Page 39 of Curvy Quirky Omega

Liam came up and set his hand on my lower back, staring at me like no one else was in the room. “Then let’s get some coffee. I need to learn your drink order if I’m going to make coffee runs in the future anyway.”

He really needed to stop playing around or I’d start believing he was going to get a job at Genesis for real.

And I had to admit, the idea was starting to grow on me.

CHAPTER 15

Lucy

I tugged on the lapels of my long black coat to shake off some of the water before stepping into the café. The rain just wouldn’t stop, but it was the first time I didn’t wonder what had happened to that boy when it was raining like this.

Not when he was right next to me, carefully closing the umbrella so he didn’t splash me with even more rain while Frankie took her time looking around, giving us a little space.

Despite how much I’d freaked out about what would happen if I went anywhere public with Liam at my side, no one turned to look at us. They didn’t sneak furtive little glances either. They just went about their business, like there was some unspoken rule not to look at newcomers.

I turned and saw Cas park his motorcycle in front of one of the other businesses to get whatever footage they’d hand over without a warrant. It was a risk to send him instead of Frankie, but Liam had assured me Cas did this kind of stuff all the time.

No one else saw him the way we did, Liam admitted on the way over here. They didn’t feel how intense his presence was or that his smile was anything other than predatory. For whatever reason, no one saw just how dangerous he was.

Despite the fact that he was an alpha, not an omega, I felt like Cas understood what it was like to be constantly underestimated better than most.

Then my gaze got caught on the ridiculously flashy Audi R9 in a custom color that was somewhere between purple and pink that Liam decided he wanted to drive around today. He refused to hear a single word I said about how it would draw too much attention or that it only sat two. That was the car he wanted to drive today and so that’s what we’d do.

Frankie and Cas were no help at all either. They’d both offered to ride their motorcycles like they were our personal escorts.

All this was going to cause problems. I could feel it. But no one wanted to listen to me. It wasn’t like I had a decent excuse either. It was just a feeling, one that I’d had many times before.

Our luck was running out and soon, people would figure out that this was Liam Valor. How could they not when he looked the way he did?

I sighed and turned back to study the Buttercuppa Coffee lobby, deciding I really liked the cozy vibe they’d managed despite this being a chain.

All the lights were low and warm, making the long room feel cozy with all the different seating areas made up of either sofas and armchairs or dining room tables and chairs.

Paintings from local artists hung on the walls, and no one was talking or laughing too loud. The low murmur from the people in the café was almost as soothing as the rain pattering against the windows.

The baristas smiled and welcomed us, but I was more interested in the patrons and their laptops.

It seemed like they were busy pretty regularly so it might not be easy to figure out which device was Gideon’s.

Frankie raised her hand and greeted one of the baristas like she knew them personally, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she did. Sometimes it felt like Frankie knew everyone in the city of Acheron.

Liam and I followed her to the counter, his arm wrapping around my shoulders to tuck me into his side like we’d been courting for years, not weeks.

“What do you usually order at a place like this?” Liam asked, leaning down to tickle my ear with his words.

It felt strange to be out in public with him like this and know it wasn’t for show. This wasn’t a performance to make everyone believe I was his girlfriend, not the detective he hired to find his brother’s killer.

Liam Valor was my bonded alpha, and soon…the whole world would know it.

Would they all believe he was trying to learn my drink order so he could bring me coffee at work? I could barely believe it so it wouldn’t surprise me if people refused to accept a legacy alpha would want to be someone else’s assistant.

An omega’s assistant.

But Liam wasn’t always a legacy alpha. Before his eyes turned red and he became the corporate prince of Valor, he was my friend.

My helper.

Whatever I wanted to pretend to be that day, he would help me make it happen.

---