Playing You (Omega's Luck #3) - Claire Cullen Page 0,76
or how much stuff they needed.
Someone waved at them from the far corner of the park, and it took him a moment to recognize them.
“There’s Zac,” he said to Riley. “Let’s go join them.”
The omega smiled sweetly at him before directing his gaze back to the baby cuddled in his arms. Cody was fast asleep, looking peaceful for once. He had mastered the art of middle-of-the-night screaming and daytime sleeping. Brendan was confident they’d flip it around eventually, but he hoped it was someday soon.
A few people broke away from the group, coming to meet them. Harper led the charge, holding Henry by the hand and carrying Lilah in his arms.
“You made it. We were worried it was too much, what with the twins still so little.”
“We wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Riley promised with a smile. “Though I think these little guys will sit out the shifting part of the day.”
“I don’t blame them. Who’d want to shift when you’re that cozy?”
They followed Harper to where the others were sitting, spreading out their blanket so it joined the other two.
“You guys look like you could use a nap,” Zac said.
Brendan stifled a yawn. “That sounds like a great idea. Maybe after we eat, though. I’m starving.”
He said it as much for himself as for Riley. He knew the omega would already be hungry even though they’d eaten breakfast right before they left.
“A man after my own heart,” Harper joked, kneeling next to a bag that turned out to be full of food. “Kiddos, who’s hungry?”
There was a small chorus of ‘me’s.’
Brendan handed Laurie to William and followed Harper and Beckett’s lead, getting the food out and laying it down in the middle of their three blankets so everyone could share. Then he took Cody from Riley and nudged him toward the food.
“You eat first, I’ll take baby duty.”
Riley flashed him a grateful smile and sat down gingerly next to Zac, being careful of his still-healing stitches. The other omega wrapped an arm around his shoulder and persuaded him to try bites of this and that.
William took a seat next to Brendan, rocking Laurie gently.
“How’s fatherhood treating you?”
“Surprisingly gently, all things considered. Don’t get me wrong, I’d kill for a good night’s sleep, but… there’s a lot to be said for what we’ve got.”
“I know what you mean.”
When Laurie started to cry, Riley whisked him into his arms and under a blanket to feed him, humming all the while. Harper moved to his other side, resting a head on his shoulder, while Beckett captured a wandering Henry and carried him over to sit next to Brendan. The three alphas and the three omegas, all paired up, loved up, and surrounded by the patter of tiny feet. Brendan had known he’d wanted this for a long time—he just hadn’t anticipated how good it would feel to hug his mate or hold his kids in his arms. He was very lucky, and the thought made him laugh.
“What’s so funny?” William asked.
“Nothing, really. Just thinking.”
“Yeah? Good thoughts, I hope.”
“Riley thinks he’s the lucky one, you know. That he’s blessed to have met me. Hell, I think the three of them feel that way about us. But it seems to me that it’s the other way around. They brought luck into our lives.”
Riley glanced his way, catching the end of his sentence, his forehead creased in confusion.
“What’s that?” he called.
“I think,” Harper said, “that Brendan was calling us good luck charms.”
“Oh?”
Riley got up and came to him, squeezing onto the blanket between him and William.
“You think omegas bring luck, huh?” He rested his head against Brendan’s shoulder.
“Seems like it to me.” Brendan brushed the hair from Riley’s forehead as William and Beckett chorused their agreement.
A slow smile crossed Riley’s face. “I like the sound of that. We make our own luck. We don’t have to wait for it to fall into our laps.”
Brendan glanced down at their twins with a grin.
“But we won’t say no if it does, right?”
Riley followed his gaze and laughed. “Never.”
Author’s Note
Thanks for reading Playing You, the third book in the Omega’s Luck series. I hope you enjoyed reading Riley and Brendan’s story! If you have a moment to spare, reviews are always appreciated.
If you’d like to hear about new releases in this or other series, you can sign up to my mailing list here or visit clairecullenbooks.com.
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Copyright © 2020 by Claire Cullen
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincident.
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