Page 41 of Petals & Promises

After dinner, Vili walked us to the arboretum behind the restaurant. He truly wanted us to see the beauty of Tumie and Numoland, ignoring the dark stain his family had left on the day. Finally, we made it back to the hotel, stuffed and jetlagged, making it easy to fall asleep curled up in the arms of my Alphas.

We spent the following day exploring the city, Vili showing us all his favorite places and childhood haunts. Learning about him was truly an amazing gift since he’d been so closed-lipped about his life here. Now, even if we never came back to Tumie, I would have experienced everything there was to Vili’s time here.

This was the most walking I’d done in a while, but I wasn’t willing to tell the guys I was getting tired. However, I forgot that now we’re bonded, they all knew the truth anyway. Ulysses stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, dropped to one knee, and looked over his shoulder at me.

“Hop on, Rosie,” he instructed.

“What?”

He rolled his eyes and gestured with his hands. “Come on, hurry up. I’m blocking traffic.”

That got me moving since he knew how much I hated it when people stopped for no reason, becoming an obstacle to the flow of foot traffic. Hopping up on his back, I wrapped my arms around his neck as he secured my legs. Waffles watched us, seeming a little unsure about this situation, but Nugget jumped on Lysse’s leg as if he wanted to be picked up too.

“Sorry, Nug, I can only carry one of you,” Lysse said.

Nugget gave a frustrated sneeze, shaking his whole body, but fell in step alongside Waffles as we continued on. I peppered the side of Lysse’s face with kisses then nuzzled his neck. “You’re pretty amazing, you know that?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but I’ll take it.” Lysse chuckled. “Why didn’t you just tell us you were getting tired?”

“Because I didn’t want this day to end,” I admitted. “If I said I was tired, then you guys would overcorrect and make us go back to the hotel.”

He grunted at that, unable to deny the truth of my words. Vili spun around and walked backward as he spoke, “Not this time,” he announced with a grin. “I have surprise planned.”

“You do?” I gasped excitedly.

“Two, in fact,” Vili answered, holding up his fingers in a peace sign as we came to a stop. “The first is here.”

Looking to my left, I saw a shop full of stunning dresses ranging from what you’d wear for a fancy date night to ballgowns that would fulfill any woman’s dreams. Yun-Sun held open the door for Lysse to enter, ducking slightly so I didn’t hit my head. Once we reached the center of the store, he let me slide down.

The shop looked like a fairy garden vomited all over the place. Lush velvet chairs in jewel tones were scattered around the space. The walls were brick but covered in ivy and other flowering greenery. Wisteria hung from the ceiling, and the lights were all crystal chandeliers sending glittering rainbow light all over the store. When I finally got to absorbing the fact there were racks of dresses in every color I could think of, I almost fainted with excitement. Waffles took up position behind me, offering his support and giving me something to lean on.

“Whoa,” I managed to say, covering my mouth with my hands, feeling so overwhelmed.

Vili, grinning like a cat who’d just been given a bowl of cream, bowed and extended a hand to me. “Mrs. Thatcher, would you go to the ballet with me tonight?”

A squeal of joy burst out of me as I did a little happy dance before leaping into Vili’s arms. Yes! Oh my God, yes. I would love to go to the ballet with you.”

Vili cuddled me close, purring his delight before setting me down. “Then, my kitten, pick your dress.”

Gawking at him, I tried to say something but instead just impersonated that silly signing fish as I flapped about. “I-I get to pick a dress from here?”

“Of course, why else would we come?” Vili questioned, trying not to laugh at my reaction.

“This is like that moment in all those romantic movies every woman dreams of,” I blurted as I looked around the shop. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Maybe I can be of some help,” a woman around my age offered as she approached us.

She looked like an elf with her delicate bone structure, bright tawny-brown eyes, and shoulder-length cotton-candy pink hair. Instantly, I wanted to be her best friend.

“Zelly,” Vili greeted eagerly. “I didn’t know you were in town. Is Elora here too?”

“No, big sis is home doing some interviews for her new album that’s releasing in two weeks. Since the music is done and she didn’t need me for a while, I decided to visit Mom and Dad. Mom mentioned you’d be stopping by with your new bonded Omega and figured it would be fun to help,” Zelly explained.

She then turned to me with a giant grin blooming on her face as she held out her hand. “Name’s Zelia, but most people call me Zelly.”

I took her hand, impressed with the strong grip she had. “Bailey-Rose, it’s so nice to meet you, Zelly.”

“God, you have amazing style,” Zelly added, twirling me around. “This is going to be so much fun. Come on, B-Rose, let’s find you some dresses.”