Page 24 of My Begrudging Scent Matches

Was this Grant’s idea? She could see Grant wanting to spend time with her; he is kind and generally excited to interact with her in any way that he can. Caleb, on the other hand, is always either scowling in the distance or looking at Alice as if he’s a lost puppy with no in-between.

“You don’t even really know me,” Alice says. Caleb’s face breaks, and it’s good that his back is now to Lily because she would be all over this, asking what Alice did to make him look so devastated.

“I want to know you better. We both do.”

She clears her throat. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”

She can’t trust that she’ll make the most sound decisions, especially not if Caleb is going to be watching her like this and Grant too, both of them with their broad chests and thick fingers—oh absolutely not.

“Thank you, though.” Alice grabs her empty water bottle and inches past him. “I’m going to have that lunch now.”

“Right,” Caleb says. His Adam's apple bobs, but Alice decidedly looks away from it and escapes to the kitchen where she tries to cool off and not think about anything. Especially not about them.

nine

By 6 PM on Wednesday, the office has cleared out for the holiday and Alice has effectively dodged any meaningful conversations with Grant and Caleb despite their best efforts.

If it wasn’t Grant stopping by her desk for a chat, it was Caleb leaving a donut and a note, or ordering her Thai food to be delivered promptly at 12:30 so she can’t try and skip out on lunch. They were as focused and relentless in giving her attention as they were in their work. She had to respect that, even if it did make her stomach turn.

They are unmistakably courting her.

She’d watched her siblings court their mates, and vice versa. She would hear about it from friends, and reasonably knew it was a thing that would one day happen to her, but the abstract was much less stressful than it actually happening.

She worried that her heat, the courting, all of it, would make Caleb and Grant want to baby her—that by being an Omega, she’d need to receive softer feedback—but even with the extra attention to her eating habits, work has gone on as usual.

When Grant and Caleb collaborate on a document with Alice, they are as professional and thorough in their feedback as before—Caleb’s messages aren’t different in tone or style, and he still adds or removes no less than five commas from everything she sends him, though she sees his notes in a new light. He’s not talking down to her or dismissing her requests, he’s always been prompt and straightforward.

Alice has been trained to think that in order to excel in the workforce, she needs to be cheerful and effusive constantly to avoid coming off as a bitch. But maybe she can be more like Caleb.

Alice has been trying to emulate some of that energy in her correspondence, but earlier today when Logan asked her to send over some deliverables to their Canadian client before the end of the day, she still responded “Sure!” and ended up being the last person in the office because of it.

With all of her necessary emails sent, she crosses the task off of her agenda and starts packing everything up into her bag. Her eyes burn from all the screen time, she has to close them for a few breaths before standing up. It doesn’t help that her sleep hasn’t improved, she’s still tossing and turning and is totally restless when she closes her eyes at night.

Exhaustion has started to show on her face again in a way that no makeup can really cover. Last night, she finally gave in and put on Grant’s hoodie that she took, but even that only offered temporary comfort.

It’s fine though. Everything is fine.

Alice is alive and well, and not liable to go into heat any time soon, at least not for another three months or so. That is more than enough time to potentially get over these pesky, persistent, and unwanted feelings she gets every time she sees Grant and Caleb talking, or when they catch her looking and they grin like it’s already Christmas.

Alice sets her shoulders, raises her neck, and vows not to think about them for the rest of the evening. This plan goes immediately to shit, though, because when she pushes into the hallway from the office, Grant is there, almost panting with the tip of his nose red.

“Grant,” she says and attempts a polite smile. Her scent is by no means subtle now that she’s wearing fewer scent deodorizers. The blue of his eyes is eaten up momentarily by his expanding pupils.

He’s not wearing his work bag, only a winter coat and a red scarf, which she recognizes as Caleb’s. Of course they share clothes.

“Alice,” he says, taking a step closer. “It’s snowing.”

“I saw,” she says and looks down the hall to the floor length window. “I like the snow. It’s peaceful.”

“I was driving home and it kept snowing harder. I was thinking about you here working still, and, uh, I came back.”

“Oh.” Alice stands up straighter. “Why?”

Grant’s eyes are fastidiously set on her lips, his own parted.

“I wanted to make sure you got home safe,” he says. “Let me drive you.”

Inexplicably, she takes a step closer. There’s that string between them tugging her chest towards his, and she can’t fight it. Not when she hasn’t slept much in three days and especially not when he smells so perfect, like sweet chamomile calming her senses.

---