Chapter 20 Robin
Robin
I have no idea why I called her back; I couldn’t bear to see her walking out of our lives again.
She stops by the door, and the way the low winter sun reflects the red of her hair catches me off guard.
I remember how it felt between my fingers when I stole a kiss from her, and it was as soft as I recall.
My Alpha yearns to do the same again, except I keep my distance. I have to. I will not overstep my line again.
Especially as she is giving us another chance.
“Are you sure about this? While I can vouch for me and Shepard, I’m not sure about—”
She shakes her head. “I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t at least think we had a shot. Besides… I decided I haven’t really got anything to lose. If you all break my heart again, well, I’ll own the mistake, as it will be my mistake this time. Not yours.”
I wince as the saying runs through my head. Shame on you if you fool me once, shame on me if you fool me twice…
I give a tense smile. “When did you become so astute?”
The Omega thinks for a few moments. “My Nana taught me not to live with regrets.”
That’s right—her Nana... A woman who could very well be celebrating her last Christmas.
I stumble for the millionth time, just looking for goddamn excuses; I need to put a Christmas stocking in it. “But… shouldn’t you worry more about her? After all, she’s your number one priority…”
My words trail off as she steps closer, crossing her arms, and now we’re a few feet apart. My Alpha is remembering that kiss again, and fuck…
"Robin Wynter. Are you trying to look for an excuse not to court me again?”
She leaves me tongue-tied. How do I respond to that? “N-no. I just… I just don’t want to selfishly divert your attention away from your Nana.”
Noelle smiles sympathetically, placing her hand ever so slightly on my chest. Her fingers purposefully graze the material of my tie, and when she moves them away, her touch lingers.
My Alpha wants to leap out of his cage and fuck her against the walls of the lodge. Now, that would be bad for publicity, but I don’t care…
Noelle is just that tempting.
“Trust me, Robin. Even if I went home right now, she would only send me back here. So, whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me.”
I blink a few times. Well, I wouldn’t say stuck.
“W-well… we don’t meet with the committee for another few hours. So… uh…” I start to say.
I have no idea how to finish that sentence. How do we kill time?
I peer at the front desk, getting an idea. “Hey… care to join me? I could do with the company. It gets lonely manning that phone all day long.”
Noelle smirks. “So… I did get the job then?”
I pull a face. “What?”
Now her smirk turns into a radiant beam. “I’m going to be your new receptionist!”
My head shakes. “No! Noelle, Frost was just kidding before.”She rolls her eyes, stepping around the desk. She moves her hand toward the phone. “So, go on. Show me how it works, new boss...”
I close my eyes. I wish she wouldn’t call me boss. It just creates a dirty scenario in my head. “Noelle, we are not trying to recruit you—”
“Just get around here!”
She snaps the last, and it looks like I have no choice. Now my Alpha tucks his tail between his legs as I join her behind the desk, showing her how the phone works.
“This is the button for incoming calls. This one is for messages.”
She nods, jotting down notes on a pad. I didn’t even give her the pen and pad. She just whipped them out of her coat pocket, explaining that a good writer should always have a pen and paper on hand.
Well, I can’t argue with that logic.
When the phone rings, she looks at me in shock. My heart pounds as I pause for a moment.
None of us knows what to do.
But before I can stop her, she picks up the phone, and I watch, slack-jawed, as she makes a booking.
“Saturday? Just the one night?”
She waves her fingers at me. Quickly, I check our reservations on the computer, giving her the thumbs up.
Noelle grins. “Saturday is indeed free, ma’am. Okay, we look forward to seeing you at Wynter Lodge. You have a good day, too.”
She hangs up.
I stare at her, surprised. She shrugs. “I moonlighted as a receptionist at a twenty-four-hour emergency dentist’s office through college.”
My eyebrows jump up at that. Well, I can say that I’m certainly impressed. She does a much better job than Frost, that much I can say.
She clasps her hands together, batting her eyelashes. “So, did I get the job, Mr. Wynter?”
I groan when she calls me Mr. now. I won’t deny that it’s hot as hell, especially from her mouth.
Finally, I decide to play along. “You got the job, Ms. Hale.”
The Omega grins, and a warm seed is planted deep inside of me when she turns to her notes, going over everything I taught her.
Just maybe we can make this work.
Voices echo down the corridor, and Shepard and Frost finally appear. Frost laughs when he sees Noelle behind the desk. “What the hell’s going on here?”
I smirk as I meet my brother’s eyes. “You’re fired, Frost. That’s what’s happening. Noelle is going to be our new receptionist.”
Shepard folds his arms, giving me a “What the hell were you thinking?” kind of look. We’re trying to win her back, but I'm going ahead and giving her a job.
What can I say? She was a natural on the phone. She managed to sound as if she didn’t want to punch the other person on the end of the line, which is more than I can say for Frost.
Noelle smiles at my brothers. “Perhaps I can help you two out with your jobs around the lodge, too?”
Shepard grins. “Yeah? If you don’t mind changing lightbulbs and dealing with irate guests complaining about noisy AC units.”
Noelle shrugs. “I’m sure I can handle it.”
“And Frost doesn’t work. Not really,” I tell Noelle next, earning a vicious glare from my brother. “He just sleeps all day.
Frost sighs and storms off. “I shouldn’t have to put up with this.”
Noelle’s laughter brightens up the lobby, and I feel it then. Perhaps we can make this work again.
I just hope that we’re all up to the task of winning her back. My brothers and I have a lot of groveling to do, indeed.