Chapter 4 #2
The celebration was just weeks away? Days had slipped through my fingers like fine sand. Granted, my thoughts had been absorbed with a certain silver-eyed alpha.
Six weeks to recreate shoes that had probably required months of custom work in the 1970s. The timeline was tight, but I needed something to occupy my hands and mind.
I could make it work.
The shop bell chimed again, and Sebastian Fairfax-Saunier entered. Where Victor was all sharp edges and calculated charm, Sebastian moved with gentler energy, his honey blond hair slightly mussed and his amber scent carrying warmth that immediately eased the tension in the room.
“Victor, your Tata said I’d find you here.” Sebastian’s face lit up when he spotted Penny. “Penny! What a wonderful surprise.”
The transformation in my best friend was immediate—his shoulders relaxed, his scent sweetened, and color returned to his cheeks. “Sebastian,” he said softly. There was something in that single word that bothered me.
Victor’s posture shifted subtly, becoming more territorial as he moved closer to Sebastian. “Darling, I was just discussing the commission with Leo here. The Thomas Wong shoes we talked about.”
“Oh, the ones from the photograph!” Sebastian’s enthusiasm was genuine and infectious. “Ils sont absolument magnifiques! The silver work alone must have taken weeks to complete.”
As Sebastian and I discussed the technical aspects of the shoes, I became aware of the silent drama playing out beside us.
Victor watched every interaction between Sebastian and Penny with laser focus, while Penny seemed caught between genuine happiness at seeing Sebastian and obvious discomfort with Victor’s presence.
“Perhaps I should show you some leather samples?” I suggested, trying to focus on the practical aspects of the commission.
“Please.” Victor said. “Do you have any records of the original materials your grandfather used?”
“Likely, yes,” I nodded. “In storage—he kept meticulous records. I’ll draw up a list with the corresponding samples. When’s a good time to show them to you?”
Victor’s eyes narrowed in calculation, his fingers drumming against the top of my worktable. “I’ll be at the new store all day Friday. Is 3pm good?”
I hesitated. I really needed to clear it with Blake first. “Actually, I need to check my calendar before committing to Friday. Could I get your number? I’ll confirm tonight or first thing tomorrow morning.”
Victor reached into his jacket, the expensive fabric rustling as he extracted a cell phone.
We exchanged numbers, Victor’s fingers moving swiftly across his phone screen. He tucked the device away with a crisp motion, chin dipping in acknowledgment. “Until then.”
As the two alphas prepared to leave, Sebastian turned back to Penny with a warm smile. “It was lovely seeing you again.”
“M-me too,” Penny said, his cheeks the same hue as his hair.
My best friend was being uncharacteristically demure, almost… shy.
Victor’s scent sharpened noticeably, and I caught the way his hand moved possessively to Sebastian’s lower back.
“I’m sure we’ll see each other around the district,” Victor said smoothly, but there was steel underneath the politeness. “It’s such a small community, after all.”
After they left, silence settled over the shop like dust. Penny slumped against my workbench, all his nervous energy draining away at once.
“Okay,” I said gently. “What the hell was that about?”
Penny was quiet for so long I thought he wasn’t going to answer. Then, in a voice much smaller than his usual animated projection, he said, “Remember when you and Dominic were… busy… for those three days after the auction?”
“Yes.” I’d thought about it every day and night since.
“Sebastian won me at the auction. Fair and square.” Penny’s fingers worried at his pendant. “I figured it was just obligation, you know? Go to dinner, be polite, fulfill the charity commitment.”
I waited, sensing there was more.
“But Sebastian was actually… interesting. Charming, intelligent, asked real questions about my business and fashion interests instead of just making small talk.” Penny’s voice grew softer.
“I started thinking maybe this open marriage thing worked differently than I imagined. Maybe married alphas in open relationships were more mature, less possessive.”
“What happened?”
Penny’s scent suddenly turned bitter with the memory. “Victor showed up at the restaurant. Just appeared at our table like some kind of avenging angel. Started making loud comments about ‘boundary issues’ and ‘omegas who don’t understand their place.’”
My protective instincts flared. “In public?”
“The whole restaurant was staring.” Penny’s hands shook as he picked up his tea to take a sip. “I didn’t even know what he meant at first—I wasn’t trying to steal anyone’s husband! But he looked at me like I was some homewreaker…”
He lowered the paper cup to the counter. His palms curved around it, drawing whatever heat still radiated through the thin walls into his skin. “Sebastian put me in a taxi, said he had to ‘handle Victor,’ and that was it.”
“Penny, I’m so sorry.”
“The worst part?” Penny groaned, slumping against my workbench as if the weight of the memory was physically crushing him .
“I got one text later. Sebastian apologizing for Victor’s ‘jealousy issues,’ like that explains public humiliation!
Like I should just accept being publicly torn apart in a restaurant because their marriage has problems? ”
“You think he purposely followed you guys to the restaurant to make a scene?” I asked.
Penny considered this, his natural intuition cutting through emotional complications. “Maybe? I think it’s about control, though. About keeping tabs on what Sebastian is doing, who he’s seeing.” He looked at me seriously. “And maybe punishing me for existing in Sebastian’s orbit.”
He sniffed, waving a hand dismissively. “They’ve both got issues, if you ask me.”
I felt my protective instincts flare, ready to launch into reassurances or plans to confront Victor, but Penny suddenly straightened up and fluffed his pink hair with his characteristic dramatic flair.
“But honestly? Good riddance!” He brushed imaginary dust off his vintage jacket with exaggerated precision.
“We don’t have time to be worrying about territorial alpha nonsense when there are actual problems to solve.
Dominic’s locked up, someone’s targeting our district, and I’m supposed to be upset because some control freak can’t handle his husband having dinner with other people? ”
The shift in his tone was so quintessentially Penny that I almost laughed despite everything. Here was my friend who could turn choosing a tea or coffee blend into a theatrical production, dismissing genuine relationship drama as beneath his notice.
“You’re right,” I said, feeling some of the tension leave my shoulders. “We have bigger things to worry about.”
“Exactly.” Penny picked up his tea with renewed energy. “We’re going to prove Dominic’s innocence and probably save the entire Historical District while we’re at it.”
He paused, then added with a graceful flourish of his hand that sent the silver bangles on his wrist dancing, “All while looking fabulous, naturally.”
Despite everything, I found myself smiling. Yeah, he was right. We could handle whatever came next.