Chapter 43
“So everything is still good?” Luna asked. “You’re absolutely, one hundred percent certain?”
“Everything’s fabulous,” I promised. “Cross my heart and hope to die. He’s so sweet and smart, I feel like a whole-ass princess living with him.”
Luna had picked me up for a girls’ brunch with Meg before the three of us were going to meet Sidney later at Nest is Best. We sat around the table, drinking mimosas and eating French toast with berry compote and fresh whipped cream. The day was honestly perfect. A good meal with great friends would’ve been lovely enough, but I also got to start the morning getting eaten out until I was shaking.
I really hoped today would be a solid start to friendship between Sidney and my girls. Luna was basically a German Shepherd, circling me for protection and ready to bite anyone who meant to harm me; I just had to get her accustomed to the fact that Sidney wasn’t one of the people she needed to protect me from.
A fancy fresh-squeezed juice appeared in front of me, the waiter setting down the glass with a grin and handing me a slip of paper. “From the gentleman in the corner.”
I spared a glance, seeing a sleek blond alpha raise his glass to me with a dazzling smile. His suit looked like it cost more than what I made in a month, and he seemed to take as much consideration with the rest of his appearance. I dropped my gaze, turning back to the waiter to thank them.
Meg and Luna stared at me before Meg finally spoke. “I assume the answer is no since you’re bonded, but I’ll ask the question anyway. Are you going to do anything about that number?”
My insides squirmed. “That would be weird. I’m bonded and happy.”
“You did say you wanted to be sure,” Luna pointed out. “And tons of omegas pack up.”
Meg nodded. “No pressure either way, but it does stand to reason that there are faster ways to be sure whether you want to be with Sidney because of who he is or because of the bond. Being bonded doesn’t make you uncomfortable with other people; it just makes you more comfortable with your bondmate.”
I couldn’t fault the logic, as much as I didn’t love it. I was reasonably sure of the answer, but I still kept asking myself the question anyway. Sidney was wonderful, of that I had no doubt, but lots of wonderful people were out there. I had let my obsession with him talk me out of plenty of dates over the years. Maybe I should take this opportunity…
I fidgeted with the paper, crumpling it up and stuffing it in my pocket. I could talk to Sidney about it later, maybe suggest that he go on a date with someone too. I swallowed down the spike of jealousy at the thought.
Focusing on my food felt like an impossibility when I could clearly see my friends scoping out the alpha who had sent me the juice. Even picking up the glass felt like I was committing a crime, so I eventually pushed it over to Meg, who finished it off for me.
By the time we were ready to meet Sidney at Nest is Best, I was a bundle of nerves. It was ridiculous to be anxious about this. My friends were good people and my mate was a good person. I couldn’t stop thinking about the alpha in the corner and whether I should toss his number to the ground or actually have a conversation with my mate. What harm could there really be? Part of me didn’t want to know if I only liked Sidney because of the bond. That part was desperate to live in ignorance forever, a safe and quiet bubble where I could rely on hormones to carry me through the rest of my life at peace. Was that actually fair to either of us? Would it be complacent, lazy even, to just accept we were it for each other because of a trick of biology?
“Are you okay?” Meg asked, taking my hand in hers with a comforting squeeze.
“I am freaking out,” I whisper-hissed at her.
“Deep breaths. By the end of today, Luna will be in possession of something soft that will endear Sidney to her, and I have no doubt he’s going to continue treating you well in front of us and we both know she’s gonna be watching him like a hawk. All she’ll see is good behavior.”
“I can hear you,” Luna pointed out.
“I know.” Meg smiled at her. “Sometimes you need to be reminded when you’re being sweetly ridiculous.”
Luna stuck her tongue out at Meg and took my other hand. “I refuse to be bribed.”
“It’s not a bribe.” We all turned to Sidney as he stepped up behind us with an easy grin on his face. My body gravitated toward him like a magnet. “Just a gift. How was brunch?”
The question sent a zing of panic through me. Both of my friends squeezed my hands.
“What’s wrong?” Sidney asked, as if he could see all the screaming that had filled my brain with his words.
I turned plaintive eyes to Meg.
“Someone asked Allie out,” she answered for me.
Sidney raised an eyebrow, giving no indication that he was upset by this information. “What did you say?”
“Nothing,” I replied, feeling the weight of the paper in my pocket.
“If you want to say yes, we can talk about it.”
I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to say yes for that particular alpha, but simply to satisfy my curiosity, to confirm for myself this really was a dream come true.
“I don’t know what I want to say,” I confessed.
“Think about it,” he prompted. “Let me know whenever you decide.”
I would’ve much preferred to not think about it at all and instead focus on the rainbow of soft and fluffy that made up the Nest is Best.
“Pick out anything you want,” Sidney said. “Get as much or as little as you need, but don’t worry about price.”
What a line.
I always worried about price. If you went in not caring, it was easy to spend thousands on a shopping trip. “Actually? Omega bedding is pretty pricey.”
“I know. I’ve been setting money aside for a while for the eventuality. And even if I hadn’t, you’re my omega and you deserve the best of everything I can give you.”
Warmth filled me from head to toe. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if he’d had a specific omega in mind when he was putting away that money, but I didn’t want to take the chance it would’ve gone to anyone.
“Shop with your girls and don’t you dare skimp on your nest with me.”
Luna tugged me over to a display of impossibly soft sheets while Sidney got a cart for us. As we looked through the various displays, Luna encouraging me to get anything and everything, I couldn’t help but roll the question around in my head. How was I supposed to even consider anyone else when he was being so sweet? Heat helpers made decent money, but they weren’t millionaires by any means.
I put three sheet sets into the cart and moved on to the pillows, filling up the remaining space in a matter of minutes. Meg got us a second cart and we filled that too with plushes and blankets and fairy lights. All of the soft items had me purring. Loving bedding was definitely an omega trait, but I loved even more that my alpha was providing for me and seemed more than happy to do so.
For their own gifts, Meg chose a luxurious pajama set so she could be extra comfy while she worked through her PhD, and Luna chose a blue blanket and a slipper set covered in hearts.
“Girl, you’ve got, like, six grand of bedding in these carts,” Luna whispered to me. “Are you sure that’s okay?”
“I told her it’s fine,” Sidney said. “Not to eavesdrop, but absolutely none of you are allowed to worry about the cost. This is about making sure that my home is as comfortable as possible for Allie.”
That seemed to soothe Luna. Every bit of her own bedding she had purchased herself, and part of me wondered if she was envious of Sidney’s generosity or if she was glad she had independently acquired everything she needed. Mine at the apartment had all been purchased by me, but a lot of the stuff Sidney was getting for me today was higher quality, and there was more of it. I was pretty sure I was never going to leave the nest once it was all set up.
“Feel free to pick out towels and decor and whatever else you might want for the house. I don’t mind upgrading or changing if there’s something you like better.”
That had my heart racing. It was one thing to buy me supplies for my own personal space, but to let my taste expand outward? That was a different thing entirely. He wanted me to put my mark on his home.
My gaze drew back to a towel set I had been admiring earlier, but hadn’t acquired because I didn’t need towels for my nest. It was a matched set of burgundy and cream towels with the opposite colors in a diamond pattern across the end of each. They were so fluffy and buttery soft I wanted to wrap myself in one right there in the store. The carts were full, so Luna offered her arms and I stacked up washcloths and towels for bath, hair, and hands, impulsively adding a matching glass soap bottle and bath mat set to the pile.
“That’s my girl.” Sidney kissed the top of my hair and helped Luna carefully stack the towels onto the pile in the cart. “Literally anything else you want. Grab it now.”
I followed the order, snatching a couple night-lights for the hall and a dimmable lamp for the nest room. “Okay. That should be everything.”
“Hello there!” The beta cashier beamed at us, his floppy hair giving him pure teddy bear vibes. “Welcome to Nest is Best! My name is Noah. Did you find everything you were looking for today?”
I let out a laugh. “More than, thank you.”
“We love to see a shopping spree. Happy omegas are the highlight of my day.”
I held my breath as everything was rung up, and closed my eyes to keep from looking at the final tally. It was way too much, and I regretted my impulsivity with every beep of the register, or at least I did until Sidney silently tucked me against his side with his arm wrapped around my shoulders. He passed over his card without a moment’s hesitation and I buried my face against his chest to ward off the quickly swelling guilt of spending that much money on myself.
“Don’t you dare feel bad. If I have to, I’ll just keep spending money on you until you get used to it.”
I popped up my head with a pout. “Don’t tease me like that.”
“I’m not teasing. I want you to get comfortable with having what makes you happy, and if it takes a few shopping sprees to get you used to the idea, that’s what we’re going to do.” He turned briefly back to the cashier. “Could we please get some help getting everything into the vehicle?”
“Absolutely.” Noah grinned at us, and since we were the only ones currently in line, he closed his till, scooped up several bags after dispersing the rest to our party, and followed us out. The back of Sidney’s car looked more like he had packed for a trip to move across the country rather than taking his mate shopping.
“Thank you so much,” Sidney told Noah. “Have a wonderful day.”
“You as well! Thank you for shopping at Nest is Best!”
When it was just the four of us in the parking lot, Sidney invited the girls to dinner. “Do you want to hog Allie for a little while longer, or will she be coming home with me?”
“We’ll drive her over,” said Luna. “We’ll pick up some takeout on the way and see you at the house.”
Sidney drew me into a kiss that had me melting. “Have fun with the girls. I’ll see you soon.”
“Can’t wait.”