Wes moved to leave, but Calder stopped him with a hand to the shoulder. “What you said about being exclusive with Valentin, about that part feeling new…”
“Yes?”
“Exclusivity is right for you now, but do you think it always will be?”
Wes’s jaw ticked. “That’s a personal question.”
Calder stepped closer. “Are you saying I shouldn’t ask?”
Wes studied him, moving his eyes in slow perusal. “I don’t know if being exclusive with Valentin and Assa will always feel right. No one can predict the future.”
Calder sucked in a breath. Wes was usually so careful. But his mask was slipping. A glimmer of interest flickered in his gaze.
“You realize where this is headed?” Calder asked boldly, running his palm down Wes’s arm until he gripped his wrist.
Wes gave a clipped nod. “Each time we put a piece of the past to rest, I see it more clearly.” Pulling away quickly, he strode out the door.
***
Calder came back froma cake delivery to find Ked and Ryde sitting at one of Felton’s front tables, sharing a giant snickerdoodle and reading a comic book.
“Hey, you two,” he said. “What’s going on?”
Ryde looked up. “Ked got the newBeta Forcecomic, so Papa V brought me over to look at it.”
Calder glanced around but didn’t see Valentin. The other alpha had been avoiding him since that night on the porch.
“Valentin went inside to say hi to Zinn and the baby,” Ked said.
After confirming with Lolo that he could handle the bakery on his own for a while, Calder ventured into the house.
He heard voices in the family room.
“…Oh, my goodness.” Zinn chuckled. “I’d forgotten about that. Chef’s chicken salad was the worst! I have no idea what he did to it, but it was impossible to choke down.”
“The employees got it served to us a lot,” Valentin said. “But Chef was such a nice guy, I didn’t want him to feel bad, so I just ate it.”
“Well, you get a gold star, because Asher and I used to spit it into our napkins.”
Valentin snorted.
“What the heck did he put in it that made it so awful?” Zinn asked, his question punctuated by the soft sucking sounds of Lachie chest-feeding.
“Too many pickles. Olives. Dried cranberries. Red bell pepper. He definitely took themore is moreapproach.” Valentin laughed heartily.
Calder’s breath hitched. Valentin didn’t laugh enough. It made him sound younger, probably more like the person he’d been before being thrown into prison.
It was a testament to the healing power of happiness that Valentin and Zinn could discuss their past without bitterness. Lately, they’d been more willing to talk to the other menabout the lighter parts of it—finding Decoy, Zinn’s artwork, and Valentin’s gardens. But this was the first Calder had heard about inedible chicken salad.
He backed away, giving them privacy.
Ten minutes later, Calder was reading at the kitchen table when Valentin walked in, Lachie on his shoulder.
“Oh, um…hey, man,” Valentin stammered. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Got home a few minutes ago.”
Valentin patted Lachie’s back. “Zinn looked tired. I offered to burp the baby so he could go lie down.”