Chapter 28
SKYLAR
Tammy doesn’t letme return to the café for another week, despite my protests.
I don’t care what my doctor’s note says, but apparently, everyone else does.
I’m ready to go back.
After another check-up and a few more blood tests, I’m officially free to return to my favorite place.
Vincent, River, and Landon take turns spending the night at my house. River and Landon join me in my nest, but Vincent stays on the couch the two nights he visits.
Ever since our conversation at the café, we haven’t talked very much. I still feel him watch my every move, assessing me, but it’s as if he’s shy now.
I know I shouldn’t be mad at him. He wants to protect me. But my feelings of helplessness and guilt don’t go away just because he uses logical arguments.
Screw logic. I would risk everything to find April.
I was serious when I suggested being used as bait, as ridiculous as it sounds.
I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Instead, I’m stuck making batches of macarons in my kitchen, experimenting with new flavors.
Landon is the one that drives me to work on my first day back, watching me warily as I balance the containers of macarons in my lap.
“I can sense your worry,” I say to him. “But I’m going to be okay.”
He wrinkles his nose, which still has a smudge of flour on it from when he kissed me senseless while I was finishing the batches this morning. “I know that,” he says evenly, even as his knuckles turn white from gripping the steering wheel. “I know,” he repeats quietly.
When he opens the passenger door for me and leads me into the café, his face is still etched with concern.
”You’re supposed to be the reasonable one,” I tell him playfully. “The smartest detective I know.”
His eyes crinkle at the corners and he gives me a small smile. “Don’t play up to my ego, Miss Bloom. Or else I’m never going to let you go to work.”
A few of our regular customers say hello to me as I place the macarons behind the counter, leaving Landon waiting at the front. He stands near the doorway, his lip quirked as he watches me greet the patrons and pull Devyn into a hug.
“Can you take these into the back?” I ask her, motioning to the cookies. “I’m going to say goodbye to Landon.”
She raises an eyebrow and smirks.
“Don’t,” I start, but she only waggles her eyebrows.
“What? Go say goodbye to your boyfriend,” she says innocently, her eyes wide. But there’s a twinkle in them, and she gives me a knowing look.
I huff and walk out the door, Landon following me. When we’re at the side of the building, he cups my face in his hands and smiles.
“Have a good first day back, my love,” he breathes, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Be safe.”
My heart beats furiously in my chest. “I will,” I whisper, my head swimming at hearing the pet name.
“There’s a patrol car nearby,” he says. “If you see anything, if you need anything at all?—”
“I got it,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I’ll be okay.”
He presses his mouth into a thin line. “I know I sound paranoid,” he says. “But you’re the most precious thing in the world to me. So it’s…difficult.”
I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him, inhaling his earthy scent. When I pull away, his dark brown eyes are filled with wonder. “I love you,” he murmurs, his eyes searching mine. “I should have told you sooner. Since the first week I met you. Since the moment you walked into my office with those cookies.”
Landon loves me.
I am loved.
I smile so wide my face hurts and kiss him again, deeply. “I love you, too,” I say, smiling against his lips.
At first, I think I’m dreaming.
The sweetest, kindest Alpha I’ve ever met loves me.
My inner Omega sings, and I’m close to tears when Landon smiles back at me.
“Good,” he says softly. “Now that that’s settled.”
I chuckle as he pulls me into his arms. “I’m glad,” I whisper, burying my face in his chest. “But I do need to go.”
“It’s tempting to just keep you here,” he sighs. “But as you said, I’m the reasonable one. I suppose I have to live up to my name.”
“Mmhmm.”
He kisses my cheek. “Let’s get you inside before you’re late to your first shift back.”
Landon murmursone more I love you before he says goodbye to both Devyn and me.
The minute the door shuts, Devyn gives me a shit-eating grin.
“Hush,” I warn her, but I can’t keep the smile off my face.
“He said he loooves you,” she says in a sing-song voice as I turn my attention to the containers of macarons. I begin to unpack them and scoff.
“Are you twelve years old?” I tease, unable to sound as gruff as I want to. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“She’s almost twenty, but she acts twelve,” Luke says, heading up to the cash register.
Devyn shrugs. “I can’t help if I’m excited about my friend having the best love story of all time,” she says. “And I refuse to stop talking about it.”
Together, Devyn and I organize the pastry counter, rearranging and adding new flavors, including her peppermint chocolate macarons.
My day is spent organizing, chatting with customers, and reading sales reports.
I flow back into working as if I never left the café. The only difference is this time, I mention April to every customer.
And because it’s no secret what happened to me, they listen intently.
Every person that buys a coffee or pastry knows exactly who April is and what she looks like. They also know who to call if they think they see her.
I don’t realize Tammy is there until the end of my shift. I finish talking to a regular about April, and I turn to see her standing in the doorway to the back room, her eyes glassy.
I pull her into a hug, and she reciprocates. “How much did you hear?” I ask her.
She sniffles. “Everything,” she says. “Thank you for never giving up on her.”
I shake my head. “I never will. Just like you never gave up on me.”
I’m not talking about when I went missing, either.
Even at my worst, Tammy has always welcomed me like a second daughter. She’s seen me at my lowest and at my best.
And she’s stayed.
“Come into the back with me,” she says. “I want to chat for a minute.”
I stiffen, a million different worst-case scenarios flitting through my mind.
“It’s nothing bad, honey,” she says. “We just need to touch base.”
I follow her to the stockroom, and we sit at the small white table.
It’s not about April, I think. It can’t be. They would have told me.
“So,” Tammy says, “your mom called me.”
I freeze until familiar anger boils up in me.
“Ah. How nice of her, after seeing me on the news,” I deadpan.
Tammy sighs and her expression softens. “I know,” she says gently. “Too little, and far too late.”
I shrug. “What did she want?”
“She asked about you, how you were doing.”
I scoff and pick at a scratch on the table. “How does she think I’m doing? Why does she suddenly care now?” I snap.
Tammy gives me a sad smile. “Because you’re still her child. And I think deep down, she loves you. We’ve discussed that before.”
My mother made it clear I was too needy and that she couldn’t handle my mood swings. More often than not, I would end up at Tammy’s house after school instead of my own, until I finally just started sleeping there on school nights and going back on the weekends to my mother’s house.
At the time, I thought it was awesome. My mom didn’t have to worry about me anymore, and I always had a home cooked dinner and time with my best friend. They even had a spare room they turned into a bedroom for me.
I loved it. I missed my mom, but I told myself she was able to work more this way and not have to trouble herself with taking or picking me up from school.
I didn’t find out until later that she would occasionally stop by and try to give Tammy cash for taking care of me. She always refused it.
It took me until adulthood to realize exactly what had happened. My mother essentially handed me off to another person, unable or unwilling to parent me herself.
She started forgetting my birthday once I turned fifteen.
By sixteen, I had to find out from Tammy that she moved away with her new boyfriend.
And when she called me on my eighteenth birthday, after I hadn’t seen her in more than two years, I told her to fuck off.
I haven’t heard from her in years. So, knowing that she reached out to Tammy steals the breath from my lungs.
“Is that all she wanted?” I finally ask, staring at the white surface of the table. “Just to see if I was okay?”
“She also wanted me to ask you if you’d be willing to talk.”
And suddenly, I hate my mother for putting me in this position.
If I say no, I’m the bad one. I’m the child that refuses to talk to their parent.
I’m the one not willing to work on mending the relationship.
“This is a hard situation, honey,” Tammy says. “Relationships with parents are always complicated.”
Not with you, I want to say.
It’s been years since my mother has bothered to reach out. And now that she almost lost me, she wants to talk?
Part of me wants to say yes. The part that still holds on to the thread of hope that one day we can mend that relationship. That she’ll tell me she regrets ever leaving me, and that she wants to try again.
That part, the lonely, small part of me, is desperate to say yes.
But there’s another part, now. A stronger part.
A part of me that knows what I have and what matters. April and Tammy are my family.
And now, so are River, Landon, and Vincent.
“I don’t think I can,” I whisper. “Does that make me horrible?”
Tammy shakes her head. “Of course not. Especially with everything that’s happening. It’s opening a door to something potentially damaging.”
With Tammy’s confirmation, I know my answer.
“I have my own family,” I say softly, and she gives me a soft smile.
“You do,” she agrees. “An unconventional one, but a family, nonetheless.”
“Yeah, well, I’m nothing if not unconventional,” I quip, and she chuckles.
“And that’s why I love you,” she says brightly, reaching across the table to take my hand. “You’re in good hands, honey. I’m proud to have you as one of my girls.”
I’m overcome with emotion, and tears fill my eyes as I squeeze her hand. “Thank you for never speaking badly about her,” I say. “Even when I wanted you to agree with me.”
She nods. “I will never say anything negative about the person that brought you into my life. Without her, you wouldn’t exist.”
I huff out a laugh, even as tears fill my eyes. “That’s one way to look at it.”
I expectLandon to be waiting for me, but Vincent is sitting at a table, a coffee in his hand.
He looks up at me and quirks his lip, and my heart stutters.
He’s dressed in a black button-up, with the sleeves rolled up and his thick forearms exposed. His blonde hair is slightly slicked back, giving him a polished look, and his light blue eyes watch me carefully as I approach him.
“Unless you’re planning on pulling an all-nighter, I would say it’s too late for coffee,” I joke.
Ever since my realization with Tammy, any frustration I’ve had with Vincent has faded.
He’s the family I’ve chosen.
“You should know by now sleep is the least of my worries,” he says, lifting an eyebrow. But he finishes his cup and stands, tossing it in the trash as we head out the door.
The sun is setting, and the air is slightly chilly.
It’s a beautiful evening, and I’m not ready to go home when we reach his car.
Not when Vincent looks at me with those devastating, soulful eyes.
“You look handsome,” I say fondly, reaching to caress the collar of his shirt. “You clean up well.”
A grin tugs at the corner of his lips. “I had to dress for the occasion,” he says simply.
I cock my head. “Oh?”
He nods, running a hand through his hair. “You have to know I’m not the best at…communicating, Skylar,” he says. “But I’m trying. And Landon was supposed to pick you up tonight, but I wanted to be the one to tell you.”
Hope bubbles in my chest. “Tell me what?” I step closer to him, unable to stay away from his warm, dark scent.
“There’s a press conference happening in a few days,” he says. “Regarding the disappearances and search efforts. It will be police chiefs, us, and a few politicians.”
I nod. “That’s good, right?”
“It is. It will be televised on national news. Reporters and journalists will be there, too.”
My eyes widen. “That’s great. The more eyes on this, the better.”
“They’ll be mentioning the missing Omegas by name,” he adds.
“So, they’ll talk about April on national news?” I gasp, my heart racing.
Vincent’s gaze softens. “Yes,” he says quietly. “And that’s where you come in, if you want to.”
I furrow my brow. “What do you mean?”
“If you want to, you can speak at that press conference. I talked to a few people I know, and they would like at least onesurvivor there. I mentioned you and pulled a few strings.”
I stare at him, dumbfounded. “Are you serious?” I ask finally.
He nods, eyeing me warily. “I know you want to help,” he says. “I know what it’s like to beat yourself up for thinking you’re not doing enough. You don’t have to do this, Skylar, but it’s an option. You could tell your story or just talk about April. You would have a national platform to do it on.”
I’m speechless. This is more than I ever could have hoped for.
“When you offered to use yourself as bait…” his voice trails off and he shakes his head. “It was ridiculous, but I understood how deeply you wanted to be a part of this. This is the only way to do it and keep you safe. But the impact you would have will be meaningful at the same time.”
I’m at a loss for words, and Vincent frowns.
“If you don’t want to, just say no and we can?—”
“Ridiculous man,” I murmur, before standing on my tiptoes to kiss him. He responds in kind, growling into my mouth and spinning me around until I’m back against the car.
I kiss him until I have to pull away to breathe. “I can’t believe you did this for me,” I whisper, my lips only inches from his. “You’re incredible.”
“I don’t dress up without a reason,” he says against my lips. “I had to charm some people to land you a spot at the conference.”
“Mmm. Do you ever plan on using those charms on me?” I tease, elated beyond belief at what he’s done for me.
“Once I get you home, if you’re good,” he smirks.
I swat at his arm, and he gifts me with a smile. Then, he presses his nose to my neck and inhales. “You smell like coffee and vanilla,” he murmurs.
“Is that a good thing?” I ask, closing my eyes as he presses a kiss to my throat.
“You smell like my two favorite things, so I’d say yes.”
“Coffee and vanilla?”
“Coffee and you.” His hands grip my waist as I wrap my arms around his neck, sighing at the touch. “The moment I scented you, I wanted to taste you, as insane as it sounds.”
My cunt pulses in my jeans. “It doesn’t,” I admit. “I thought you were attractive, too. It made me angry that you were such a dick to me.”
He presses his forehead to mine and exhales. “I wish I could take it back,” he says. “I regret that I ever talked to you that way.”
“You’re making up for it now,” I promise him. “Vincent, I can’t thank you enough for this. For everything you’ve done for me.”
His hands travel up my sides, and I whimper at his touch. “I don’t want to watch the guilt consume you,” he murmurs. “Not when you’ve made it this far. Don’t let it, Skylar.”
I bring my lips to his again. “I promise I’ll try,” I whisper when I pull away.
He nods. “Let’s get you home,” he says.
“Okay,” I breathe. “And Vincent?”
“Yes?”
“You’re sharing my nest with me tonight.”