Even a day and a half later, my “date” with Riley was the only thing I could think about.

I hadn’t kissed him.

But I’d wanted to.

The only thing that had stopped me was my baby.  How was that fair to Riley, to throw myself at him when I was only in this damn place because his brother had gotten me pregnant on accident?  

And I’d still come so close to kissing him that I’d stopped breathing for a moment.

…Twice.

The first time was when we were standing there in front of that store, the rest of the world feeling like it was in slow motion all around us.  For that instant, as I licked my lips and stared into Riley’s eyes, I’d been certain that if I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his, he wouldn’t pull away.  But then someone not paying attention had jostled me as they tried to move aside for a father carrying his daughter out of the store while she screamed her little lungs out in an impressive temper tantrum, shattering the moment.

Everything had gone back to normal after that.  Riley and I spent hours wandering around the outdoor mall, doing more window shopping than actual shopping.  I coaxed him into putting on a pair of antlers that sang and danced to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and almost died of laughter when he added the nose, too.  He convinced me to stop for a dessert of frozen yogurt and even though I thought it had to take an insane person to want to eat ice cream when it was forty degrees outside, we weren’t alone; the place was packed.  I purposefully didn’t tell him about the bit of raspberry topping stuck at the corner of his mouth for a while, because it gave me the perfect excuse to stare at his lips.  He laughed when I hummed along with every single Christmas song I heard as we wandered around, and he even hummed along with me once or twice when I sit down on a bench and rest for a few minutes.

And after a few hours, when the crowd of shoppers thinned and the stores began preparations to close, the two of us stood in front of the giant Christmas tree in the middle of the shopping center, just watching the lights flash in time with the music… and when I wrapped my hands around one of his arms and nuzzled close for warmth, he didn’t pull away.

That was almost-kiss moment number two.

Not even the way his mother’s face contorted like she’d taken a bite of a particularly sour lemon when Riley and I walked back into the house together could spoil the evening.  I was sad to be back there, though; it almost felt like something was ending.  Ignoring his mother’s pointed comment that Riley was strolling into the mansion when supposed to be sick in bed, the two of us said goodnight and parted to head for our respective rooms… and for the first time in a long time, I slept well.

Probably because I dreamed about a pair of hazel eyes and a gentle, warm voice that wrapped around me better than any blanket.

I hadn’t seen much of Riley the next day; Victoria was hosting a party for her friends, and she didn’t even beat around the bush in saying that she didn’t want me there, since the family “wasn’t ready” to tell everyone about my—and Ethan’s—child.  I hadn’t had the will to argue, so I stayed in my room to nap and play around on my phone while she paraded her sons around in front of the party-goers.  And, as Riley dryly informed me when we bumped into each other for a moment in the hallway, paraded her sons in front of all the unattached omega children his mother had asked her guests to bring.

I didn’t like that idea.

I didn’t like it at all.

Although I didn’t appreciate being bluntly told to hide where no one would see me, I had to admit that it was probably a bad idea to casually stroll into the party and announce to a group of complete strangers that I was having a child with one of Victoria’s children while falling in love with the other.  Though that would be quite the way to chase off anyone else who had eyes for Riley, while also making sure it was a party none of them would ever forget…

So here I was, the day before Christmas Eve, in a house with two people who didn’t want me there, a baby daddy who would barely look at me, and an alpha who made me feel a way I never had about his brother—or about anyone else, for that matter.

In other words, I had no idea what the fuck I was going to do.

“There you are,” a deep voice said.

I looked up from my phone and raised my eyebrows when I saw Riley’s father standing in the entrance to the dining room, frowning at me.  No one else was around; Victoria was off shopping with Ethan, and I had no idea where Riley was.  I’d been quietly sitting by myself at the dining room table, having a cup of tea and pretending it was espresso as I scrolled through my social media feed and watched the heavy snowfall outside.  Oh, how I missed coffee…

But right now, as I stared into Preston Denholm’s cold green eyes that were so like Ethan’s, it was not the time to be thinking about coffee.

“Yes?” I asked awkwardly.  Victoria waffled between pretending I didn’t exist and watching me out of the corner of her eye with distaste as though I was an obnoxious weed that needed to be pruned, but I’d really seen very little of Preston overall.  That was fine by me; it was clear enough from the rough introduction we’d had that he was not pleased that his son was having a child with me.

“I need to speak with you.  This way, if you please.”  Preston turned on his heel as soon as he finished speaking, making it clear that his request wasn’t really a request at all. 

I struggled to my feet and hurried to follow him, biting back a hundred questions.  Preston glanced momentarily over his shoulder at me, but other than that gave little indication as to what this was about. 

Somehow, I didn’t think it was going to be a friendly chat over tea and crumpets.

How right I was.  Riley’s father led me into what I presumed to be his office and waved me toward a seat.  I settled down in the maroon leather wing-backed chair and gripped at the arms, hoping my sudden flutter of nerves didn’t show on my face.  Preston took a seat on the other side of a rich mahogany desk that looked like it would take an army of bodybuilders to lift, laced his fingers together, and stared at me.

I stared back.

There was a grandfather clock on one wall that matched the mahogany desk perfectly, and each tick as the pendulum swung back and forth sounded like a rifle shot in the silence of the room.  I licked my dry lips, ran my hands over my belly, held Preston’s gaze as long as I could until the silence grew so oppressive that a tiny part of me wanted to scream just to break it.  

“You… wanted to talk to me?” I said at last, feeling like I’d lost a competition I didn’t even want to be in by being the one to speak first.

Preston nodded once.  “Give me a number,” he said smoothly.

I stared at him, confused.  “A… number?”

“Yes: the number it will take to make this all go away.”

Oh.

That sort of number.

“You mean, make me go away,” I said carefully.

Preston’s smile was brief, perfunctory, and utterly devoid of warmth.  “Indeed.  That is why you’ve come, is it not?  So, let us dispense with the niceties and get down to the brass tacks, shall we?  Tell me the number it will take to remove you from Ethan’s life.  Permanently.  A formal filing for child support will open this family to undesirable rumors… but I think the two of us can come to an agreement, don’t you?”

“What makes you think I’ve come here for money?” I demanded, irritation piqued by his insinuation.  I would be lying if I said that knowing that Ethan and his family were well-off wasn’t a huge relief, because it meant we wouldn’t have to struggle as hard to provide the sort of life for our child that she deserved.  But that didn’t mean I liked sitting here hearing Preston imply that money was the only reason I was here and that all it would take to get me to leave was a check.

“Trapping an alpha with an ‘accidental’ child is quite creative, but you’re not the first greedy omega to employ such a method, I’m afraid,” Preston said, as calmly as if we were discussing the color of the paint on the walls.  “I would ask when you first set your sights on my son, but I suppose it doesn’t matter; it’s done now.  I am surprised—I would have expected Riley to fall for this sort of scheme, not Ethan.”

I stared at Preston, head and heart pounding, stunned by his casual accusation that I had deliberately gotten pregnant to score a payday from Ethan.  “That’s… that’s not what happened,” I protested, and hated how small my voice sounded in my ears when I spoke.

“Oh?” Preston asked coolly.  “Then you’re going to tell me that Ethan is excited for this child, that the two of you are in love?”

The pounding in my head redoubled.  I couldn’t answer that and Preston obviously knew it. He sat back in his chair with a tiny, self-satisfied smirk.  I licked my lips again, struggling to come up with something to say.

Preston beat me to it.  “Ethan has a very bright future ahead of him, as I’m sure you’ll agree,” he said, searching my eyes.  “And I’m also sure you’ll agree that being saddled with an unbonded omega and a baby will severely hinder him.  Ethan will be taking my place on the board someday, and it is imperative that he be matched with someone of… equal status.”

“That’s not—”

Ethan’s father fixed me with a level look.  “Don’t you want what’s best for your child?” he asked, the veneer of politeness disappearing from his voice now.

I saw red.  Another nasty implication, another cruel suggestion: if you truly want what’s best for your child, you’ll take the money and disappear.

“Well, so do I,” Preston continued, oblivious to the fury mounting inside me.  

“Does Ethan know you’re doing this?” I demanded.

The patronizing pity in Preston’s face at my question finally sent me over the edge.  Blood roaring in my ears, I shot to my feet—or tried to, as it was no easy feat when one was eight months pregnant.  The flush of my cheeks and the tears pricking at my eyes only humiliated me more than I already was, and I wanted to scream at Preston.  Ethan’s future?  What about my future?  Just because I didn’t have a father on the board of some fancy company didn’t mean that getting pregnant unexpectedly hadn’t thrown my entire world into chaos, too.  I’d quit my job to come here and try to fix things between me and Ethan for the sake of our child, and for what?  To have to sit here and listen to my child’s grandfather tell me that I wasn’t good enough for his son and that he wanted to hand me money to disappear forever?

“I don’t want your fucking money,” I snarled, and if I’d been holding anything in my hands, I would have thrown it across that damn mahogany desk at him.  Hurt, angry, I spun on my heel and headed for the door.  Preston’s long-suffering sigh as I waddled away only made me feel worse, and I had to choke back a sob as I shoved open the door and headed out into the hallway.

Half blinded by furious tears, I bumped into someone right outside Preston’s office.  I didn’t bother looking up or apologizing.  I had to get away from here; if I had to be around Ethan’s family one second longer, I was going to scream. 

“Hey,” someone said behind me.  Riley.  The only one in this godforsaken family who seemed to care about me at all.  Some dim part of my mind registered the worry on his face, but I didn’t stop—I couldn’t.

“Hey,” Riley repeated, and this time he wrapped a warm hand around my upper arm as he tried to get my attention, gently tugging me to a stop.  “Shit, Chris, what’s wrong?  Are you hurt?”

I shook my head, desperately blinking away tears that were an instant away from falling because I didn’t know if they would stop once they began.

“Come here and sit down,” Riley ordered gently.  He pulled me down onto a backless chaise in the mansion’s foyer and I didn’t hesitate for a second to press my face into his chest when he wrapped his arms around me.  I balled my fists in Riley’s sweater, not certain whether I wanted to cry or yell or hit something.  Very possibly all three at once.

What Preston had said to me hurt. I tried to tell myself that I knew the truth, even if he didn’t, but the words still cut.  Was this what they’d thought of me all along?

“Hey,” Riley said gently.  He cupped my face in one broad hand and tilted it up so he could look at me.  “Talk to me.  You can’t keep all this bottled up inside.”

“I don’t…” I started to say, then trailed off.  I didn’t want to talk about it, but maybe Riley was right.  Maybe I needed to, because this was tearing me up inside.  And right now, Riley was the only thing preventing me from dissolving into a complete meltdown.

“You do,” Riley said, mistaking what I’d tried to say for denial.  “You’ve been miserable since you got here, Chris.  I admire that you’re willing to take on the whole world alone, but it’s wearing on you; anyone can see that.  And you’re not alone.”  He reached between us to lay his other hand on my belly.

My eyes filled with tears all over again as I stared at him.  I didn’t “take on the whole world” alone because I wanted to… but as he held me, I realized Riley knew that.  He saw the loneliness I tried to hide even though it was written in neon on my heart… and, knowing his family, I couldn’t help but wonder if he saw it so easily because he felt alone, too.

“I knew, you know,” I blurted.

“Knew what?”

I took a shuddering breath.  What would Riley think of me when I told him the truth? I didn’t know, but the words bubbled up, unstoppable.  “When Ethan said we should come up here for the holidays… I knew it wasn’t because he’d had a sudden change of heart.  I knew he didn’t want me to meet his parents because we were in love. He wanted them to help get rid of me.”

Riley hesitated for just a moment before asking his next question, as though he wasn’t certain he wanted to hear the answer.  “Are you in love with him?”

“No,” I whispered raggedly, looking away.  I wasn’t sure what reaction I would have hoped for from Riley when I admitted out loud that I wasn’t in love with his brother, but I knew that I didn’t have the strength to see it, whatever it was—not right now, not when I was hanging on by a thread.

“Oh,” he said.  Another pause.  “Then… why are you here?”

“Because I do want what’s best for my baby,” I snapped, whipping my head around to glare at him.  I softened after a moment, though; his question had touched nerves that Preston had already rubbed raw, but Riley didn’t know that.  

His hazel eyes widened when I was short with him.  “Sorry,” he said quickly.  “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know.  But your father did.”

Riley’s brows pulled together as his lips turned down into a frown.  “I thought that was the room you’d walked out of.  What the fuck did he say to you?”

I swallowed, tears brimming again—and this time, they were because of how Riley had immediately jumped to my defense, even against his own father.  “That I got pregnant on purpose—to get money out of Ethan.  That if I wanted to do what was best for my child, it was to take the money he offered me and vanish.  That I’m not good enough for this family.”

A quiet hiss escaped Riley’s mouth.  When I looked at him, his eyes were narrowed as he glared down the hallway toward his father’s office.   He seemed to vibrate in place, as though the only thing keeping him from leaping to his feet and charging down there was my presence.

My heart thudded in my chest, and it had nothing to do with how upset I was over all this.

“I didn’t, you know,” I said as it suddenly became imperative that I said this to him right here, right now.  I needed him to know, because it wasn’t his brother who made my heart thud like a drum in my chest; it wasn’t his brother I saw beside me when I closed my eyes and dreamed of the future.  “I didn’t get pregnant for—for money.  Or for love.  It was an accident.”

Something in my tone must have worried him.  When Riley looked down at me, all traces of anger were gone, replaced by a gentleness that sent butterflies dancing through my stomach.  “I know,” he said.  “I didn’t think that, not even for a second.”

I want to kiss you. The words rang in my mind, only I didn’t quite have the courage to admit them out loud.  I settled for leaning a little bit closer, gaze locked with his.  

Riley cupped my cheek with one hand again.  He took one of my hands with his other, raised it to his lips for a kiss so delicate I almost didn’t feel the brush of his lips, threaded his fingers through mine.  “Forget whatever he said to you,” Riley said, voice thick with emotion.  “You are every bit good enough, even if they’re all too blind to see it.  I would be proud to have you as my omega.”

Oh. Oh.

“Riley,” I breathed, eyes wide.  Was he saying what I thought he was? I searched his face, looking for some sign that he was leading me on or just trying to be nice… but all I saw was a single thing.

Love.

“Riley, I—”

The front door of the mansion swung open and Victoria came bustling in, shopping bags in each hand.  “Ah, dear, there you—”  She stopped cold as she realized that I was sitting there with Riley, eyes narrowing… and she wasn’t the only one who saw.