Chapter 20
“Would you like to come with me to work today?” Alve asked, tidying away our dishes from the pancakes I’d whipped up for breakfast. “I could give you a tour of our newest facility.”
“Really?” I perked up, hugging him without a second thought. “I’d love to.”
His scent was light, but not missing. I inhaled the tartness of lingonberry and red wine, the way it twined with the sugar in my scent making my stomach flip. He was too stiff, too awkward with me.
Alve shifted in my embrace, his scent getting stronger despite whatever he was using to mute it.
I pulled away as a wave of self-consciousness washed over me. “Sorry.”
“N-no, it’s okay, I…” He sighed. “I’m just nervous. I don’t want you to feel pressured about anything because of the scent match.”
I’d been brave and broken the seal with Leo, but Alve and I had a metaphorical wall between us. Leo and Nathan were still asleep, and Jude had left for work already, so it was only Alve and I in the kitchen this morning.
How was I supposed to make him comfortable?
“I don’t want you to feel pressured.”
I would work on finding good footing for the two of us. I gave a half second of worry about falling into patterns. Alve hadn’t been unkind at any point in time, and he had already gone so out of his way to accommodate me and my other scent matches. We could all try to bridge the gaps.
“I don’t,” he promised, clutching the back of his neck as a blush rose on his cheeks. “I’m excited to make sure you have everything you need.”
Damn if that statement didn’t make my pussy clench in anticipation. “What about making sure I have everything I want?”
My gaze dropped helplessly to his mouth. He was so fucking cute, and I’d kissed all of the others. What did Alve taste like?
I’d definitely flustered him because my sweet alpha couldn’t make a single word come out.
I took pity on him. “Let’s put a pin in that topic. I’m hyped to go to work with you and see what you do all day.”
He dropped his shoulders with a relieved breath. “It’s a good topic, an important one, but I don’t want to mess things up. I’m much better with work.”
“Fair enough. Give me five minutes and we can scamper.” I disappeared to dress for the day, having already washed up.
The two of us headed out in Alve’s car. It was far more sensible than I would have guessed for someone with as much money as he had. Though I suppose I didn’t really know how much money he actually had.
“Have you considered any further about being our designer?” he asked gently.
“You’re not going to interview me?”
“I can if you really want me to.”
“Please.”
While he drove, he asked me questions about my process, how many nests I had designed, and what I figured a reasonable workload might be. Even if he was angling to simply hand me the job, I wanted to assure him I could do it.
At stoplights, I showed him examples of rooms I’d designed and decorated.
“I promise if you take the job, you’ll be doing me a favor. I already trust your work.”
I chewed my lip. “Where would I be stepping in? How much did your designer get to?”
“She ordered some stock, but I don’t think she ordered everything. I have paint color chips I think I’m supposed to give the contractors.”
“How about I help with the current project on something like probation? It’ll take me some time to sort through everything she’s done and figure out what I need to do from there, plus I’ve never done anything at a commercial level before.”
“If that’s what you’d prefer, we can do that.” He looked at me for a long moment when we paused at another stop light. “Do you have your banking information handy?”
“I don’t have a bank account. I guess I don’t really have a credit card, either, since Tyler has probably shut that down already.”
“All right. I think we should stop at the bank first and get you set up.”
So, we did. The teller at Alve’s bank was lovely, and we left there with an account in my name, a shiny debit card, and a new credit card that Alve co-signed on so I could start building my own credit history.
“Ready to head over now?” he asked as we settled back into his car.
“You bet.”
Alve nodded, zipping to our original destination, where Alve nodded as we pulled to a stop in front of a sleek new apartment building in a residential district with a grocery store, a medical building, and a rather robust strip mall with a few restaurants across the street.
The ground floor even had fenced yards for a few of the units.
“This is such a great spot,” I commented as I climbed out of the car.
“We try to choose building sites that are close to amenities.” Alve offered me the crook of his arm and I suppressed a giggle over the adorable gentlemanly image he made. I slipped my arm through his and he led us inside.
The building was gorgeous, everything shiny and new with layers of security on each set of doors, as well as a pod for a guard. Once we were past the initial lobby, we diverted to a suite on the first floor.
I was met with a bright open space, sturdy flooring and functional design in the layout. It would need a lot to make it cozy, but that was my job now.
“The incoming tenants have been given a survey. This lets us know the circumstance they’re coming from, so we can allocate an appropriate amount to make sure the suites are up to omega standards.
We know preferred colors, allergies, whether they have children or pets, and plenty of other data to create something personalized and comfortable.
No matter how much money they have coming into our housing system, they’ll be provided with a safe home and omega comforts. ”
“Alve, that’s amazing.” The words were soft on my tongue.
I’d never considered how much the OHI provided since I’d never looked into it that deeply.
The concept alone—that regardless of resources, omegas were given comfort—stole my breath.
It was probably egregiously expensive, certainly more than the tenant’s rent would cover, but Alve had forged ahead with it anyway.
Alve showed me some of his designer’s plans and it came to life in my mind’s eye.
“Do you have to order from somewhere specific?”
“We’ve been working on a contract with Best of Nests, but their corporate overlords are being difficult about each suite being tailored. They’re requiring us to order in bulk.”
“That’s silly. Every omega is different. You should definitely talk to Jude about it.”
“The thought had crossed my mind,” Alve confessed. “I didn’t want to put him under any pressure.”
“If corporate is going to be a butt about it, then I’ll order all of the customization pieces myself. We can work around it.”
“Does that mean you’re going to take the job for sure?”
“Yeah, I’d like to. I want to see what I can do.”
Alve’s eyes gleamed with pride. “I have no doubt you’ll accomplish something wonderful.”
It was bordering on ridiculous how that simple, sweet statement had my chest tightening and tears misting my eyes.
Panic flared in Alve’s muted scent. “What is it? What did I do?”
His movements were still stiff, but I melted when he gathered me in his arms, his crackly purr coming to life to soothe me. Unfortunately for both of us, that made me tip over the edge into crying.
“I’m sorry,” he rushed out. “Whatever I did—”
“No, no, I’m just emotional. I didn’t realize how much it would mean to have someone like you have faith in me. I want to do a good job and make you proud. I need to prove to myself that Tyler was wrong, and that this is something I always should have been doing.”
Alve held me tightly, a shudder rolling through him when he let his chin rest on the top of my head.
“Alphas are meant to nurture their omegas, to support their aspirations. I’m truly sorry the alpha in your life prior to now wasn’t of that mindset. Whatever you need, if it’s within my power, please don’t hesitate to ask. Your success and happiness will only increase mine.”
My stomach twisted, grief for all the things I had been denied for so long overwhelming me. Everything Alve offered seemed too good to be true, but I wanted to believe all of it so fucking badly.
I pressed my ear to his chest, listening to his crackly purr evolve into something steady. “I really don’t mean to keep crying.”
“You’ve been through an ordeal. A long one. No one should expect you to heal from it so quickly.”
“I wish fate had introduced us sooner. Why did it wait so long? Why did I have to spend all those years with someone who didn’t love me?
” My throat tightened to the point of pain as I tried to hold back my sobbing.
“Why didn’t he love me? He didn’t even care.
How can anyone else love me when I couldn’t make him give a shit after more than a decade doing everything I could to make him happy? ”
Alve hushed me gently. “None of that is your fault. He had a treasure and failed to see your value. Not everyone will make that mistake.”
“But I can be a lot, I know I can be annoying, and get too excited, and—”
Alve laid a finger against my lips to silence my ramblings, before cupping my cheeks like I was the treasure he’d described. He stepped away so I could see his face, and his dark eyes held me hostage. “You’ll never be too much for someone who can’t get enough.”
I swallowed hard. “But—”
“Never,” he insisted. “Tyler was the wrong person for you and he made you doubt the fact that you’re a gift.
He was wrong. Plain and simple. Whatever you and I end up being to each other, I will always care, and always take care of you.
I haven’t even had the privilege of spending much time with you yet, and I can already see that the world is brighter for having you in it. ”
I couldn’t breathe past the pounding of my heart. I was going to have a grudge against fate forever for not letting me meet Alve sooner.
Rising up on my toes, I followed the probably stupid compulsion to get as close to this alpha angel as possible. The sweetness of his mouth was tinged with salt from my tears. All I wanted was to climb inside his suit jacket and soak up the comfort he offered so freely.
It took him a hot second to fall into the kiss, but when he did, he swept me away. Alve kissed me like he’d been waiting his whole life for this moment, and I felt the truth of everything he’d said.
I surrendered to the sensation, desire going off like a firework when he backed me up against the wall. His hands glided down my arms, over my shoulders and up again, pinning my wrists overhead. Another internal firework went off, leaving me squirmy and desperate.
Alve broke away, panting, and let his forehead rest against mine. “I’m sorry, I—” At least he was as breathless as I was. “I shouldn’t have done that while you were upset.”
“I kissed you first, remember?”
His smile warmed me through. “I’ll never forget it.”
I shivered under his grip, his hands holding just tight enough I couldn’t slip away easily, but they released instantly the moment I moved to lower my arms. I didn’t go far, curling my fingers in his shirt. “Don’t feel bad. I don’t. I heard all the words, I think I just needed to feel them, too.”
I tipped my head up for a much more sedate kiss. He groaned against my mouth like I imagined he might if I had dropped to my knees instead. At least it would be impossible to doubt he wanted me. Alve was not a subtle man.
“Still nervous?” I asked, looking into eyes that were so close they merged into a giant one in my vision.
“I’m fairly confident I’ll never stop being that way.”
“We could make a pact?”
“What sort of pact?”
“You like me for my quirks, and I’ll like you for yours.”
His laugh was too cute. “I’m happy to agree to that.”
“Good.” I grinned. “Seal the promise with a kiss?”
He laughed again, bright and sweet. “If that’s how every promise is going to end, I’ll promise you a thousand things before breakfast.”
Oh, my heart was definitely in trouble with him. Even though I was scared, I’d already taken a leap of faith. What was a few more, if it meant I could have alphas like my scent matches in my life?