jensen’s face.

“Sure, that’s what he thinks.” Nolan kisses the top of Cali’s head, standing up straight to look at me. He rubs his hand over his hair, messing it up. “We won’t be long. Stay out of trouble. Don’t go anywhere until we get back.” He glances at Cali, making sure she knows that he’s telling her these things. She likes to occasionally wander off, and I know that Nolan doesn’t even want her leaving the house.

“Then hurry up and get back to me. I don’t like sitting around and doing nothing,” Cali responds. “Georgia needs these so we can proceed. I’m antsy.”

“I’ll do my best.” Nolan kisses her one more time and waltzes across the room. He bumps his fist to mine, leaning in. “Keep an eye on your phone. Don’t get too distracted, brother.”

I remain expressionless with his whispered words, my eyes training on Cali as she watches the two of us. Nolan exits her room, and the sound of his and Jensen’s voices cut off with the click of the door closing.

Cali exhales a deep breath, her shoulders slumping, and she rests her head on the desk, messing up the stack of papers. “Why am I bothering trying to read these? I don’t understand half of it. They don’t teach you this kind of legal language in omega schools. We should only know how to sweet talk an alpha.”

I run my fingers along her shoulders, pushing away her hair. I massage her muscles, getting her to loosen her stance. She has so many knots in her neck, probably from the stress of everything. I now find myself wanting to rub out every inch of her.

“I’m not good with contracts either, but maybe together we can sort it out. I’m a mechanic, not a businessman like my brothers.” I guide my hand to Cali’s clavicle and ease her upright, so I can get a view of the contracts before her.

“Honestly, I’m tired of reading them. The only thing I really care about is that my mom and Henry’s contract mentioned something interesting. I think my mom had a clause in there stating that she would not have to produce an heir with Henry. They were both allowed to get sterilizations. It’s probably because you guys were already next in line.” Cali groans and grabs my hands, adjusting them tighter so that I hug her. “Not like any of that matters now.”