I slipped on a pair of pajama pants and went out to the kitchen. The inn was really coming along. The paint did wonders for us to see the image of what he wanted coming to life.
“Where are you?” I asked, raising my voice since I didn’t know where he was. We’d cuddled for hours after mating, learning each other’s bodies without expectations. There was no need to rush. We had the rest of our lives to do anything we wanted—together.
“In the kitchen.”
Not a surprise. When I got downstairs, I meandered into the kitchen. The piles of tools and hardware and projects were getting smaller, and some of them, like the paint and the brushes, had vanished altogether. “What are you doing?” I asked.
Greg stepped to the side to reveal a wooden tray piled with all kind of snacks and tiny sandwiches. He shrugged like it was no big deal. I’d known alphas that wouldn’t even make theirmate toast and he’d gone to all this effort for me. Some alphas’ wooing faded over time but I was sure Greg’s wouldn’t. He was a good guy. That simple. “I thought we could go outside and have a night picnic.”
“Is it night already?” I moved to the window and pushed the curtain aside. “It is.”
“We had a long afternoon. Or we could eat inside. I thought being under the stars would be nice.”
I turned to my mate and opened the back door. “I think that’s pretty damned romantic, alpha.”
Greg laid out a blanket on the grass and ran back inside for some sparkling grape juice.
“That’s your celebration grape juice for when the house is finished.”
Ignoring my comment, he uncapped it and poured us each a glass. “I saved it for a celebration. Today is worth celebrating. The library for one.”
We clinked glasses and took a sip. “And other things,” I said.
“Other things? We’ve seen every inch of each other’s bodies and you’re shy now, omega mine?” He brushed his knuckles over my cheek. They were on fire. I was no prude but I had gotten shy with talking about it.
Maxwell never wanted to talk about it. Never wanted to talk about anything, really.
“Yes,” I admitted, shrugging one shoulder. I gathered my bravery. “We should celebrate finding each other. The way Fate works.” I put my glass down. I had something else to say. I’d felt it almost since the moment I saw Greg standing in front of this house but now, the words burned in my heart, almost refusing to be huffed out. “Greg, I love you. I’m in love with you. Not because of biology or Fate or mating. I’m in love with you because you’re sweet and generous and hard-working and you.”
His turn to blush. “I love you, Oswald. The moment you showed up on my door was one of the best days of my life. I always dreamed of having an omega and a family and this inn, but I never dreamed of you.”
We shared some kisses and he fed me triangle sandwiches and snacks until I was past the point of fullness.
I laughed as my thoughts swirled.
“What are you laughing about?” Greg’s face was tilted to the sky. Neither of us, it turned out, was good at astronomy. We couldn’t even find anything remotely close to a dipper big or little. “First of all, we need to get an astronomy book if we are going to spend time out here, either that or an app. Second, I was thinking about my apartment. Everything has changed today. Do I even need to worry about finding someplace to live?”
He let out a low growl. Not at me but toward the general topic. “No. You belong in my bear’s den. Unless you want to live somewhere else for a while?”
Through the bond, I could feel his disappointment in even muttering the words. “I want to live in my bear’s den.”
“Then I’m not letting you go. Done. Settled.”
We lay there on the blanket until we both yawned.
“You have a big day tomorrow, Oswald. Should we call it a night?”
I nodded and got up. “Yes. But I like this, sitting under the stars with you. Let’s make it a tradition.”
We went back inside and put away the uneaten snacks and made our way upstairs. When I got to my room door, I turned to my alpha. My fox whined inside me, not wanting any distance between us.
“Stay with me tonight, alpha? Please?”
Greg picked me up, honeymoon-style, and brought me to bed. “I never want to be apart from you, omega. No matter what life brings us, I want to wake up with you.”
Chapter Eighteen
Greg
