Chapter
Twenty
LEXIE
The park buzzes with the sounds of children's laughter and the occasional squeal of delight as someone conquers the monkey bars. I shift on the wooden bench, adjusting my position to catch the warmth of the afternoon sun on my face. It's the first time I've been outside for anything other than shipping runs in a week, and despite my reluctance to admit it, the fresh air feels good.
"Aunt Lexie! Aunt Lexie!" Taylor races toward me, pigtails bouncing, an object clutched in her tiny fist. "Look what I found!"
She skids to a stop in front of me, opening her hand to reveal a pebble. Ordinary to anyone else, but clearly a treasure to my five-year-old niece. It's smooth and flat, with flecks of mica that catch the light.
"Wow, that's a special one," I say, taking it from her palm to examine it properly. "Look at how it sparkles."
Her face lights up with pride. "It's magic. Like in the story you told us."
"Definitely magic," I agree, handing it back. "Better keep it safe."
She nods solemnly before darting back to the playground where her brother is digging in the sand, completely absorbed in his quest to reach China, or so he informed me earlier.
At the rate my life is going, I just might join him.
I check my phone and see it'll be another hour before Jessica and Luke return from their date. I don't mind watching the kids. Their uncomplicated joy is a welcome distraction from the mess I've made of my own life.
It's been a week since the disaster at The Terrace. Seven days of throwing myself into work with a single-minded focus that's left little room for anything else. My apartment has become even more of a warehouse than before, with stacks of inventory threatening to take over every available surface. The irony isn't lost on me. I'm literally building walls of sweaters around myself.
But business is booming. My fall collection is selling faster than I can make it, and I've even had to start a waitlist for certain designs. At this rate, I might actually need to consider renting a small workspace. My dining table hasn't been used for actual dining in months, and my living room is more shipping department than living space.
Success should feel better than this.
I watch Taylor, her small face scrunched in concentration as she examines another rock with Adam. Both kids bring me treasures every few minutes. Rocks, leaves, the occasional unidentifiable but questionable item I have to discreetly dispose of when he's not looking. Adam, unfortunately, has an obsession with gifting me grubs.
This is good. Simple. Safe. No complicated pack dynamics, no alphas giving me strange looks, no newly-presented omega who makes my heart race with just a smile.
No Darren.
I've deleted Beyond Bonds from my phone, along with every other dating app Jessica has ever convinced me to try. Four failed relationships should have been enough to teach me the lesson. The fifth attempt, however brief, was just the universe making sure I got the message.
I don't fit into their world. I never will.
"Lexie?"
The deep voice sends a jolt through me like I've touched a live wire. I freeze, not wanting to turn around, not wanting to confirm what I already know.
It can't be.
But it is. Because the universe isn't done with me yet.
I slowly look up, and there he is, Darren Malloy, all six-foot-four of him, standing a few feet away in running shorts and a fitted athletic shirt that does nothing to hide the muscles underneath. A light sheen of sweat makes his skin glow in the afternoon sun, and his short brown hair is slightly mussed, like he's been running his hands through it.
He looks good. Devastatingly good.
"Darren," I manage, hating how breathless I sound. "What are you doing here?"
A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, and my traitorous heart skips a beat. "Relax, I'm not stalking you. I jog through here every day for training."
"Oh." Of course. This park is on a popular running route. "Right."
He shifts his weight, those blue eyes studying me with an intensity that makes my skin prickle. "Can I sit for a second?"
