Amusing You - Claire Cullen Page 0,58

Zac?”

Beckett shook his head. “No. But it’s been days, and I can see how hard this is on you.”

“I’m not going to pressure Harper. That wouldn’t be fair.”

“Hey, I’m not suggesting pressuring anyone. I just think you’d feel better if you and he talked again.”

William was sure he was right, but he wasn’t putting his feelings over Harper’s.

“We’ll talk when he’s ready, like we agreed.”

“Where exactly did you and he leave things, anyway?”

William thought back to that awkward conversation the morning after their confrontation with Samuel and Dante.

“We’re going to co-parent.” He stubbornly kept his eyes on the plans and refused to look Beckett’s way.

“Uh-huh.”

When Beckett said nothing more, William risked a glance up, only to find the other alpha staring right at him.

“What?”

“There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“I’m entitled to some privacy, aren’t I?”

“What good is privacy if the secret is eating you up inside?”

Groaning, William pushed the plans away and folded his arms. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“By it, I’m guessing you mean Harper and your feelings for him.”

“My feelings for him are irrelevant. He wants to co-parent, nothing more.”

“Does he know that more is a possibility?”

“What difference does that make if he doesn’t want it?”

“Zac thinks the two of you are in love.”

William swallowed hard and stayed silent.

“Is he wrong?”

“From a purely mathematical point of view, it’s very likely.”

Beckett stared at him in puzzlement. “Come again?”

“The muse agency discovered a discrepancy in calculations of our compatibility. We are so compatible that they should never have let us work together, because our falling for each other was ‘inevitable.’” He air-quoted for emphasis as Beckett stared at him, wide-eyed.

“Does Harper know?”

“The agency was going to contact him, but he and I haven’t talked about it. Presumably because he’s not interested. I can’t imagine my behavior these past few weeks has encouraged him.”

“You’ve apologized for that, and you had good reason for reacting the way you did. I’m sure Harper understands.”

“He does. He’s been beyond understanding. You should have seen him with my father and Dante. He was furious on my behalf, ready to defend me to the ends of the earth. He called them out on their lies. For him to have my back like that, after everything I’ve put him through…” He sighed softly. “He deserves better than me.”

“Maybe. Or maybe he just deserves your honesty. If what you’ve said about your compatibility is true, then what you feel about him, he’s also feeling about you. But you’re both dancing around it, pretending there’s nothing between you. Until one of you decides to be brave and admit how they feel, you’re going to be stuck at an impasse, both miserable thinking that the other doesn’t return their feelings.”

“You sound very knowledgeable for someone who isn’t in the midst of this entanglement.”

“Yes, well, it helps when you’re getting both sides of the story.”

William gave him a sharp look. “What do you know?”

“That you’re both idiots, but loveable ones.”

“None of this has happened the way it’s supposed to, Beckett. How can we expect a good outcome from such strange beginnings?”

“Yours and Harper’s relationship is… unconventional, that’s true. But look at how things happened between me and Zac.”

“I know. I never meant for things to go beyond the professional.”

“Neither did we, but fate had other ideas. So what happened between you two? When did it change?”

William had put a lot of thought into that. They’d grown from acquaintances to friends to… something more.

“Harper saw that I needed more than just a typical alpha in search of a muse. He was willing to give me that, and I… I wanted it.”

All those evenings curled up on the couch together watching movies, all that time spent cooking together in the kitchen, Harper teaching him how to dance, despite his stiff demeanor. Most of their ‘dates’ had skirted the line of what a client/muse session should be. Others had crossed that line like it wasn’t there.

He tried to explain that to Beckett, tripping over his own words.

“So what you’re saying is, you two have actually been dating,” the alpha summarized as William’s meandering explanation came to a halt.

“That’s not what I said.”

“No? You just described romantic dinners, long evenings by the fire, intimacy, emotion. That sounds like a personal relationship, not a professional one.”

“Yeah.” William scrubbed a hand across his face. “I know. It just felt right. Every second of it. Not awkward or stilted. I guess, without the pressure of it being a relationship, it was easier for it to become