Page 89 of Claiming Their Omega

“It’s lovely.” Grace reaches out a finger and lightly traces the shape of the flowers. “Why’d you get it, though?”

“Flowers do die, you know. Maybe I wanted my luck to last forever.”

Grace looks up at me, her eyes big and soft, then she gets up onto her tiptoes and kisses me.

It’s soft and sweet. My hands fall to her hips automatically to keep her steady as her palms slide up my chest, smoothing my shirt down. I want to let the kiss linger, to deepen it, drown in it—but I really don’t have time.

Gently, Grace pulls away, tapping the medallion that now rests against my sternum. “See you out there.”

I feel a calm within the storm that rages inside of me. It’s still there, don’t get me wrong. I’m still nervous. But I’m less nervous than before, like I can see the eye of it. If I can just reach that eye, the calm at the center, and focus on it, then I’ll be okay.

That calm, I think, is Grace.

Chapter 31

Grace

My heart races as I watch Hendrix go. Part of it is nerves for him. I trust him, and I’m sure that he’ll do well—I just know how nervous he is, and I feel like some of those nerves transferred to me. I hope he finds confidence in himself and doesn’t eat himself up with nerves.

I’d hoped that the necklace would help with that. A little something to remember how much I care and that I’m supporting him, and hey, when you believe in something, it helps. If you think something will give you luck, then it does.

But the other reason my heart is racing, the reason my breath is caught in my throat, is that image of the tattoo branded into my mind’s eye.

He went and got a tattoo of me. A tattoo that represents me. A tattoo isn’t a small thing to get. They’re a pain in the neck to remove if you don’t want them anymore. And he got it somewhere so private…

It just feels even more intimate, that he got it near his heart like that. Like it’s not something he needs to shout from the rooftops but something secret and special, just for him.

I want to put my hand over my heart and swoon like I’m a heroine in one of the romance novels that we publish at my company. My stomach flutters. I’m starting to get really attached to these men. This feels serious.

The thought makes me feel elated and terrified at the same time.

But I can’t just stand there like an idiot, getting in the way of all the other rodeo employees and riders. I hurry to join up with the other three Alphas, where we get some food and find our seats.

“Oh my god,” I blurt out, grinning and pointing. “Fried Oreos. I loved those things as a kid, I haven’t had them in ages.”

“Fried ice cream is where it’s at,” Jesse disagrees with me.

“Are you saying that just to mess with me or do you genuinely think that?”

“Oh, I genuinely think that. Don’t worry, if I was messing with you I would’ve said deep friend Twinkies.”

Easton makes a face, wrinkling up his nose. It’s adorable. “What is wrong with you two?”

Jesse grins at him and puts his hand on the small of my back. “Come on, wildcard, let’s get some grub.”

“I’m going to get cotton candy,” Easton announces. “Like a normal person.”

The lines for all the different food are, obviously, different, so I stand in my own line while the men get into theirs. I know we have plenty of time, but I am a little anxious about the line, so I’m not really paying attention to the people around me.

Boy, I wish I had been.

“Oh, Grace?”

I wince internally and hope that my ignoring her will cause Maybelle to think she was mistaken and move on, but instead she moves in closer. “Grace, it is you! What a surprise.”

I turn to look at her. “Maybelle, hi.”

She looks lovely as always, dressed in a cute little halter top and a gingham skirt. She’s adorable, and looks like she belongs on a magazine advertising rodeos. I’m sure everyone would sign up to go if they saw her on the cover.

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