Page 7 of The Rust in Her Hair

Pete bought in but didn't win much back. I hand him his twenty and he tries to wave it off.

"Take it, Pete."

"That’s real nice of you, Nico. But I didn’t⁠—"

"Take it."

And, thankfully, he does. I know how hard-up he’s been for extra work lately.

I walk them to the door. Tony claps me on the shoulder. Pete shakes my hand with that slightly-too-formal energy he always has around me at work, which I have given up trying to fix. The door closes behind them and the house gets quieter.

Adrian is already tidying up. Collecting glasses and pushing chairs back in.

The house is small enough that I can hear the dishwasher running in the kitchen from the front door. Two bedrooms, one bath, with the living room and the dining room running into each other without much of a wall between them. But it’s a solid build. I made sure before we bought it.

"Is Owen heading home?" Adrian asks as he turns the corner into the kitchen.

"Not yet. Another hour."

Mack stretches in his chair, his arms over his head, his shirt riding up, showing off his soft abs. "He too busy flirting with the billionaire bookworm?" He takes a long drink of his beer.

Renata looks up from her sketch book. "The what?"

Adrian comes back in with a dish towel slung over his shoulder. "There’s an omega that comes into the library multiple times a week." He stops next to Mack, wiping down the table. "She always stops to chat Owen up."

"Is Owen interested?" Renata shifts forward, sitting a little taller. "Are you guys looking to expand the pack?" A smile brightens her face. "Maybe start a family?"

She’s always wanted to be an aunt.

"Not with this omega," Mack snorts loudly.

"Oh." Renata’s brows raise. "So she’s an omega?"

"Yup." Mack reaches out and runs his hand up the back of Adrian's thigh before circling it around his waist.

Adrian leans into the contact for half a second before he looks at Renata. "It's an innocent crush. Owen mentions her sometimes, that's all. We tease him about it because he gets flustered."

"And what did you call her?" Renata asks.

"The billionaire bookworm," Mack says with a grin. He's so proud of that nickname.

Adrian shakes his head, biting back a smile as he folds the dish towel. He finds Mack the most charming when he's being ridiculous, which is exactly why Mack keeps doing it.

"Her name is Lyra," Adrian says.

"I thought it was Lisa." I tilt my head, trying to remember.

"It's Lyra, Nico."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure. Owen has said her name probably eight thousand times. It's Lyra," he says firmly.

"Lyra. Got it."

"You know." Renata's brows raise as she leans in. "They say omegas are actually more open to joining packs, despite what monogamists want people to believe. Maybe she’d⁠—"

"Her last name is Van Houten." Adrian cuts in, stopping Renata’s fantasy of a dozen nieces and nephews right in their tracks. "Her father owns the library where Owen works."