Then there’s also the fact Hayes hired me from my strip club, bought me a BMW and came up with the worst plan on introducing me to his pack ever.
At least the most mortifying thing Sterling has seen with his own eyes is me nearly falling off a stripper pole and cracking my head open.
I go with the safest route, and I turn to face Sterling.
“So, besides saving damsels in distress, kittens from trees, and helping old ladies cross the street, what else do you like to do?” I ask.
He smiles. God, his jaw is sharp and strong, it’s only accented more when his lips curve upward in intrigue.
“Well. I like hiking, I go fishing with my dads from time to time, and just relaxing with my pack. What about you, baby girl? What do you do in your free time?”
Baby girl. Baby fucking girl.
I fixate on the two words, wondering if they have the power to make me spontaneously combust. I shake the thought out of my head. I’m a very important Omega who’s being courted. I can’t be easily seduced with a plate of food and two simple words.
Who the fuck am I kidding? If Sterling asked me to climb on the table and eat me for dessert, I’d happily oblige.
I swear the man can hear my thoughts as he grips the back of my chair.
“Well, I like reading and skincare. I was an esthetician before I designated, so I miss that a lot. Then there’s just the silly crafts I like to do on the side.”
“I bet they’re not silly. What kinds of crafts?” Sterling asks.
My mom always called them silly. It was stupid that I was spending so much money on sheets of glass, or the way I would scour the buy nothing sell free pages for people’s junk to repurpose.
“I like making stained-glass pieces, and I’ve done some sculpture work, but it’s all for fun, not monetization.”
“I’d love to see some of your projects,” he says, and for the first time in a very long time I feel like an Alpha is genuinely interested in my hobbies.
“Most of my supplies are still at my mom’s house,” I mumble, glancing back down at my plate and plopping a strawberry into my mouth. When I glance back up, Nate is rubbing his jaw, looking furious with his dark brows furrowed.
“Would you like to go for a walk with me after lunch?” Nate asks. I grab my glass of juice, taking a heavy sip before nodding in agreement.
I didn’t know if we were going to sweep our history under the rug, but it seems like that’s not a possibility. Shit, what if talking about it ruins the rest of the trip? On the other hand, it’s probably best to get this over with now. I’d rather find out now if this pack has a shot in hell of working.
“Take a hat and some water,” Sterling says as he collects our plates.
“I’ll grab us each a bottle. Your bag is in the room on the far left,” Nate says.
I go through my bag, grabbing the hat I brought, and I’m glad for Sterling’s detailed packing list as I put the black cap on my head. Nate meets me at the front door, a worn gray station hat on his head, and two water bottles hanging between his fingertips.
“Ready?” he asks.
“As I’ll ever be,” I say as we step out of the air-conditioned cabin and into the dry, desert heat.
We make it down the stairs and head to the right, where there’s a clear walking trail. My heart is thumping in my chest as the hot sun beams down on us.
“So…” he says, a long pause before his next words. “I’m making this weird, aren’t I?”
“I mean, it’s a pretty weird situation, isn’t it?” I ask, glancing up at him.
“I need you to know that I don’t have any feelings for Erin. I never loved her. It was a bad situation for me, and I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like for you. I didn’t know she kicked you out because I had already left. I’m sorry you’ve been doing this all on your own,” he says it all so fast, clearly nervous.
I pause our walk on the trail and face him, wanting to give him just as much honesty as he gave me. Part of me is shocked he feels responsible for something my mom did, or guilt over me when he barely knew me. It does ease my nerves ever so slightly to learn he never loved my mom. I think that…I think that might have ended this before it even started.
“You hardly even knew me. I mean, we’re just getting to know each other now. I didn’t expect you to be my knight in shining armor.”
“But what if I want to be?” he asks.
