Plants were the best listeners by far. I told them all kinds of stories. They knew about Mason. Every plant someone took home that had been in this greenhouse had a personal beef with the jerk of an alpha.
Today, and for the past few weeks, I’d told them about Auburn. The way he let me pick a pastry from the box first. Sometimes, if we were in each other’s way, he would gently touch my lower back. I’d caught him checking out my ass a few times as well.
He spoke to me with kindness, and when I accidentally messed up a section of the flooring, he shrugged and said we’d fix it together.
No yelling. No hissy fits. Didn’t even raise his voice.
Before Mason, I swore these kinds of alphas were boring. They had no passion. There couldn’t possibly be attraction and sex with someone so…bland.
I was wrong. Very, very wrong.
“None of your beeswax,” I said, moving on to the next section. The petunias loved my stories. And my gossip. Mainly the gossip.
“Maybe you’re talking to them about that alpha that was coming in all the time.”
I gasped and ran my fingers over bright-pink petals. “For shame! Have you been listening in?” I leaned in and whispered to the flower, “The boss needs more to do.”
“No. But I know mates when I see them.”
“You think Auburn is my mate?” I asked, well aware that my cheeks lit up in flames at the mention of his name. There wasreally only a small part of me denying the truth Tim had said out loud. How dare he.
“Don’t you know?”
I leaned against the next table, careful not to get any of my friends caught in the movement. “I’m thinking about it.”
“Thinking? Thinking? What does your bear say?”
I threw my head back and groaned. “You know too much about shifters.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“He says Auburn is my mate.”
“Then, what’s the problem?”
I nailed him with a stare. “The human side. The one that’s afraid to get hurt again. The one that’s not quite willing to take a chance. The last time….it hurt so much. The betrayal. The abandonment. The financial ruin.”
“Auburn is not Mason. It’s not really fair to compare. Oh, hey, that rhymed.”
“It’s not fair but I can’t help it.”
Tim clapped me on the shoulder. “Try, okay? You are a great person. Hard-working. Kind. Smart. You deserve a good alpha. A good mate and partner.”
“Thank you.” My phone beeped. “Oh, saved by the bell. My shift is over.”
Tim nodded. “Going to help your man?”
I laughed. “Yeah, I think I will. Thanks for the talk.”
I wasted no time in going to Auburn. Tim knew he was my mate. Daisy did.
I did. Leaving me terrified of what that meant.
“Hey,” I said, going into the back door. Auburn had given me a key to his business the day before. Said there was no one on earth he trusted more than me.
“Hi. I didn’t expect you until tomorrow.”
I shrugged. “I left work and my legs just kind of walked in this direction.”
