Sugar Coated

9

Jax Sinclair

I was going to bust an absolute fucking nut and all I was doing was wiping down the parlor counter in the middle of a lull in customers. And it was all because of Emil.

Em had torn down the stairs into the shop like someone had lit his ass on fire, double fisting cell phones —mine and his.

"She said yes," he hit the counter hard, careening to a stop between two betas that looked more than excited to have him between them.

Em's excitement was infectious and not only to us, the two betas couldn't keep smiles off their faces as the heady scent of his perfume settled over the immediate vicinity, "She said yes, Jax."

"Who said yes? And to what?"

"Delaney! She agreed to come to dinner!"

That startled absolutely everyone involved. The two betas smiles dimmed as they tried to make sense of what Em had said, as if it was something they'd never have considered. Hell. It was something I'd never considered. The little beta never ceased to surprise me though. Maybe she isn't as skittish as she seems.

"She's coming to dinner, Jax," Em's big blue eyes roved over my face before seeking out Andres far on the other side of the room where he stood chatting with one of our regulars. Absently, Em tossed me my phone where I could see the whole conversation so kindly displayed in a group message that I'd quite literally never seen before in my life despite the fact that it was made under my name.

I was typing before I even knew what to say, but was interrupted by the flash of another text coming through the group message.

Em wasn't able to smother the excited gasp that had the betas tittering behind their hands.

Delaney Linwood: See you tonight!!

What an absolute doll. I'd never been able to shake the sentiment as soon as I'd laid eyes on her. She'd walked into the shop bundled in an oversized sweater that hid everything except with those fawn brown eyes. She looked too innocent —too sweet, and exactly like she belonged her in my space and in my pack.

"Andres!" Em called, shocking the entire parlor enough to have everyone turning to face him, but he only had eyes for our beta. Through the charades of exaggerated hand movements toward his phone, he managed to prompt Andres to pull his cell out of his back pocket to check his missed messages.

Em's fingers flew over his screen and his message came through on my phone.

Em: Excited for tonight ^^ <3

Mine followed after.

Jackson Sinclair: Happy to hear you'll be joining us, Doll.

And Andres' a second later.

Andres Ibarra: Looking forward to it!

We all shared a smile with each other. After three very long months, we'd made progress.

I took the liberty of changing Delaney's nickname in the chat, high on the endorphins that Em was flooding through the bond. "No tempting or tricking her into your nest unless she asks," I caught the startled look of the two betas at my comment, realizing this probably wasn't a conversation to be had here in the parlor and in front of customers.

At the very least it likely wouldn't be good for business.

Em had no such qualms, though, "Then what can I do to get her into my nest?"

"Christ Em," I shoved off of the counter motioning for him to follow me to the back. I turned to one of the new waitresses we'd hired to help during our rush hours, "Trish, are you able to man the counter for a moment? We have pack business to deal with."