“I’m here, mate.”
I could’ve made a big deal about him calling me that for the first time, but I knew it was the first of many times he would call me that. It warmed me head to toe.
Auburn walked into the room wearing his work clothes. Tattered shirt with holes and paint stains. Equally stained jeans. Bare feet. Yes, the man looked good dressed up a bit, but this is how I loved him most.
Huh. Yeah. I did love him.
“I…” Now, I didn’t know how to start this conversation. “My ex called this morning. I thought I should talk to you about it. No, that’s not right. I wanted to talk to you about it. You were the first person who popped into my mind.”
A smile slowly built on his face, and he dropped the hammer he held and walked over to me. He put his hands on either side of my face, leaned in, and placed the gentlest, most loving kiss on my lips. Then another one. “I’m happy to be the first person that popped into your mind, omega. Come on. I got you one of those honey-almond lattes you love and I brought breakfast burritos. My specialty.”
I stumbled back a bit. That kiss, tender and sweet as it was, made my knees jelly and while I caught what he was saying, I was still in a bit of bliss. “Oh. Coffee. Yes. Thank you.”
He winked at me and took my hand, leading me over to the small table he’d brought in. “I hope you get all discombobulatedevery time I kiss you, mate. That was adorable. Now tell me what’s going on.”
“Mason called me this morning. I don’t know what I expected. I thought I’d never hear from him.” I took a sip of the latte, hoping the bit of caffeine would help me get through this. I’d relived that time almost daily, but since Auburn came into my life, I barely even thought of it.
Mason had excellent timing, another thing he lacked when we were together.
“He brought us here after seeing that Oliver Creek was a bustling and upcoming new town that had food trucks and restaurants that weren’t found anywhere else in the world. It was also a haven for shifters, and he knew I wanted to live somewhere where shifters were accepted and could live in peace. He had a dream of opening up a café of sorts, but he was muddled about the execution. He didn’t have a clear idea of what kind of café. There was no menu. No theme. No business plan. Just…flying by the seat of our pants.”
“And you went with him because you’re good like that.”
I nodded. Shook my head and laughed. “I did. I wanted to be the supportive partner. But there was guilt on his part. He would do this thing where he told me he was so glad to have me, but if I decided to choose myself and not go with him or put any money in, he would understand. Then sometimes, he would call me selfish for not wanting to do it or talking about the logistics.”
Auburn listened to the rest of the story in silence. He stayed steady. Too steady, while I told him about Mason’s laziness and lack of work ethic and draining my savings. I’d ended up investing twice as much as I’d said I was comfortable with in the beginning.
When I was done and had even shed tears over how it all went down, my mate reached for me. I got up and sat in his lap and curled into his chest as he held me tight.
“He took advantage of you. Of your giving and loving spirit. Of how amazing a person you are. He was wrong to betray you like that.” Auburn kissed the top of my head. “We haven’t known each other for long, but I would never abandon you, omega. I won’t take advantage of you or betray you. I’m not Mason, if you needed to hear that.”
I did. How in the hell he knew was beyond me.
“Thank you. I know you wouldn’t do that to me, but I wanted you to know.”
He hugged me tight, and I kissed his neck. “Thank you for telling me. It took bravery to open up to me, and I appreciate it.”
Chapter Eleven
Auburn
More than half my equipment had arrived and was in the process of being installed, but the other half had not only not come yet, but the tracking on the app for the supplier was not showing where it was at all.
Time was closing in. Every day, more tourists and foodies patrolled the streets of Oliver Creek, and, while working on the shop, I often looked up to find potential customers outside looking in. Their voices carried to me, while they wondered when we’d open or maybe said they were sorry they hadn’t been able to try the ice cream before their trip was over.
I was sorry, too.
These people spurred me on to get things in place in a hurry and also made me tense over the missing equipment. I absolutely could not open without the items that had been in stock when I placed the order then backordered anyway.
I found myself rushing around working, doing anything I could think of to have as much as possible ready when the other items came, not even sleeping much. Oakley asked me if I was resting or what was making me look so tired, but I brushed it aside, telling him I was just fine. After all, this would soon be over, and I’d be keeping regular hours. There was no reason to upset the omega as well. He was such a huge help.
The days continued to pass, and my calls were going nowhere. The supplier said they had no further information. Basically, it would come when it came and stop bothering them. It was too late to order anywhere else. Frantic and disgusted with myself for not fixing this situation sooner, I kept at it. Cleaning and recleaning the same spaces, telling myself that what I still needed could be installed in a day. But warm dayswere passing, tourists were passing, and I’d seen a review of the shop claiming it had problems and would never open.
Finally, as I was polishing the window in the wee small hours, a tap came on the front door.
Who would come this late?
I peered out through the glass to see Oakley looking back at me.Uh-oh.I opened the door and he came in, fixed me with a severe glare.
