Playing You (Omega's Luck #3) - Claire Cullen Page 0,30

I’ll have to tell her, of course. She’ll be so happy. Is it… is it serious?”

“We haven’t quite got there yet,” was all he said.

“Right, okay. So, a new relationship, but not so new that you won’t bring him to meet the family. That’s good. That’s… well, you haven’t brought a boyfriend home in five years.”

“It wasn’t for lack of boyfriends, Angie. I just didn’t want to scare them away too quickly.”

“Don’t give me that. We both know you’ve been married to your work these past few years. I’m surprised you’ve had time to date, let alone build an actual relationship with someone.”

“I know,” he said, regretting the words even as he said them. “It’s taken me by surprise too.”

“This guy must be something,” she said. “I can’t wait to meet him. I was going to put you in with us, but you two will want privacy, I’m sure. We’ll see about setting you up in the cottage.”

“Thanks, Angie. I appreciate it.”

He felt guilty that he was putting her to trouble, but more so because he could hear the emotion in her voice. She was genuinely happy for him, relieved even, that he had finally found someone.

They ended the call, and Brendan stared around the room in horror. He had less than a week to find an omega to play his boyfriend for the weekend. It was short notice at the best of times, made all the more awkward by the fact that this wasn’t a work thing. This was his family, people who knew him well, who’d see through him if he tried to introduce a stranger to them, someone he wasn’t comfortable with. There was only really one option open to him, and Brendan was loath to even think it. And Riley? Well, he’d be crazy to agree.

Chapter Sixteen

Brendan was hovering. It wasn’t like the alpha, who usually moved around the office with purpose. But there he was, hanging around the filing cabinet for the third time in the space of twenty minutes, flicking aimlessly through the files. It was enough to put Riley on edge. And things between them had been going so well, or so he’d thought. They’d put the events of the weekend behind them, and Riley had gotten the chance to stretch his acting wings further with a few more jobs. The two of them made a good team, most of the time. He was almost certain Brendan didn’t want to get rid of him, but that little kernel of doubt that everything he’d been given might be ripped away was back in full force.

“Do you need me to help you find something?” he asked again when Brendan opened the next drawer and started skimming through the folders once more.

“No, I’ve got it.” Brendan didn’t look up, sounding distracted.

“Are you actually looking for a file, or is there something on your mind?”

Brendan generally responded best to directness, and Riley’s anxiety was making him irritable.

The alpha lost interest in the filing cabinet, turning to look at him. “Actually, yeah, there is.” He shut the cabinet with a bang, grabbed a chair, and dragged it so he was sitting next to Riley’s desk. “I need to talk to you.”

Riley’s stomach churned. “Are you firing me?” He’d rather get the worst over with.

Brendan’s face creased in a frown. “Of course not. You’re the best assistant I’ve ever had.”

“Then what’s eating you? You’re stomping around like a bear with a sore paw.”

Brendan grimaced at that. “I need a favor.”

“Ask away. That’s what I’m here for.”

“I need you to don your acting hat again and play another role.”

Riley relaxed, letting out a breath. “Well, that’s easy. Why didn’t you just say that instead of skulking around? What’s the job?”

Brendan glanced down at his lap, his fingers fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “That’s the thing—it’s not for work. It’s sort of… personal.”

Was it just him, or was the alpha not making much sense?

“I don’t get it. You need me to play a role but… not for a client?”

“Not for a client,” Brendan confirmed. “For me. I… My parents’ jubilee is next weekend. And Grams—my grandmother—likes to invite random omegas over to set me up with. She tried to do it again this time, only I told my sister I was bringing someone. If I thought I could get away with saying they had to pull out at the last minute, I would, but she’d be on the phone a minute later, and then there’d be a puppy-eyed guy