He put down what he was working on and closed the distance between us. “That’s funny because I was thinking about you, omega.”
Goddess. There was no doubt that he was an alpha and I was an omega, but there was something almost feral about hearing an alpha call you that for the first time. And from Auburn? Instant hard-on.
“You were?”
“Yeah. I was wondering if you’d want to go get something to eat with me. At night. Not working.”
I cocked my head and barely quelled a smile. He was so shy sometimes. “A nonworking dinner, just the two of us?” Time to take that chance.
“Yes.”
“Auburn, are you asking me out on a date?”
He blushed. Goddess, what a blush. I wanted to raise up on my toes and kiss each reddened cheek. “Yes, I am. I’m not very good at this. I’ve been thinking of all the ways to ask you in the morning, but here you are, and I can’t keep it in any longer.”
My brain got control for a fraction of a second. I could stop this now. Prevent the heartache. Prevent the pain. Make sure I never got hurt again.
But, Auburn? He might be worth anything I went through. And Tim was right. Mason had no place in this relationship with my mate.
Auburn was my mate.
“Yes. Yes, I’ll go out with you. When?”
“Tomorrow night. If that’s okay? I know it’s your day off, but…”
I raised my hand and put my finger over his lips. They were soft and warm and begging for a touch that wasn’t my finger. “I’d love to. Tomorrow night. Now, what were you working on?”
Chapter Nine
Auburn
We went out of town on our first date. There were many restaurants we could have gone to locally, but I preferred the idea of somewhere neither of us were known. Despite my recent arrival, I met people every time I left the shop. And Oakley’s job put him in front of almost everyone at some point. I asked him, though, to be sure he agreed that it was a good idea.
“I love the idea of a road trip.” He ducked his head, grinning. “I’m already getting teased by Tim and Daisy at the nursery, and all I need is to have them run into us while we’re having dinner.”
“They’re teasing you?” I didn’t entirely hate that, since I knew how fond of him they both were. “What are they saying?”
“I’d rather not get into it. But I vote for out of town. Where shall we go?”
We were installing the front counter with the built-in freezer as we made our plans. “I’ve heard of a Japanese restaurant a couple of towns over,” I said. “Do you like that kind of food?”
“Sushi? Tempura? Teriyaki? I haven’t had that since I moved here.” He fastened a bolt to the floor and looked up at me. “It’s not too far to go?”
“I don’t think so.” Pulling out my phone, I checked. “Less than twenty-five miles. That’s just far enough, I think.”
We finished getting the counter installed then Oakley headed home to take a shower while I did the same upstairs. I was so excited, I didn’t know what to do or how to do it. And nervous. What if he didn’t have a good time? So far, I’d have said we were working together well, and we laughed often, which I called a good sign.
The Japanese restaurant was not much bigger than my little shop, but it was also quite charming, with tables separated by light screens. We ordered Japanese beers and a tempura appetizer plate to share, but as the meal went on, I noticed he never quite seemed to relax. Our knees were quite close under the table, but when they bumped, he jerked back. Our conversation, which had been flowing while we worked together, stalled, and by the time we’d finished our main course, I called for the bill rather than lingering. I hated seeing him so uncomfortable. He was so different from how he’d been with me before, and I wasn’t sure what to do to break through. Our first date was not going well, and if I didn’t do something to fix it, there would not be a second. Fated or not, my mate was miserable.
The food had been very good, the atmosphere peaceful and romantic, and here Oakley sat, answering my comments or questions in single syllables. He hadn’t eaten much of the food despite telling me how much he loved this cuisine. Something was very wrong, but he clearly was not ready to tell me what had him in such misery. And I could not force him. It would have to come naturally, in his own time. But I still had to do something to rescue this date.
“Oakley, I have an idea.” I pushed back from the table after paying the bill and picking up a box of leftovers. “If you aren’t in a hurry to get home to bed, we passed an area on the way here that looked ideal for a run. Omega, would you like to let our bears out for a bit?”
He hesitated, and I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t turn me down. If he did, I wasn’t sure what else I could do to help him relax. “All right. My bear needs to get out and stretch.” Together, we walked out of the restaurant and to the car. Oakley was still tense, and not talking a whole lot, but when we were in our fur, that wouldn’t matter. The bears wanted to meet one another, orat least my bear wanted to meet his. I opened the car door for him and waited until he was seated, seat belt pulled over his torso, before going around to my side of the car.
“The woods I spotted aren’t far from here. It looked quiet, and there was no fence on the side of the highway,” I told him as I drove along. “No posted signs that I could see either.”
“Good,” he replied. “I haven’t been this far in this direction before, but there are a number of places to shift around town.”
