Page 1 of A Knotty Choice: The Seduction of Sharon

Chapter One

Sharon

I stared into the mirror above the sink, wondering again if there was something wrong with me. I hadn’t thought it was asking too much to expect my boyfriend not to stick his dick in someone else, but the fact that he’d cheated on me with a beta made it sting worse.

I was an omega. Alphas were supposed to want us more than anything else.

So why wasn’t I enough for him?

Scoffing, I shoved away from the sink and turning toward the bathroom door. It wasn’t like he was anything special, and I certainly hadn’t been in love with him, but I still couldn’t silence the voice whispering that I hadn’t been good enough for the alpha.

Sometimes biology sucked.

The noise of the diner hit me as soon as I stepped through the door that had separated me from the rest of it. It was Sunday night, which wasn’t as busy as the previous two days, but still meant I had full tables to tend.

I shook off the bullshit trying to drag me down and let the familiar routine of work slide over me. Cadence may have had higher aspirations, but this place was all I’d ever known, and I fully expected to work at Frankie’s until the place collapsed around me, or I got too old to keep up.

Even then I’d probably only switch to the lunch shift and keep on waiting tables until I stumbled into my grave with my apron on.

I chuckled to myself as I gathered plates. Some people would call me a failure, my parents certainly had, but I was fine with my life. Unlike the other waitresses who’d passed through Frankie’s over the years, I truly enjoyed my job. It was easy and predictable, it kept me active, and I got to talk to people.

If only it paid better, I’d have been set.

I shoved away the reminder that rent was due in a week, and I wouldn’t have the last couple hundred dollars I’d expected from my boyfriend’s check.

Ex-boyfriend. He could go suck a toad’s titties.

I’d find a way to get the bills paid. I always did.

“Hey, could we get refills?”

I glanced over at Tiffany’s table, keeping my smile in place and ignoring the urge to sigh. The girl had gotten plenty of training before Cadence left and had been at Frankie’s long enough that she should have been able to keep up by now, yet it never failed that I’d have to help cover her tables because she just couldn’t manage on her own.

“Sure, honey. Let me get these to their table and I’ll make sure you get fresh drinks.”

The man looked slightly mollified as he set his glass down on the table again, but it wouldn’t take much for him to start bitching. I could see it in the line between his brows and the way he frowned more when Tiffany hurried to another table without even glancing his way.

I took care of the plates I’d been carrying, then the table asking for refills, before moving on. I didn’t bother mentioning it to Tiffany since I’d done it a hundred times before and nothing had changed.

The dinner rush was dying down and I finally had a second to catch my breath when it was stolen by the alpha who walked in the front doors. Tall and broad, there was no way the man wasn’t an alpha. He had long hair pulled up in a knot on top of his head, you couldn’t call it a man-bun on a dude that looked like he could bench you without breaking a sweat, and his chin was just starting to darken with stubble. It was technically Tiffany’s turn to grab the next person who came in, but I darted over before she had a chance to turn around from where she was picking up orders at the window.

“Welcome to Frankie’s! Just you tonight?”

The omega part of me preened when his brown eyes trailed down my body as his lips slowly lifted. I tried to be subtle as I sniffed the air, aiming to catch his scent over the layers of greasy diner food, but it was hopeless.

“Yeah, just me.”

His gaze finally met mine and heat rose to my cheeks, and I put a little extra sway in my hips as I turned to lead him to one of my tables.

“Tonight’s special is meatloaf, but don’t order it. It’s always dry, and at this time of night, the part that might have been edible is gone. What’s left would choke an elephant.”

He chuckled as he pulled out a chair and took a seat. It had been hard to catch before, but away from the door I finally picked up his scent, the dark licorice making my lip curl as my stomach turned.

Of course the first good-looking alpha I’ve seen tonight had to smell terrible.

I kept my smile firmly in place even as I marked him off the possibilities list. Cadence used to tease me about how fast I went through men, but I’d always said the best way to get over one, was to get under another. I was an omega with an omega’s appetite, and I wasn’t ashamed of it.

“What can I get you to drink?” I asked as I slid a menu across the table.

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