Ty woke up at six the morning after his wedding. He was sore, in a good way. It was the kind of sore he tended to get when he pushed himself a little harder at the gym. It had been a very long time since he’d had sex at all, and even longer since he’d so thoroughly enjoyed it.

What kind of a person was he that he enjoyed sex with some guy he didn’t even know?

For a moment, he thought about calling in sick. He’d never done that before, and he figured he had a few weeks of sick time accrued. At the same time, he’d promised Spada he’d be there. He’d even brought up the intake meeting and the Delaney estate meeting. And there was no way Ty was going to miss the Delaney estate meeting. That was a mess and no mistake. Someone’s head was going to roll over Alden Delaney’s estate, and Ty wanted to watch it happen. He’d gone on record about the guy’s shady dealings, several times.

Sometimes it was nice to be proven right.

Besides, if he called in, everyone would assume he was at home sleeping in with his new husband. If Ty was actually at home sleeping in with his new husband, it would be one thing. As it was, he would just be sitting at home crying, and Ty refused to be the kind of guy who sat home and cried.

He snarled and threw on some workout clothes. He headed downstairs and hit his building’s workout room. Half an hour on the treadmill later, he still felt like sobbing, but he could at least focus on putting one foot in front of the other. He was doing what he had to do, damn it. And maybe, just maybe, there was already a baby deep in his belly to show for it. He could release poor Carter from his contract early, and they’d never have to do that again.

Not that Ty would necessarily mind having sex with Carter again. As Ty washed up and got ready for his day, he had to admit that truth about himself. Objectively speaking, the sex had been good. He didn’t even hate Carter. With the exception of the Hellion Club connection, he seemed like a nice enough guy. Under other circumstances, he wouldn’t mind talking to him, getting to know him a little better, maybe exploring the little bit of attraction he already felt for him.

It wasn’t going to happen, though. For one thing, Carter would be leaving soon. He was a baseball player, or whatever sport it was that had people running off to Florida in February. He’d be gone until April at least, and then gone more often than not until October. And the firm handled enough high profile divorce cases to know how it was. He’d have a different guy in every town, nothing to hold his interest.

Lord knew Carter’s friend didn’t think he should have been there in the first place. It was one thing to be a single omega at thirty-one and have to pay someone to marry you. It was something else to have another person, a complete stranger, point out that you were a single, over-the-hill omega who had to pay someone to marry you.

He turned his thoughts away from that. He wasn’t going to have to see the dreadful Belmonte again. With any luck, he was already pregnant. He’d pay Carter off, and he’d be able to forget that any of this had ever happened.

He got dressed and headed out, travel mug in hand. He walked to his office.

He loved that he could walk to work. It was a huge privilege, and he understood that. When the baby came, if the nanny needed something, he could just run right out the door and be home and back in minutes. If he needed to be home to meet a school bus or something, he could do that too. It would be perfect.

The only people in the office when he got there were two first-year associates. He greeted them with a smile, because even if his life was sad and pathetic and a cautionary tale he didn’t need to bring everyone else’s day down too. One of those first-years, a tiny redhead by the name of Sophia MacCrum, had been getting here early and leaving late every day since she started. He made a mental note to sit down with her and have a chat about goals outside of work. Some things were worth it, some things were not, but it was important to know all of the risks before going too far down a path.

He spent his first hour drinking coffee, although just to be on the safe side he mixed his regular strength coffee with decaf. It was vile, and he hated it, but it was best for the baby. It would be a minimum of two weeks before he knew if he’d caught, but he wanted to do everything right to make his body safe and inviting for a fetus.

Years ago, a school counselor had told him he had “obsessive tendencies” that he should probably keep an eye on. As he carefully mixed his coffee with decaf for the fourth time before heading into the intake meeting, he wondered if she hadn’t had a point. Maybe while he was on family leave he’d look into it.

He went through the intake meeting, and he spent the time between that meeting and the one at noon over the Delaney estate calling clients and reviewing their cases with them. The Delaney meeting went well, except for the fact that he wound up getting stuck with the wretched case. The firm’s managing partner, Madison Clarke V, would take no other suggestions.

“Cunningham’s the only one who noticed something was up with the old man, and he turned out to be as dirty as they come. We’re in the business of defending everyone, but we have to have all of the information. The bastard was even lying to us. Cunningham’s the only one who got suspicious. He gets the case, and that’s final.”

Ty would have been more gratified by the nod if he wasn’t expecting to have to go out on family leave halfway through the process, but he smiled and faked it anyway. It was a prestigious appointment, restoring the firm’s honor in a way. He’d have to find a way to pull it off.

After the meeting, he retreated to his office to review the estate records. The estate had just been frozen by federal authorities due to Alden’s suspected crimes. The heir, Solomon Delaney, had piles of money of his own and didn’t need to access it, so Ty had little to do on that front. He called Sol to offer his condolences and to check in.

Sol—who was apparently a friend of Keegan’s from the Hellions—asked for a meeting at his new place up in the Bronx, but he was otherwise civil and cooperative. He said he wanted his fiancé to be part of the discussion, and Ty guessed he could understand that. It was nice that the whole true love thing existed for some people.

He set an appointment for the next day at six, which seemed like a reasonable time for a man of Delaney’s position to be free, and turned to his next task. That was when his phone buzzed. He picked it up and found a text from an unknown number. You free for dinner tonight?

Ty blinked at it for a minute. Who would possibly want to grab dinner with him? Was it a wrong number? He opened the message, though, and saw it was a number he’d texted last night. Late last night.

Oh. It must be Carter.

What time? Could he actually make himself face Carter again, after being so wanton and desperate last night? He’d barely been able to force himself to leave the house today, after everything.

Whatever time works 4u.

Ty frowned at his phone. It took him a few seconds to puzzle out “4u.” When he got it, he groaned. He hadn’t ever gotten the hang of text shorthand, and he never would. What was the right answer here? He should stay here and work. He’d left early to go get married yesterday. He should stay late and delve into the Delaney estate, damn it. All of the ins and outs were going to take some teasing out.

Except Sol Delaney was a member of the Hellion Club. And Carter was a Hellion. Alden Delaney had been a Hellion. It would hardly be goofing off or personal time if Ty went and spoke to someone who’d been a member of the same social circles as the people he was trying to serve, and whose estate he was trying to disentangle.

Maybe eight? We can eat at that Italian place across the street from me.

OK. Dress code?

Business casual.

See you then.

Ty quickly made reservations before he could chicken out. Why would Carter want to do this? Had he just gotten some kind of terrible test result back from the doctor?

He slogged through the rest of his workday as best he could with all that anxiety in his gut. He wanted to think the butterflies in his stomach were from the baby, but he wouldn’t feel anything at this point. He still had enough good sense to know that. He was afraid of whatever it was Carter had to say.

At least the Delaney case was interesting enough to read, all by itself. Money laundering, tax evasion, murder, attempted kidnapping—it read like a thriller, but in the complex mixture of Latin and English known as Legalese. There was no way that the estate was going to emerge unscathed. At least Alden’s latest spouse would get what was coming to him, according to the terms of his prenup. That account had been fully funded at the time of his marriage and couldn’t be touched. His previous spouses weren’t so lucky.

Maybe Keegan was right. Maybe love, at a certain point, stopped existing.

His alarm went off at seven thirty. He’d gotten lost enough in his work that he’d managed to forget the mess that was his personal life. He had to give himself credit for that, at least.

He checked himself out in the men’s room mirror and cleaned up a little. Carter already thought of him as pathetic and in need of pity. Ty didn’t need to make it worse by showing up looking like a mess. Once he managed to make himself look presentable again, he headed out to the restaurant he’d suggested.

Carter was waiting for him there. “Hey.” He didn’t hug him, or kiss his cheek, but then again Ty was unreasonable for expecting it. “How’s it going?”

“It was an interesting day at work. They, ah, they assigned me to a pretty complex case. It’s going to take up a lot of my time and energy, but it’s a good sign. It means they trust me with this stuff.”

“Hm.” Carter raised his eyebrows. “Congratulations! Anything you can share?”

Ty stared at Carter’s huge hands. He contemplated Carter’s lush lips and his barely-there beard. “Probably not in a public place. But you might know some of the players better than I do. I’d love to get your thoughts about them before I go to meet with them tomorrow.”

Carter preened. He absolutely preened when Ty asked him about people he knew. Tyler understood people, better than most. It was part of his job as a lawyer. Was Carter intimidated by Ty’s position? By his education? By his background? “I’d be happy to. Maybe stopping by your place? I’d like to see that little kitty of yours again.”

“Amun? The escape artist? He’s a funny one. He’s got a major hate-on for Keegan. None of them like him, but Amun bites him every time he sees him. I’d try to train him out of it but it’s funny.”

Carter snickered. “Wow. Something he said yesterday makes so much more sense now.”

Ty froze at the mention of yesterday. “Look. About yesterday…”

Carter slumped his shoulders. “Tyler, I get that it was awkward. I do. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on between you and your brother, but I’m getting the impression that this isn’t a hundred percent voluntary on your part.”

Ty shuddered. Had he really come off that badly? “I said yes, okay? It was Keegan’s idea, but I said yes. I do want a baby. I always have.” He stopped and considered the wisdom of proceeding. It wasn’t as though Carter could have a worse opinion of him, after all. “I was upset by what that guy said, but it’s not like it wasn’t true. I’ve always wanted kids, a bunch of them. Would I have preferred the traditional way? Sure. It didn’t work out. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want a kid, okay? I can afford it, and I think I’ll be good at it. And when Keegan pointed out that this was the only way it was going to happen, I realized I was holding out for too much.”

“Ah, crap, Tyler. You deserve better.” Carter turned his head away.

“Don’t you dare feel sorry for me, Carter. I may be worthless when it comes to being husband material, but I’m a damn fine lawyer. I’m smart, I’m tenacious, and I’ve got the strength to do what I need to do. And if that means marrying a stranger to get the family I want, then I’ll do it.”

Carter reached across the table and took Ty’s hand. “I ain’t feeling sorry for you, okay? You sure as hell don’t seem to be feeling sorry for yourself. A lot of guys wouldn’t do any of the things you have. They’d just linger, you know? I’m just…I guess I think it’s too bad. I think you’ve got a lot to offer.”

A large part of Ty wanted to know exactly what basis Carter had for that argument, since he hadn’t known Ty for more than a day and hadn’t had any conversation with him whatsoever. The rest of him basked in the praise. He ignored both parts. If they wanted to fight it out, he would let them do it on their own time. “So,” he said instead. “Why don’t you talk to me about baseball?”

Carter did a double take at the change in subject. “Um, how do you mean?”

“Your bio, which I did look up, says you’re ‘2B.’ Is that a Hamlet quote?”

Carter gaped at him, slack jawed. Then he gulped his water down. “It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it? You really don’t know anything about baseball?”

“Nope.” Ty sat up a little straighter. “I know there’s a ritual that takes everyone down to Florida in February, but that’s about it.”

“Hoo boy.”

Ty grinned in relief as Carter spoke.

* * *

Carter made a face at his trainer, Dave, but he did another thirty reps with the stupid medicine ball. The guy was a sadist, and that was all there was to it. Only a true sadist could have come up with all of this crap, with the twisting and the turning and the straining. It was torture, and he was absolutely getting off on seeing Carter in pain.

“You almost ready for Spring Training?” Dave checked something on his tablet. It was probably another way for him to torture Carter, because why would he want to do anything else?

“I’m getting there.” Carter couldn’t speak in more than grunts at this point. His core muscles were too sore for him to draw much breath. Dave would be coming with the team. Carter paid extra for Dave to train him in the off season, because apparently Carter was a masochist.

“You should be in decent shape. It won’t be too bad for you. Not like Ortega. I hear he got married in the off-season, and his wife’s a fantastic cook. He gained something like fifty pounds we’ve got to somehow peel off of him in the next six weeks.” He winced. “Coach tells me you got married too.”

“Uh, yeah.” That was rep thirty, thank God. Carter put the medicine ball down. “He’s a lawyer, though. Not a cook.” He tried to imagine Tyler working a stove, and he shuddered.

“That’s a good thing. It’s funny, though. I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

“Well, you know. The spirit just moved us.” Carter stretched his back to hide his discomfort. “He’s a nice guy. I’m friends with his brother.”

“Ah.” Dave nodded. “Well, congratulations. Is he coming down to Florida with the rest of the WAGs?”

“No. Like I said, he’s a lawyer. He’s got a bunch of work to do here. It’s cool. We’re not the kind of couple that needs to be together every second, you know?” They didn’t really need to be together any seconds, but Dave didn’t need to know that.

“Huh. Okay. As long as you guys are happy, I guess. Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow for Leg Day.” Dave clapped his hands, and Carter staggered off to the locker room.

He hosed off in the shower and got dressed. Maybe he should reach out to Tyler. They’d exchanged a few texts over the past week, and they’d gotten together one more time for dinner, but that was about it. Even that seemed to have been something Tyler squeezed in. Maybe Tracy had been right. Maybe Tyler shouldn’t be trying to raise a kid if he didn’t have time to meet up with his husband.

He sent a text to Tyler. It’s Friday night. U busy?

Tyler responded after five minutes. I should be free after seven. Why?

Seven. Carter hadn’t known Tyler long, but he knew Tyler would be working the whole time. Thought u might want 2 get 2gether.

OK?

Carter stared at his phone for a second, trying to figure out exactly how to respond to that. Did Tyler want him to suggest an activity? Did he want Carter to explain why he wanted to get together? Okay, so they weren’t a traditional couple, but they were still married. They could still get together and spend time together or something.

I’ll meet you at seven at your place, he said finally.

That was where Tracy found him; still staring at his phone. “It only works right if you call someone,” his manager told him. “Although that’s not advised in the locker room. It’s weird.”

Carter rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Tracy. Believe it or not, Nebraska isn’t quite so isolated as that. I’d figured it out for myself.”

Tracy sat down on the bench beside him. “Trouble in paradise?”

Carter hesitated. He shouldn’t bring his troubles to Tracy. Tracy didn’t like Tyler. At the same time, Carter didn’t have anyone else to talk to about this. “I’m trying to get together with Tyler, and it seems to confuse him.” He showed Tracy his text conversation with his husband.

Tracy curled his lip. Then he took a deep breath and sighed. “So, my first instinct is to say he’s being stuck up and just doesn’t want to hang out with you. But you’ve been getting together, right?”

“Exactly.” Carter beamed at Tracy. He was a good guy. He might not like Tyler, but he was capable of pushing past his personal dislike. “He’s seemed open and stuff when we were together. Just, you know, a little confused. I like the guy. And I feel kind of bad for him.”

Don’t you dare feel sorry for me, Carter. Tyler’s voice came back to his mind, unbidden. It was hard not to feel sorry for him. Tyler had so much going for him, but for whatever reason no one wanted to be part of his life in that way. No one would ever think twice about an alpha having a career and a family, after all.

“I don’t feel bad for him. The guy’s rich enough to go out and buy himself a husband. Whatever else is going on, it’s got to be some consolation that he can just buy his way out of it, right?” Tracy chuckled. “But you’re a good guy, Carter. You like to help people. I get it. And it’s not a bad idea to try to be friendly with your future ex.”

Carter flinched from the term. “Can you maybe not put it quite that way?”

“It’s the truth, Carter. You signed the contract yourself. You wanted it that way. You’re not in love with the guy, and he’s not in love with you.” Tracy gave Carter a hard look. “Go on, enjoy his company, go hang out with him. But don’t get all hung up in solving his problems, okay? Solve your own.”

Carter couldn’t argue with Tracy. He still had plenty of his own issues to deal with. He didn’t need to pile Tyler’s problems on top of his. “Yeah. And who knows how Tyler wound up this way. Maybe he’s got some serious personality flaws or something that I’m just not going to see. I should focus on baseball and getting my own finances back on track.”

“Right?” Tracy patted him on the back. “Good man. I’ll see you Monday, okay?”

Carter nodded, and Tracy headed into the clubhouse while Carter took off. He didn’t have anyplace else to go, so he headed in to the Hellion Club to kill some time.

Only two kinds of people came to the Hellion Club in the middle of the day. Older alphas who’d left their jobs a long time ago came to enjoy the time they had left, and guys in fields with odd hours came to socialize and be seen. Carter wasn’t the only professional athlete in the bar when he arrived. He saw a couple of football players he knew, and he waved to them. He saw entertainers—rock stars, actors, directors, that sort of thing—and he saw a few politicians.

And, of course, he saw Keegan.

Keegan sauntered over to Carter as soon as they made eye contact. “Bro!” He put an arm around Carter’s shoulders. “Hey man, how’s married life treating you?” His loud voice got the bartender’s attention better than anything else could have. “A drink for my brother-in-law here, would you?”

The bartender brought them both dark liquor drinks garnished with cherries. “Married, huh?” He gave Carter an appraising look. “That’s a shame.”

Carter’s cheeks burned, but Keegan just laughed. “Yeah, well, he’s just your type, isn’t he? Don’t worry, Irv. He’ll be back on the market soon enough.”

Carter cringed. Keegan wasn’t wrong, but still. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, man.” He sipped his drink.

“What, it’s true. It’s no knock on you. Ty is just Ty, you know? There’s no changing him. He’s going to be himself. That’s just the way he is.” Keegan winked at the bartender, who blew him a kiss and pranced off to go serve another customer. “He’s about as interesting as wallpaper paste.”

“He’s not that bad. He doesn’t talk much about himself, but he does listen. And he’s been handed a pretty big job at work, so that’s something, right?” Carter took a gulp from his drink. “I don’t know how to get him to open up.”

“Why do you want him to? Even if he was your real husband, someone you picked, it’s not like you’d be with him for the lols, right? No one picks a husband for someone to pal around with. You don’t want to talk to them. They’re there to run the house and make babies.” He laughed. “I don’t think I ever saw my parents spend time together that didn’t involve talking about us, the household, or something like that.”

“Huh.” Carter hadn’t grown up with money the way the Cunninghams had. He guessed it was a different world. Obviously Tyler—Ty—had different expectations of Carter than he had of himself. Still, it didn’t sit right with him. “He just seems, I don’t know. Lonely, maybe. Like no one’s reached out to him in a long time. Who are his friends?”

“Who knows? He doesn’t do friends. He works. He’s got the cats. Seriously, Carter, you’re looking for depth that isn’t there.” Keegan patted him on the back. “Come on, bro, if you’re looking for an omega to be your new best friend, pick one of the omegas around here. They’ve all got lives, and things like that. Ty’s just not going to be what you’re looking for.” He snorted. “Christ, if I’d known you wanted an actual husband I wouldn’t have suggested this arrangement. I wouldn’t put you through dealing with Ty.”

Carter forced a smile and changed the subject. He’d have to try another angle, if he wanted to get to know his husband better.

A few hours later, he met up with Ty over near his place. The wind had picked up, and it bit right through his coat. Ty didn’t look any warmer. “It’s freezing out here. Is there any place in particular you want to go?”

Ty gave him a quizzical look. “I don’t have any place in mind. I thought you did.”

“I just thought it would be a good thing for us to get together.” Carter set his jaw. “Sorry. Maybe it’s a bad idea. I’ll just go.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Ty hesitated, and Carter’s heart beat a little faster. Would Ty really just let him walk away?

“Wait. Let’s go…grab dinner, I guess, and we can talk about your expectations. Okay? There’s a seafood place about a block away, and they don’t usually need a reservation.”

Carter grinned. “Let’s go. This wind is going to peel my skin right off.” He offered his arm to Ty, who took it after looking at him like he was an alien for a full three seconds.

They only had to wait for a minute or so before they were seated, and Ty leaned forward. “So, is everything okay?” A little line appeared on his forehead. “Do you need anything? Money, legal help, spare cat litter?”

Carter stared at him for a long moment. “Is it that weird for people to just call you to hang out?”

Ty raised his eyebrows. “It’s not something that happens all that often, no.” Carter opened his mouth to say something, but Ty raised a hand. “We talked about not feeling sorry for me, Carter. It’s okay. I work a lot of hours.”

“Sure. I know that. But I’m sure everyone in that office has a social life.” Carter busied himself tearing up the napkin for the place setting beside him.

“Maybe.” Ty glanced away for a second. “There was a guy I used to date, for a while. He, ah. We had a lot of friends in common, but when we split up they chose to stay his friends, and I was working too many hours to rebuild a new social circle from scratch. Which is fine. I have some college buddies from undergrad, but we mostly stay in touch through social media. We’re all over the world, not all in one place where we can get together for beers after work or anything. Not that I’m drinking right now anyway.”

“I’m sure it’s too early to know if you’re pregnant yet.” Carter frowned at him.

“It is, but I’m not drinking because I don’t want to risk it. I get one shot at this, Carter. I’m not going to blow it.” Ty grimaced briefly. “Anyway, I said it mostly as an example of what’s realistic and what isn’t.”

“Right.” Carter ducked his head as his cheeks blazed. “Sorry. It’s just…I don’t know. It just feels like I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing here, you know? I mean, yeah, I know it’s an arrangement. But we are married. I shouldn’t be ignoring you. I should at least try to treat you decently, right?”

Ty blinked. It looked for all the world like the wires in his brain just weren’t making a connection. “Okay,” he said after a long moment. “And I…appreciate that. But you didn’t sign up for that. You signed up to make a baby and get paid.”

Carter slouched down in his seat. “Sure. And that’s fine. I can do that. I just—it feels weird, okay?”

Ty relaxed his shoulders. His face softened, and he reached across the table to take Carter’s hand. His hand was soft, with long, thin fingers. He’d never done manual labor, never built up a blister. “Carter, screw outside expectations. Okay? We’re already so far outside of what ninety percent of the rest of this country would ever do that it’s laughable. What do you feel is right for you? What do you want? I promise, I’m not going to be offended. I’m not going to go running to the press and tell them their sports hero is a big jerk or something. You don’t have to impress me. I’m already grateful to you for helping me out with this whole thing.”

Carter looked into Ty’s hazel eyes. “Ty,” he said after a second, “I’m not a hundred percent sure what I want. We kind of did things in a weird order. I don’t have any expectations. I do want to get to know you better, okay? I want to know who you are. Even though this is temporary, even though it’s a means to an end for both of us, I still want to know you. I want to know who you are, what you like, what you do for fun. I don’t want to look back and say, ‘Oh, well, I was married to a stranger for however long.’ You seem like a good guy, and I want to know more. Is that okay?”

Ty chuckled. He dropped Carter’s hand, which sent a disproportionate wave of disappointment crashing into Carter’s gut until he realized their food had just arrived. “It’s not a bad thing,” Ty told him. “I’m afraid there’s not much more to me than work and cats, but it’s not like hanging out with you is a bad thing.” He lifted his water glass in a kind of toast. “So. How much longer before you have to go to Spring Training, and what’s it really like down there?”

Carter was halfway through describing the grueling Spring Training regimen before he realized Ty had deflected the subject away from himself, yet again.