“Obviously.” His nostrils flared, and for a moment, I thought he might go off on me. Then he glanced around the nightclub and shrugged. “Your loss,” he purred before waltzing back into the crowd, and it opened like a sea to welcome him home.
My chest ached with a sadness I couldn’t quite describe, and I headed home with a head full of jumbled thoughts and nowhere to put them.
CHAPTER 2
Brinden
One of the best decisions I’d ever made was ditching my sleepy hometown to start my life anew. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of its own burning flame, I came to Destiny for a fresh start—and to start a business of my own.
I loved kids. Like, loved-loved-lovedkids, and since I couldn’t seem to get it together and find the Alpha of my dreams, I decided to live my best life and go for the next best thing—enjoying other people’s kids.
I’d been saving money for a long time, so when my bestie all but begged me to move down here so we’d be closer, I figured why not? Not like I had anything else to lose. I’d packed up everything I owned in a U-Haul and drove the hundred or so miles that separated me and Jillian.
I hadn’t lived here long, but I already liked the place. The people seemed nice, anyway. Over The Rainbow Daycare had only been open for a couple of months, but already, I had a small collection of parents who were happy with my services.
So happy, in fact, that they kept referring me to their friends. It made me so freaking happy, and being around the kids all the time? It wasexactlywhat I’d been missing.
The best thing was, the building I’d bought to run my daycare out of had a little apartment right off the back. It wasn’t much, but then again, I didn’t need a lot. I wasn’t high maintenance by any means, and if it meant I was right here and always accessible? Bonus.
“Looky!”
Kennedy Weaver was one of my favorite kids to watch. I know, I know, I shouldn’t play favorites with my clients, but she was a ray of sunshine that brightened the entire room. She was happy and artistic and very perky, and she got along with all the other kids. Plus, she was so dang sweet, you couldn’t help but adore her.
She came bumbling over, swinging her arms at her sides. In one chubby hand, she gripped a coloring sheet with a rainbow of colors scribbled across the page in crayon. She puffed out her chest, proud of herself, and thrust the art into my lap. “Look!”
“What did you color me?” I teased, plucking up the offered sheet of paper. It was one of the Valentine’s Day coloring pages I’d printed off in droves, of a little tabby cat with a bow wrapped around its neck. In a big, bubbly font it said, “Will You Be My Valentine?”
“A kitty,” she replied, as solemnly as a four-year-old could. “For you?”
“Aww, Kenny, that’s so sweet. Thank you.” Sliding off my chair, I knelt down beside her and we looked at her work of art together. “You know what? This is gonna go on my fridge.”
Her hazel eyes got big and shiny. “Really?”
“Really. That way, every time I look at your picture, I’ll think of you and all the hugs you give me.” I grinned and gently booped her on the nose with one finger.
“You wanna hug?”
I mock-gasped. “How could I ever say no to that?”
Her giggles were infectious as she wrapped her short arms around my neck and squeezed, and man… There was something about hugs from kids that made my heart go all aflutter. Truth was? I was always down for a hug. They were the best thing in the world, in my book. I only wished I had an Alpha of my own to hug me.
Kennedy toddled off to play with the building blocks, leaving me to my thoughts. I watched her fumble to stack the brightly-colored plastic bricks and sighed.
I wish she was mine…
The chances of me actually settling down were slim. I was lousy at the whole dating scene. I tried a couple of times, after I first moved to Destiny, but they’d felt awkward and wrong. That, or they only wanted a quick fuck.
I knew I wasn’t the perfect catch, but damn, I had to be worthsomething, right? Jillian and Reed kept promising me that I’d find “The One” but I had my doubts. My twenties had been uneventful, and I had a feeling my thirties would be too. That’s just the way the cookie crumbled.
At half-past five, I started rounding up the kids and helped them get their coats and hats on. Soon, their parents or guardians would start trickling in to pick up their munchkins, and I would be alone once more. Was it pathetic that I was sad to see them go?
“Daddy!” Kennedy squealed and took off running, and I turned to see her father bend down to greet her. He scooped her into his arms and swung her around. She giggled like a maniac as he hoisted her up high and blew a noisy raspberry on her exposed belly. “It tickles!”
Nathaniel set her down and gave a little wave, so I meandered over. The other Omega had always been nice to me, albeit a little on the nosy side. But the thing that stuck out the most was his sassiness. This Omega had no qualmsabout butting heads with his Alpha, and he wasn’t about to be outshined by anyone. It was kind of refreshing.
“Has my little angel been good?”
I grinned. “She’s always good, let’s be real.”
