What the hell is wrong with me?
So much for lying low in Honeysuckle Grove. So much for acting like I’m not staying.
I push the thought away as best as I can, but the truth is, it keeps circling. A damn buzzard over a carcass. This is a crazy idea. I worry that I’m too much of a mess for a date, but Tansy doesn’t agree.
“Stop stressing, Lo,” she insists. “You lookamazing. Thanks to me, of course!”
I take a deep breath and glance at myself in the mirror.
Okay. Maybe she’s right.
She worked some kind of magic. My hair’s soft, with those curls falling just the way they should, framing my face in a way that makes my reflection look like a stranger. Loose and relaxed, but not messy. My makeup looks natural, highlighting all my best features, including high cheekbones that I haven’t noticed in years.
My dress? It’s simple, black, nothing too flashy. But damn, it hugs in all the right places while still leaving room for me to eat and not look bloated to all hell. Tansy knows exactly what I need to feel just confident enough.
She also knows I love food.
I tilt my head, eyeing the reflection, still not sure if I feel like me. A few weeks ago, I would’ve taken one look at this and walked right back out the door. But right now? The soft, warm scent of lavender and vanilla from my perfume fills the atmosphere, mixing with the heavier scent of my own skin. I sprayed a little extra tonight, worried my Omega scent might be too strong. Especially now, with everything swirling inside me.
I bite my lip and let out a nervous laugh. “Okay, fine. You win. I do look good.”
Tansy grins at me from behind, bouncing up and down on her toes. “Told you! You look like a million bucks. Go and knock his socks off.”
But as I stare at myself, my mind’s racing. It’s not just the dress or the makeup. It’s him. Ford.
Why the hell did I say yes?
Because he’s your Alpha.
I want to make the Omega inside of me shut up, but she’s right. Despite all the mess that’s tangled up in my head, the truth is, Ford makes me feel something, even when I don’t want to feel it.
He makes me feel safe in a way I don’t get from anyone else. The thought of seeing him again sends a weird shiver down myspine, and not just because he’s ridiculously attractive, because that would be easy to ignore. It’s more than that. It’s the way he looks at me, the way he makes me feel seen. The way he smells…
And that terrifies me.
The nerves begin to twist again in my stomach, and this time, I can’t push them away. My Omega instincts? They’re alive and kicking, begging me to skip dinner just so I can sink down on his swelling knot again. My thighs pulse with a need to be filled. My skin feels too warm. It all feels so complicated.
But then again, instincts always are. At least to me.
Look at the bright side, though. At least my heat isn’t an issue. Which is fantastic, because I don’t know ifanysuppressants on the market would be strong enough to help me resist the gravitational pull that seems to orbit Ford.
I look at Tansy, who’s now halfway through applying her own lip gloss, oblivious to the war going on inside me. “I’m just… I don’t know. What if I mess this up, Tee? What if he thinks I’m a wreck?”
Tansy rolls her eyes and flops down onto the couch dramatically. “You’re not a wreck. You’re a beautiful, complicated mess, and Ford is gonna love every second of it.”
I give her a pointed look. “I’m not sure I want anyone to love my mess right now.”
Tansy chuckles. “Okay, enough of the emo stuff. You’ve got a hot date with a hot guy. Any Omega would be tripping over themselves for something like that. So go make it happen. The worst thing that’ll happen is you go, you eat some good food, and you both go home. Right?”
I nod. “Right.”
Tansy beams brightly. “Right. So, go get your grub on, and whatever happens, happens. But don’t tell yourself that you’re going to muck it up. You’ll only get inside your head and find a way to make it happen.”
Right. Okay. Yes.
I can do this.
I can do this date with Ford and not fuck it up. I can smile and let myself feel special for an evening.
