Lyla.
I picked up my pace. We couldn’t get to Primrose House fast enough.
Ozzi would see she was perfect for both of us. So what if his parents were going to pair him up with some snobby Omega at New Year’s dinner. What they wanted was not what he needed. Ozzi was even more of a romantic than I was. He was a fucking proper Darcy like in those girly regency movies.
I would make this work all around.
Ozzi had completed the reports and was putting on his coat as I arrived. He raised his brows in question.
“Permission granted, man.” I laughed. I couldn’t stop myself. While any other time I might have been tired from working extra shifts this week, I was fully energized. “Permission granted.”
He rolled his eyes, but I saw him smile. “We have chains on the truck, but we still have to take it slow. Did you find out what Lyla’s favorite food is?”
“She has a sweet tooth, and she likes burgers. I don’t know what’s going to be open though. We should just pick up whatever we can. Fuck knows I’m starving.” I could eat a twenty pound turkey myself at the moment, but more than food, I wanted to see Lyla.
The wind slammed into us the second we opened the exit door. We shielded our faces inside our coats and walked swiftly toward our Ford Explorer. Ozzi turned on the engine to warm it up as we both cleared the vehicle of snow. We did it without talking and with more haste than usual.
Yeah, he wanted to see Lyla as badly as I did. We hopped in once we were done with Ozzi in the driver’s seat. I turned on the music and tapped my hand on the armrest. “Wendy’s is the closest place, but I bet you they’re closed. They close even if we’re due for an inch of snow.” I snorted. An inch was nothing. We were going to get at least a foot tonight. “Maybe Baby Joe’s might be open. John lives in the apartment above it. There’s also the Culver’s down the street a bit farther.”
“I know. Let’s just take it as it comes. The lot here is cleared and the main street looks okay as far as I can see, but that doesn’t mean other places are.” Ozzi focused on the road. The ice and snow crunched beneath our chains. Fuck, I wished he would go faster.
“Wendy’s is definitely closed.” The sign wasn’t lit up or else it would be visible as we exited the lot even with the swirling snow. I mentally plotted the fastest route to Primrose House. “Go downtown. Baby Joe’s should be open.”
“Call. It will save us from going that way if they’re closed.” Yup, Ozzi was the logical one.
I looked up the number and tapped it to send in a call. It rang and rang, but no one answered. Shit. “Closed.”
“Let’s head to Culver’s.” Ozzi was still driving at a snail’s pace. We hadn’t seen anyone else out on the road and for goodreason. Some of the side roads we passed were blocked in with snow drifts. No way we’d get home tonight.
I sighed. “We might have to crash at my parents’ house.”
“Yeah, I figured we would.” He didn’t let his eyes leave the road for a second. We weren’t sliding, but his knuckles were white with how tightly he clutched the wheel.
“Or we could be stuck at Primrose House.” I eyed him for his reaction.
His jaw twitched. “That’s not appropriate, man. It’s a place for Omegas. It’s one thing when we had to go in and save Eloise, and another that we’re checking on the welfare of Lyla, but we need to respect their space.”
“Eloise gave us permission.” I reminded him and grinned. “She also gave us permission to date Lyla, if she wants us. Not just date, but her literal words were ‘take care of her in any way she needs.’Any. Way.”
Ozzi’s head swung toward me and he gaped. “You didnotask Eloise that!”
“I surely fucking did.” I chuckled.
“Fucking hell.” He grunted and took a slow turn which would take us to Culver’s. “That’s not proper in the current situation. Not with Eloise recovering from a stroke and Lyla being so shaken up about it, and now with the worst December storm we’ve had in years—”
“I couldn’t stop myself. I want Lyla. She’s perfect for us.” I wasn’t going to apologize for it. It might not be an ideal situation, but I was honest about how I felt. I had never wanted an Omega as much as I wanted Lyla.
“For you. She’s perfect for you.” Ozzi groaned and stopped at a red light. “My family would never approve of Lyla. Besides, they have an Omega for me to meet on New Year’s Day. Thea Alexpoulos.”
“Who cares? You’re not obligated to marry Thea. Give Lyla a chance, man.” I couldn’t understand how he didn’t see her as the greatest Omega ever. In my head, we were already spending the night at Primrose House. The more time he had with Lyla, the more he’d fall for her.
“Yaya had a dream about Thea. She’s the one.” Ozzi announced this with complete seriousness and like the decree of a queen.
Ozzi’s grandmother was a hoot. A little wacky and stuffed full of old world superstitions. I adored her, but Yaya having dreams that told the future was too far out there for me. It always surprised me when Ozzi gave the dreams weight. “Seriously?”
“Yes. She said I would find my mate very soon.” He nodded and turned toward the Culver’s which did have its lights on. “She’s very excited about it.”
“So she specifically said Thea is your mate?” I wasn’t going to call it bullshit because he’d be pissed, but it was exactly that.
