Gods, if Harris was putting Valen before himself, then he probably loved the bastard, didn’t he?
Harris held his breath. And if Valen found out, who knew if he’d let go of Harris?
“Go grab your shower,” Harris said, shoving Valen off his hips. “I don’t want you smelling like sex at work.”
“Aye aye, Captain,” Valen said, saluting. “Don’t want to smell sex on you, either, Captain.”
Harris rolled his eyes. When Valen swung his legs off the bed, Harris allowed himself a smile.
He loved Valen Tolstoy. If Valen told him to give Sam a chance... the scary thing was, Harris probably would.
11
Sam
“You look terrible,” Wyatt said to Sam the moment he stepped in.
Sam cringed. He knew that. He hadn’t slept well last night, thinking about a million and one things. “What’s new?”
Wyatt’s nostrils flared.
“No, I didn’t mean ‘answer my question,’” Sam said. But he hadn’t bothered with a scent suppressant, so that was on him, really.
Wyatt raised his eyebrows. “Gods, did you actually get down to teaching?”
Sam covered his face, torn between laughing and crying. He chose to laugh. “No.”
Wyatt’s eyebrows rose all the way up his forehead. “Hey, I’m not judging. If you’re getting paid for it...”
“Well, no. I refused payment. Or, I refused to count it as a paid session.” Which didn’t do him any good, seeing as he had no hours at the college bookstore this week. That thousand-dollar course Harris had paid half of? They hadn’t even begun a single lesson.
With the news of the baby, Sam hadn’t been in any state of mind to teach last night. He’d sent Valen and Harris out of the kitchen, cooked the food he’d bought, and they’d shared the dinner.
Then Valen had driven Sam home, and he’d sucked Sam off again, just inside the front door of Sam’s apartment. Sam had grabbed his hair and screamed, and shuddered so hard he couldn’t stand upright.
At least it had been shadowy in there—Valen hadn’t any idea the mess of a place Sam lived in. Certainly, it couldn’t compare to the gated-community mansion.
“So aside from you screwing two alphas...?” Wyatt looked expectantly at Sam.
Sam blushed, tying on his apron. “Just one last night. We had a group hug.”
“Sounds like a regular date night to me.”
With the heavy aromas of the broth and spices, and with Wyatt’s own pregnancy, it wasn’t a surprise that Wyatt couldn’t pick out Sam’s honey scent. Sam sucked in a deep breath.
“I’m also pregnant, Wy.”
Wyatt’s smile fell from his lips. “You don’t seem happy about it.”
“It’s Valen’s—” Sam heaved a sigh. “My ex. He—Well, he’s living with Harris. And Harris said he’s adding me to his credit card. So...”
“So you’re officially dating two alphas.”
Sam’s cheeks burned. “I don’t know. I’ve only known Harris for two days. But Harris wants a baby.”
“Do you want it?”
He nodded. “Yeah. And Valen isn’t dropping me like a hot potato, so...”
Wyatt set his ladle down and stepped over, pulling Sam into a tight hug. “Then congrats,” he whispered. “I hope you’ll do well.”
“I hope so, too.”
Wyatt pulled away, looking at Sam’s flat belly. It was still kind of surreal, imagining a tiny bunch of cells growing inside him. Sam had gone to bed touching his belly, thinking it might all be a dream. Then he’d had a nightmare about bleeding on the toilet, and he hadn’t been able to sleep the rest of the night.
Now that he was having a baby again, Sam couldn’t bear the thought of a second miscarriage.
“Does this mean you’ll have two best-alphas for my wedding, then?” Wyatt looked hopefully at him.
Sam flushed. “I don’t even know if they want to,” he mumbled. “We’re just... just seeing each other. It’s kind of too soon to tell. Maybe Valen might.”
“No worries—it’s still some time away. You’ll be pregnant for my wedding, won’t you? I’d love to get you a nice shirt, all flowing lace.”
Wyatt’s eyes lit up. Sam didn’t have the heart to say, That’s if I don’t lose this baby.
“Probably,” he said.
Wyatt beamed. “I was thinking we could have the reception here—I won’t be inviting many people, maybe fifteen or so.”
Sam frowned. “You aren’t planning on cooking for your own reception, are you?”
Wyatt smiled impishly. “Why not?”
“It’s your wedding!” Sam cried. “You’ll be nine months pregnant then, or... or you’d have a newborn on your hands.”
Wyatt laughed. “Are you volunteering, then? It’ll be a lot of cooking. I’ll probably have a cake delivered.”
“I want to do it,” Sam blurted. Then he could’ve kicked himself, because it was going to be hours of prep if he wanted more than a two-course meal. “The cake, too.”
Wyatt’s eyes grew wide. “I’ll pay you overtime for that.”
“You really don’t have to. You’re my best friend.”
“I will. And at least bring some help in,” Wyatt said. Then he wriggled his eyebrows. “You know, those alphas you were supposed to be teaching.”
Sam’s entire face scorched. “We aren’t even that close!”
“Then get close to them.” Wyatt nudged him in the side, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Kitchen sex is the best sex.”
Sam didn’t have the heart to tell him that they’d all already fucked once in Harris’ kitchen.
But having Valen and Harris help with the reception prep... It would work. He could teach them. They had four months to learn some knife skills, some broth- and noodle-making. And if Sam was feeling brave enough, maybe even a multi-tiered cake.
If anything, he wanted to see Harris and Valen with flour on their noses, matching grins on their faces.
His heart pattered. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said.
Wyatt grinned, and Sam crossed his fingers, hoping he hadn’t just signed himself on to an impossible task.
A few hours later, on his lunch break, Sam drove over to his mom’s place.
It had been a while since he’d visited—years. With his two jobs, babysitting Wyatt’s daughter, and before that, a college course he’d dropped out of, there hadn’t been much time for
