Chapter 22
Lucy
King pulled up to my shop and I was smacked in the face with déjà vu of being in exactly this spot a few days ago with Wilder.
I’d woken up in King’s arms. We’d had slow morning sex and room service pancakes before heading to Boston’s fabric district.
I’d expected the alpha to be impatient as I dug through bins of fabric, but he didn’t complain or roll his eyes once.
Whenever I found a hidden gem, he held out his arm so he could carry it for me.
Shopping always put me in a good mood, but it had never felt like this, like I was practically walking on air. I’d fantasized about this for so long—being spoiled and cherished by an alpha even while doing something mundane.
It was only after shopping that things started going downhill.
We grabbed lunch in Chinatown, but King was on his phone the whole time.
I brushed it off as him being busy with work, but things did not improve when we got back in the car.
He responded to my attempts to start a conversation with terse answers until I finally gave up.
We sat in silence, the sick feeling in my chest growing with every mile.
Did he regret what we did? After how vulnerable he’d been last night, sharing about his family, I’d deluded myself into thinking he might want more from me than just sex.
He put the car in park.
“I had a good time, Lucy.”
Lucy. No longer baby or princess.
I nodded. “Me, too.”
Here it came.
“I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be in town, and I’ll be busy with this real estate sale…”
He trailed off and I swallowed the hard lump in my throat at the obvious rejection. This was fine. I could be a cool, casual omega. New year, new me and all that. Maybe twenty-nine would be the year of attachment-free hot sex. Wasn’t that what your twenties were for, anyway?
I pasted on a smile. “I’m glad we met and that I could help you with the event.
” I pulled the door handle. “Maybe I’ll see you around before you go.
” Oh god, did that sound desperate? “You know, because it’s a small town,” I added quickly.
“Thanks for helping with my fabric errands.” I pushed the car door open.
To my dismay, King got out and popped the trunk. Duh. My bags. I went to take them, but he scowled. “I’ve got them.”
I held my front door open, and he set the armload of bags inside. I’d just had the best fucking sex of my life. I should be orgasm-drunk and happy, but I was on the verge of tears. How did other people do one-night stands?
Not everyone gets as attached and needy as you do.
Right. That.
He hesitated and my chest filled with a burst of hope. Had he changed his mind? My cheeks heated when I realized no, I was just blocking the exit.
I scooted aside with an awkward laugh. “Give me a call if you need me to bid at another auction.”
Unlikely. Mainly because I realized we hadn’t exchanged numbers, but also because I was sure women were constantly throwing themselves at him in New York.
His eyebrows knitted together. “Lucy…”
“Oh, wait. Do you have my phone?” I’d given it to him before the gala and had completely forgotten about it.
“Shit. It must be in one of the tux pockets.”
Our first stop of the day had been to purchase him an outfit at the hotel gift shop, which meant he was currently a walking advertisement for the Boston Red Sox between the branded sweatpants, sweatshirt, and baseball cap.
He’d grumbled about the outfit until I’d told him he looked hot.
I followed him outside as he grabbed the garment bag. Luckily, Main Street was uncharacteristically empty, so I didn’t have an audience for my heartbreak.
King fished my phone out from the inside pocket of the tux jacket. “Sorry about that.”
My phone was dead, which was not shocking since my battery lasted for all of five minutes. I was sure I had a flood of messages in the group chat demanding updates, not that I had any to give besides:
Lucy: 0
Heartbreak: 2
He returned the garment bag to the trunk.
“If you want to wear the tux again, I could do a more thorough tailoring job. Although, I’m sure you have lots of custom tuxes in New York.
And tailors. I could always mail it to you if you don’t want to come back here.
” Oh my god. Where’s an anvil falling from the sky when you need one? Did anvils even exist anymore?
“Oh, uh, I’ll let you know about the tux.”
I nodded too vigorously. “Yes, good idea. Well, drive safe. You know, the three blocks to your rental.”
“Are you okay?” His voice carried the same tenderness it had when he was inside me this morning, and I couldn’t handle that.
“Me? I’m fine! I hope you have a good rest of your evening.”
He opened his mouth for a moment but then snapped it shut. He ran his hand through his hair as he looked away.
“You, too, Lucy. Take care of yourself.”
I closed my front door so I couldn’t pathetically watch him drive away. I trudged upstairs to my apartment, leaving my shopping bags strewn on the shop floor. My ankle was mostly better, besides the occasional twinge, especially after King insisted I elevate and ice it last night and this morning.
I flopped down in my nest and plugged in my phone.
It was almost eight p.m. and I needed to get something to eat and catch up on my emails, but all I really wanted was to rot in bed and nurse my tender heart.
How was it possible that I hadn’t dated anyone for over a year and now, in the span of a few days, I’d gotten overly attached and then subsequently rejected by two alphas?
My phone screen flickered on and I unlocked it to find a barrage of messages and a calendar alert for tonight’s town meeting.
I groaned. I attended all the town meetings, but maybe it’d be okay to skip this one…
A sick feeling gripped my chest as I opened my messages.
Oh no.
OH NO.
I sat up, heart pounding, as I read text after text from Leo. How could I have forgotten our date? He’d gotten coffee and breakfast for us, and I had stood him up. I was the worst person in the world.
I clutched my phone and ran downstairs. My chest was heaving by the time I got to Leo’s door.
The inside of his shop was dark, but I knocked anyway.
I called his cell, but there was silence after just one ring.
Had he screened my call? I pulled back my phone and realized it had died again.
Apparently, charging for all of thirty seconds wasn’t enough.
Was Leo upstairs? Or maybe he’d gone out for dinner? I looked up and down Main Street, but most of the shops were dark. They closed early on town meeting nights…
Wait. The town meeting.
Leo usually attended them.
I took off, sprinting down the street as fast as I could.