Brooks drops a kiss on the top of my head, then releases me with a grin. My heart is so full I fear it might burst as I let his comfort and quiet joy sink into me, then turn to the wild beta demanding my attention.
The blankets he found are softer than the puppy I pet on a walk once and Ineedthem. I pick out navy bedding, plush blankets that feel like clouds in various shades of dark blue and turquoise. It reminds me of Lake Michigan, and I decide to go with that theme.
“Those are beautiful choices, Petal,” Brooks says.
Praise from my alpha buoys my confidence in my omega, and I move forward with more purpose. I scan a couple of soft beige and emerald green pillows, and Riley tosses a few fluffy blue and purple ones into our cart with a grin.
“I’m going to go check if I need to move anything around in the truck, be back in a few,” Brooks says.
I hardly notice his absence. I’m entirely immersed in running my hands over the plethora of pillows and plushies lining the next aisle.
“I need to get away from these before I buy them all,” I mutter.
“Maybe we can go look at paint colors? Have you decided what you want for the walls?”
Vee leads us to that area of the store, but instead of heading for the paint chips, I get side-tracked by the wallpapers. Such gorgeous patterns and all manner of colors and relaxing designs.
“Ooooh,” I breathe, running my fingertips over a sapphire blue wallpaper that looks like ripples on water. “Can we do wallpaper instead?”
I turn to Vee, but she’s disappeared too, and I raise my brows at Riley.
“Uhh, I think she went to see if they have people who can install it for us,” he says with a shrug. “She’ll be back.”
I grimace when he mentions others installing it, but he doesn’t notice. I try to tell myself that it’s fine, but ever since they told me about the nest beingmyspace, I’ve felt increasingly protective over it. I don’t want anyone I don’t know setting even one toe past the threshold.
“I love that pattern, though,” Riley continues. “Reminds me of the beach.”
Maybe I can learn to put wallpaper up myself? It can’t be that hard. I scan the barcode with a lingering twinge of uneaseat spending so much of their money. My omega can’t resist, though, so I try to embrace it.
Brooks and Vee catch up with us in the lighting section. I can’t get Riley’s idea of twinkle lights out of my head, and I gravitate toward them. So many options, and I have no idea what to choose.
“Can you help me pick?” I ask Riley.
They happily jump in, scanning a couple different strings and colors.
“How are we doing?” Brooks asks.
I hand him the tablet, and he scrolls back through the list.
“Okay we’ve got sheets and blankets, pillows, wallpaper—good choice, Petal, that’s really pretty—and plenty of string lights. What about curtains? And I was thinking, you saved a couple of those pictures with the drapey ceiling fabric, do you want to see if we can find something like that?”
I think there are hearts in my eyes.
I nod, a goofy-feeling smile on my face, and Brooks’ cheekbones flush above his beard. It’s adorable and I’mobsessedwith it.
I sneak under his arm and flatten myself to his side as we head to the decor aisle. There are more items here than I could have imagined, but it seems they were all paying close attention to what I liked last night, so it takes hardly any time at all to find exactly what I need to complete my nest.
“This nest is going to be stunning. Anything else you want to look at, Sweetling?”
I shake my head, my omega preening from all their praise. “I don’t think so. I can hardly imagine everything we have already.”
“Let’s get this set up, and if it’s missing anything, we’ll come back,” Brooks says, scent marking the top of my head.
I squeeze closer into him, lavender and vanilla swirling around us, and then we’re confirming colors and sizes, quantitiesand patterns. Vee handles most of it, so I kind of zone out, imagining what it will be like when it’s finished. How my pack’s scents will blend and fill the space, all soft lights and gentle textures, with no whites or pastels to be seen. They’re able to pack everything into Brooks’ truck, but when he goes to close the back, my omega whines in my chest.
He pauses and looks down at me with a concerned frown.
“What is it?”
