A dry smile appeared on her lips. “Let me guess. You’re thinking that I don’t really look disabled.”
I blushed in shame that she had read my mind. “Y-yeah.”
She made a hand motion, and the dog sat immediately. Its warm brown gaze drifted from the woman to the floor to the walls as it waited for her next command.
“I have epilepsy,” she explained. “He can detect my seizures before they happen.”
My eyes widened. “Wow. Really? How?”
She shrugged. “I think it’s something to do with scent, or body cues. I got him from an organization, so he was already trained.”
“That’s really interesting,” I murmured.
“It is, isn’t it?” She tilted her head. “Hey. Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Oh, it’s Felix,” I said.
She smiled. “Brooke.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” She tilted her head. “Um, you were crying pretty hard earlier. Are you okay?”
With more embarrassment, I realized that not only had she heard me sobbing, but my eyes were still red and puffy. I wiped them on my sleeve. “Yeah. I mean, no. Everything sucks right now. But I’ll get over it. Probably.”
She knitted her brows in sympathy. Then she stroked her dog’s head. “I usually don’t let people pet him, but . . . would you like to?”
I gazed down at the yellow dog, with its warm brown eyes and wavy, soft-looking coat. Despite not being the biggest fan of dogs, I was endeared to him because of how well behaved he was, and felt compelled to stroke his fur.
I nodded to Brooke, who said to her dog, “Go ahead and say hi.”
The dog walked over to me, wagging his tail. Unlike the dogs in Larry’s neighborhood, this one didn’t try to jump all over me, which made me like him even more. I pet his ears and neck, and my fingers got lost in the forest of fur.
Tears rolled out of my eyes. I didn’t even realize I was crying again until I felt something wet drip on my hand. The dog licked it and I laughed, although my voice was broken from wailing.
“Thanks,” I mumbled to Brooke after I was finished petting her dog. “I think I needed that.”
“It’s okay. We all have bad days.”
I laughed again, even though my situation wasn’t funny. “More like a bad life. My mate just dumped me for not being able to bear children. Now I have nowhere to go, and no job . . ”
I cut myself off before I spilled my entire tragic story to a complete stranger. But I’d already said enough, and wanted to smack myself for the word vomit. Brooke didn’t care. She probably just wanted to get back to her hotel room already. She didn’t need me to use her like a therapist.
But Brooke touched her hand to her chin in thought. “Hang on. Are you an omega, Felix?”
I realized for the first time Brooke was tall enough to look down at me--her alpha stature was clear. I hated being the stereotypical short omega, but obviously there was nothing I could do about it.
“Yeah,” I said.
“I dunno how you’d feel about it, but my boyfriend works at a place that only hires omegas. Maybe you’d have a chance there?”
“Um . . . It’s not a sex thing, is it?” I asked hesitantly.
She laughed. “No way. I’d never letmyomega boyfriend work at a sex place.Omega Latte something? Let me see if I have the card . . .”
She fished in her wallet for a moment, then pulled out a thick cream-colored business card. When she handed it to me, I was taken aback by the glitter and holographic designs of angel wings. This was no low-quality card, that was for sure.
“Omega Angel Café . . .?”
