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Pete got out, smiling like a goof.
“What is it?” I said.
“I just had lunch at the diner. That little omega Corey, Alpha Aydan’s brother, was there. He’s a sweet kid. Very funny. He’s going to work on our books for us at the barbershop. Isn’t that great?”
My jaw clenched, my teeth grinding together. “That is great,” I said.
I knew better than to think that Pete was any kind of threat. Still, the irrational jealously built. But then again, wasn’t all jealousy irrational? I pushed my beast down. Pete didn’t need to see my lack of control. Nobody did.
“He started at the diner first. He was eager to jump in and help the den.” He tossed me the keys. “But he’s going to hit up my shop later this afternoon. We’re lucky to have him.”
“We are.” It seemed as if I wasn’t going to get a break from thinking about Corey after all. Not when the newest customer was a member of his fan club, one that couldn’t stop gushing.
“Well, just a heads up, if you wanted lunch at the diner, you better wait a while. Seems like every alpha in town learned that we had a new omega on the territory. They’re all lined up around the block to meet him.”
My bear pushed at me, begging to be let out, and I pushed him down. Although I agreed with my bear this time. This wasn’t something I wanted to hear. Not at all.
I’d hardly thought about the fact that many of the alphas in our den would be looking for a prospective mate, even if that prospective mate was the Alpha’s brother and completely off-limits. Not that they’d know the prospective mate part. It wasn’t as if Ayden had announced to the world that he was going to try to arrange a mating to strengthen the den. To the other alphas he was a single omega, one that was free for the scenting.
I hated it.
“I have to get back to work,” I all but growled. “What’s wrong with her?” I indicated his vehicle. He told me, and I promised him it would either be ready by close of business or I’d have an update for him by then. Thankfully he didn’t seem to know just how close to the edge I was.
“Everything alright, boss? Corey settling in alright, isn’t he?” Russ asked once Pete had left. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and though I wasn’t a violent man, I sort of wanted to slap it off his face.
“Everything’s fine. We just have a lot of work to do,” I replied, looking around the shop. Nearly everything that needed to be done had already been done, with the exception of Pete’s car which sounded like a ten-minute job at most. There was no line of cars waiting for service, anything that wasn’t being worked on was either finished or we were waiting on parts to arrive.
“Not really, boss. Unless we get an emergency, we might be able to call it an early day.”
Great, just what I needed—more time on my hands to sit and think.
“I need to get Pete’s vehicle all set.”
And just like I thought, it took less than fifteen minutes. When I added in a complimentary oil change to keep my hands busy, as well as a full inspection and some random maintenance he didn’t need for another ten thousand miles, barely an hour was done. It was going to be a long-ass day. That was for sure.
Chapter 9
Corey
Today was an odd combination of sucking and being awesome.
I loved starting my new work, meeting the people whose books I’d be doing, collecting all the documents to be able to begin. Even the diner, which was a hot mess of a mess, was going to be fun. It was like a puzzle I had to put together. Only in the end, instead of having a pretty picture, I was going to have their “get out of jail” card for them if they got audited, because right now, all they had to give the government was a box of confusion and possibly nightmares.
And the barbershop… what a sweet family that owned that one. They could easily be taught how to get their books on track. They’d been doing a pretty good job at it already, but they insisted I do it. Said they’d feel better about it being professionally done.
But as awesome as all that was, there was the torture part of the day—the part where I was no longer anywhere near Zane—the only place I wanted to be. When we were in my backyard, it felt like he accepted me as his mate for the first time. But then he left, mumbling something about it being late and he had to get home. I’d known it was coming; I’d braced myself. It didn’t stop it from hurting, and it didn’t stop me from thinking about him all day.
Sitting in the diner with a box of random slips of paper I should’ve been weeding through, I instead stared at them and wondered when he was going to come in, if he was going to have the special BLT they made for the day, or if he had a favorite that he got every single day. I even wondered if he was a milkshake kind of guy or if he just drank water with his meal. He didn’t come though, and he didn’t get a haircut when I was there later on. Not that I expected him to. It didn’t stop me from hoping.
And now, it was dinner time, and here I was my new house, which felt very much unlike my home. My two suitcases were still not fully unpacked, and a box of macaroni and cheese sat on the counter next to a package of hotdogs waiting for me to make my elegant dinner.
The water on the stove was working on coming to a boil so I could make the dinner of champions. I rolled my eyes, although I guessed in a way it was the dinner of champions or at least one—my brother. More than once, he’d made it for me when my parents were being less than parents. It had become my comfort food, and gods, did I need comfort tonight.
The water started to come up to a boil, and I poured in the macaroni. I grabbed my knife and started cutting the hotdogs into little pieces, tossing them in as well. Maybe I should call my brother, tell him what happened, ask him what to do. He’d always been there for me before, and he’d always be there for me, even when I messed up, and I sure was good at that lately.
But also, Aydan was busy, and just me mentioning another alpha had the chance of undoing everything he had done. It was best I wait until he came home.
When the noodles were tender, I drained the water, added the butter, milk, and powder, and mixed it up. The familiar aroma of the meal did calm me some. I filled my bowl and brought it outside to the back and sat on the stoop. I was officially a glutton for punishment, sitting there looking out at the place where Zane and I first kissed, kissed and more. I chewed forkfuls of my meal slowly, wondering what I should do next.
