Page 79 of Knot Her Beta

My grip on his waist tightens. “Yeah?”

His nose brushes mine. “Yeah.”

The knot of anxiety that’s ridden me since he announced his departure finally settles.

Before I can respond, Leif call from the other room, and I step back with great reluctance.

Turning away from Grady, I bring down the plates.

Behind me, he picks up his wine glass and takes a sip, watching me over the rim.

Neither of us says anything else. Not yet. But for the first time since Auren stood on my porch with his plum coat and his honeyed lies, every person I love is under one roof.

For tonight, it’s enough.

Chapter Twenty-One

Grady

“Idon’t care if you don’t need a chaise lounge, Grady Garfield Finch. You’re getting one.” Chloe plants both hands on her lower back and glares at me with the ferocity of a woman who’s been carrying twenty extra pounds for months and has run out of patience for my practical objections.

“Where would I even put it?” I lean on my cane and eye the tufted white chaise in question. “My cabin has two bedrooms and an office. I’m one person.”

“You’re going to get rid of that nasty couch you put in storage!” She pats her swollen belly. “We got it off a curb, and it can go back where it belongs. It is not coming into your brand-new home.”

I press a hand over my heart. “How dare you. I love that couch.”

“You will love one that was made in this decade better.” She snaps. “This is no longer a bachelor pad. It’s time to get adult furniture.”

Dominic materializes behind her left shoulder, his black hair in its usual French braid, gray eyes on his bondmate. “The chaise would fit in the reading nook by the west window.”

She throws up her hands in exasperation. “The reading nook is for books, Dom.”

He turns a steely stare on me that dares me to keep arguing with his mate. “Then I guess it’s replacing the old sofa.”

“Finally!” she exclaims. “Someone who understands!”

“I’m beginning to think you only gave me the cabin so you could play adult-size doll house,” I huff, my knee throbbing.

We’ve been in this furniture store for an hour already, and the polished concrete floor is doing me no favors. I shift my weight to my good leg and scan the showroom.

Harbor View Furniture occupies the entire second floor of the old cannery building, the windows along the far wall framing a slice of Pinecrest’s harbor where fishing boats bob alongside the water taxi dock. Afternoon light slants through the glass, catching dust motes and the occasional glitter of chrome on a lamp base.

Chloe waddles ahead to coo over a sideboard that I absolutely do not need, her pink hair falling out of its messy bun on top of her head. The clerk trailing us has given up on taking notes and now just follows with the resignation of someone who’s made peace with being along for the ride.

“Oh, Grady, look!” She points across the showroom. “Bedroom sets!”

“I already have a bedroom set,” I remind her. “And a dining table. And a desk. All of it’s sitting in a storage unit, waiting for me to arrange shipment to the island.”

She scowls at me. “Your desk is particle board.”

“It’s functional.”

“It’s going to disintegrate.” She stops in front of a dresser and runs her fingers over the walnut grain. “Dominic, would this fit in the bedroom alcove?”

He pulls out his phone and taps the screen a few times. “It will work. With two inches to spare on either side.”

“I don’t need a dresser. I have a closet.”