I tuck the phone away and slump against the side of my bed.
Then my lamb stuffie catches my eye. Josh must have tossed it in here after locking me away the other night. I crawl across the floor and scoop it up, hugging it to my chest and hating the lingering scent of Josh on its fluffy head.
Chapter Fifteen
Sage
The next morning, everything is back to normal. I make them breakfast, Steve tells me to eat some fruit, then I clean up and head out for my walk. I look behind me constantly. Fear of them following is a lead ball in my stomach, but there’s no sign of them.
When I turn onto State Street, I see Brooks’ work truck right away. My heart skips as my breath hitches in my chest. I increase my pace, hurrying toward it, then pause to take in the view of him working. His hair is only half-up today, and he’s wearing thick gloves and a mask, spraying something along the edge of a garden, muscles flexing as he moves.
“Brooks,” I say, probably too quietly, but somehow he hears.
He spins toward me, releasing the sprayer as he does. Then he takes long strides across the lawn, slipping off his mask and removing and dropping one glove at a time. It’s an overwhelming sight, how intently focused he is on me, and I’m already relaxing from being near him.
“Sage,” he breathes my name, and we nearly fall into each other’s arms before remembering that we can’t.
My face crumples, a shard of glass spearing into my heart, but before it can crystalize into something that truly hurts, he reaches into his pocket.
“I brought you something,” he says, lightening my chaotic mood. Then his gaze turns wary. “But it’s not from me this time.”
“It’s not?” I glance between the small box and his face, realizing the urge to avoid looking at him like I do with other alphas is diminishing. I’m not sure what to do with that, but I like looking at him, and he seems to like it too.
My fingers twist, picking at a hangnail that’s been bugging me for days, and he reaches out with one finger to tap my hands. I drop them to my sides, and he offers an encouraging smile.
Brooks guides me over to his truck, then sits on the curb in the shade of it, snagging a relatively clean hand towel to spread on the curb beside him. My heart flutters at the gesture as I sink down onto it.
Close, but not close enough. He hasn’t handed me the gift yet, and my omega wants to reach out and snatch it. Instead of handing it over, though, he pulls out his phone and opens a string of messages, scrolling up.
“When we were at the lavender farm, I saw you were connecting with Riley. He’s a scent-match for both of us, I think. Right?”
“Yeah, I thought he might be. He is for you, too?” I ask, hope lining my voice.
“He is. I also met his alpha, Neveah, the one he mentioned a couple times that owns the lavender fields.”
“Oh, um.” I stumble over the words. I thought I smelled another alpha on him, but I didn’t realize she was there. “Did his alpha not want to meet me?”
I don’t notice that I’ve said the uncertain words aloud until he replies.
“She absolutely wants to meet you, but she thought it might have been too much all at once to introduce herself that day. Her and I exchanged phone numbers, though, and we’ve been chatting. They both want to see you again. Here,” he says, pointing to a string of messages from Riley and Neveah.
My eyes skip over them, confirming what he said. I blink, then fold my arms around my stomach, trying to contain the roiling emotions that are twisting around inside me.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” he says, voice soft. “I know it’s a lot, it is for me too, and it probably feels overwhelming. But Riley really liked meeting you.”
“I liked him too,” I say. The affirmation that I’m not alone in my feelings helps bring me back from the edge of zoning out.
“And,” Brooks says, a note of humor entering his voice. “I think Neveah is jealous.”
“What? Why?” I look up at him, bewildered of what she would have to be jealous of.
“Because I get to see you nearly every day, and Riley got to spend a couple hours getting to know you. She hasn’t even been able to talk to you yet.”
“Oh,” I say. Huh.
“Would you want to talk to her? And Riley? It’s okay if not, if it’s too soon.”
“No, yeah. I… I do want to talk to her. Both of them. I think I’d like that. Could you… Would you be able to…?”
