She opened her mouth and closed it again, unable to formulate an argument to my statement. I swept around the vehicle and opened her door, mindful of the traffic. She eyed me curiously but didn’t comment on the action.
“No budget. Buy Forest what you think he’ll enjoy,” I insisted, guiding her into the shop.
She meandered and I followed after we assured the overzealous associate we didn’t need any assistance. Clover picked up and put down a dozen items. Why wasn’t she looking at the big-ticket items when I was paying? Granted, I’d purchased a fair number of them entirely unprompted, but there were definitely others I hadn’t acquired yet.
“I think these.” Clover held up a deluxe set of teething items, ranging from cooling options to wood, silicone, and rubber. “Sapling is starting to cut his first teeth, and he’s not a happycamper about it. RIP, Meadow’s titty when they finally come through.”
“I…don’t know what to say about that last part, but the set looks appropriate. Is that all you’re getting?”
“You bought him a whole room of stuff. I need to go through it to see what else he might need, but I think you’ve been plenty generous on outfitting my nephew with baby supplies.”
“What can I get foryou?”
She shrugged. “I don’t need anything.”
“But what do youwant?”
“I think we both know you’d get weird if I asked for something frivolous and expensive. I’ll buy my own Manolos, thanks.” She brushed past me toward the register, already reaching for her purse until I stopped her with a hand on her wrist.
“Let me. All of today is covered, whatever you want.”
The cashier looked ready to swoon over that declaration, but she wasn’t who I wanted swooning for me. Clover was a tougher nut to crack, but I was determined to figure her out.
“Forest will love these, thanks.”
“What would you like for dinner? I know an incredible Japanese place with an omakase menu that’s to die for.”
“I can’t have shrimp, so probably safer to avoid. Are you too fancy for a burger?”
I couldn’t quite remember the last time I’d had one. “Avery forced a love of them on me when we became friends.”
“That sounds like something he would do. Did you force anything fancy on him in return?”
“Duck confit crepes. It took him a while to appreciate, and he cried while feeding the ducks at the park after the first time he tried it, but it’s one of his favorites now.”
She tilted her head, her blue eyes piercing straight into my soul. “I’d be down for fancy crepes. I’ve never had duck confit before.”
“Then you’re in for a treat.”
I called ahead to the restaurant, and they confirmed they’d make sure a table was open for us. Clover was thoroughly baffled when we arrived. The valet took her car, and they swept us right inside to a private booth, servers already approaching the table with food by the time our drink orders were taken.
“Parker, what the fuck is happening?” she hissed quietly.
“Excellent service.” I sipped my sparkling water while she nervously sucked down half of her sweet tea. “They know what I like when I come here.”
Clover’s eyes were enormous as the various plates landed on the table and I showed her the best way—in my opinion—to assemble the crepes. Her muffled groan at her first bite shot straight to my cock.
“You like it?”
“Oh my god. This is fucking bomb.” She polished off three more before she surfaced to breathe. “I can see why you enjoy this place.”
I smiled, warmed that, at the very least, she had good taste. “One of my favorites. Tell me about yourself. Where did you go to college?”
“University of Washington. I didn’t go far for my bachelor’s, but I have options on both coasts for law school.”
“Lawschool?” That wouldn’t have been my first guess. I hoarded the details she revealed, intending to keep each one to myself as I formed a picture of this beautiful omega.
“Yep. I have offers from Harvard, Yale, and UCLA, but I’m struggling to choose which would be best for me. Obviously, UCLA would mean I can stay where I am, but I do like the look on people’s faces when you bring up the Ivies. Just like yoursnow because you didn’t think I could get into those schools, right?”
