27. Lars
27
LARS
I walked into the bookstore over my lunch break, feeling self-conscious. When I’d left the lighthouse, Olive was curled up on Easton’s lap as he fed her lunch, and Finn had been pretending to be engrossed in work.
Fuck. The three of us needed to have a real conversation about our pack and what we were doing. Easton had his date with Olive last night and had slept over. Petulant jealousy seeped through my veins. I wanted to spend every night with Olive.
But today was the day. My turn to take her out on a date, and I would start things off by giving her a gift.
I’d never stepped foot in the bookstore before, but I would do it for Olive. I’d learned so much about her yesterday when she’d kept us company in the service room—while wearing my sweater—including that she loved romance books. She’d blushed so prettily when she said it, which made me want to howl at how cute she was, and it had given me the perfect idea for a courting gift.
I did my best to squeeze my massive form through the tight bookstore aisles without knocking everything over. I tried to figure out the different sections, but soon, I was sweating at all the swirling letters. I shut my eyes against the overwhelm and took a breath. I should have asked Lucy for recommendations, but my alpha had been too proud to ask for help. He wanted us to provide for our omega, but the longer I was here, the stupider the idea felt. I hadn’t read a fucking book in years and had cried my way through the last few I was forced to read in school. All the tutoring and extra help in the world wasn’t going to fix my fucked-up brain.
I turned to leave, determined to drag Lucy out of her shop so she could help me pick out books, when Hank appeared, a fierce scowl on his face.
Apparently he hadn’t forgiven me for ding-dong ditching a couple decades ago.
“What do you want, boy?”
I fought to keep the smile off my face. My brothers and I were destined to always be kids to some Starlight Grove townspeople, even now in our thirties.
“I’m looking for romance books,” I said.
Hank scoffed. “Romance? Waste of time.”
I shrugged. “If you don’t have any, that’s fine. I’ll just head over to the bookstore in Briar’s Landing.”
Hank spluttered his outrage. “Come with me,” he practically snarled, leading me through the narrow aisles as he muttered insults about the neighboring town’s bookstore. I dared to grin now that his back was turned to me. God, I loved this town. I hoped Olive loved it as much as I did.
“Here you go,” Hank said, thrusting a stack of heavy books in my arms. “Those are our best romance sellers.”
I looked down at the top one, not recognizing the title. There was a naked man on it, which seemed to be correct… although he was all gold and clutching his head. It didn’t look particularly romantic, but what did I know?
I paid for them and Hank thrust them in a paper bag. “Don’t come again,” he shouted at me as I exited the shop.
I rolled my eyes at his rudeness, but that was just Hank. He was all bark, no bite.
Main Street looked particularly cheerful on this sunny day. Shop owners had put up their elaborate Harvest Festival displays, all vying for first place in the shop display contest. Hints of pumpkin spice reached me from Beans ‘n Bliss, and I couldn’t stop myself. I’d never been into sugary coffee drinks, but now I couldn’t go a day without my pumpkin spice latte.
A few minutes later, I exited the shop with a latte in hand and a bag of pastries for Olive. I passed Lucy’s shop and found her in the window, working on her decorations. She waved, her eyes widening when she saw the bookstore bag in my hand. She rushed out the door.
“Are those for Olive?” she asked, pink-cheeked and breathless.
“Well, they’re definitely not for me.” I looked down at the bag, and suddenly, it seemed so small and… not enough. My omega deserved something better, fancier.
“She’s going to love them,” Lucy said, beaming. “She’s been so sad because her e-reader broke, and she hasn’t had anything else to read. I loaned her a couple of my favorites, but she’s going to be so happy.”
“E-reader?”
“Yeah, like to read books electronically.”
Shit. Maybe that was a better gift. “Should I get her a new one?”
“Yes,” Lucy said. “Absolutely. I’ll send you the link.”
The tension in my chest settled. Good. This was good. I would give her the books but let her know another present was coming. And then another one after that. As many as she wanted, whatever she wanted. My Olive deserved it all.
Lucy squeezed me in a quick hug. “I’m so happy for you. I just think this is really good.”
I ruffled her hair which earned me a quick scowl as she carded her fingers through her blonde strands. “I think so, too.”
I quickly headed back to the lighthouse. It already felt like I was attached to my omega by a golden thread. I couldn’t wait to bond her… if she wanted that. I breathed through my anxiety. While I was with her, everything felt perfect. I didn’t want to overwhelm her… I just wished she needed me as much as I needed her.
I headed around the back of the cottage and found Olive and Easton lying down on a blanket, limbs tangled with each other. Before jealousy could take hold, Olive’s head popped up as she spotted me, and her smile was enough to wash away every doubt. Easton caught my eye, and he gave me a wink before kissing Olive on the forehead and getting up.
“I think Finn’s head will explode if I don’t get back to work. Something about us being off the timeline,” he said before heading inside.
Olive held her arms out to me. “Want to join me? Or do you have to get back to work?”
I lowered myself to the blanket, pulling Olive to sit between my legs. “I’m not afraid of Finn’s wrath.”
Olive smiled, but it was strained. I stroked her hair, a light purr rolling through me to comfort my omega. She clung to me harder, pressing her cheek to my chest.
“This is all going to work out, sweetheart,” I murmured.
“You really think so?”
“Yeah, I do.” I cleared my throat and pushed the two bags towards her.
Olive perked up. “For me?”
Damn. She was so cute.
“It’s nothing big, and it’s fine if you don’t like them. Just a small courting gift…” I trailed off when Olive fixed me with a sweet smile before opening the coffee shop bag.
“I love chocolate croissants, thank you.” Her lips parted as she opened up the second bag. “Books.” She smiled at me.
“In case you need some romance to read,” I mumbled.
“That’s so sweet. Thank you.”
I sat up a little straighter, my chest puffing up. “Are you free to come out tonight? On a date with me?”
Olive ran her fingers through my hair. It was half-up today, and I felt like a goddamn cat at her touch.
“Are you nervous?” she asked. “Because you don’t have to be. I always want to see you, Lars.” Her cheeks turned bright pink at her admission, and I wrapped my arms around her, jiggling her on my lap.
“You’ve done it now, little omega. You’ll never get rid of me. ”
Her giggle was the best sound in the world. I replayed the sound of it and the feel of her as I returned to work.
“Shit.” My heart pounded as I tried to decipher the text message. My panic made it hard to concentrate, and I needed to make sure I understood every word correctly.
“What’s wrong?” Finn asked, the wind stealing bits of his words. We were up on the walkway, checking the glass around the lighthouse lantern.
“Mom just texted, and they had a small fire.” I rubbed my hand over my chest. The thought of my moms being in danger was enough to make me feel like I was having a heart attack.
“What? Where are they? Are they okay?” Panic filled Easton’s voice as he looked over my shoulder. He had to steady the phone in my shaking hand.
“They’re okay,” he confirmed. “The fire is out—it was just in the laundry room. The fire department is there, but they’re asking if Lars can come over and check it out.”
“Do you want us to come, too?” Finn clasped me on the shoulder. “Just tell us what you need.”
Fuck, I was so grateful I had them. Finn was a stickler for keeping all our projects on schedule, but family was still the most important thing for all of us.
“Let me check it out first, and I’ll let you know if we need more help,” I said.
“Of course, just keep us posted,” Easton said, giving my shoulder one more squeeze before I headed out.
I sprinted down the stairs and rounded the front of the cottage. I glanced around for Olive, but she must have gone inside. Should I knock on the door to explain where I was going? The panicked pounding of my heart urged me to keep running to my moms’ house. I would call Olive later and let her know what was going on once I knew more.