Page 36 of Knot Made to Break: Part One

I blinked up at him, forcing my lips to curve wider at the edges. “Sorry, I mean... the outfit’s really pretty,” I amended quickly, reaching to take the hanger from his hands. “And yes, we can go to the dressing rooms.”

He assessed me with that all-seeing stare. “You don’t have to try it on if you don’t like it.”

“It’s not that…”

He read my hesitation wrong, head cocked, as he worked to evaluate what the problem was. “You’re worried about a repeat of what happened at Maison’s.”

Perhaps it was cowardly to let him think that rather than giving him the real reason, but I didn’t correct him.

“Why don’t we just buy shit and she can try it on at home,” Marco suggested. “It’s not like we can’t return whatever doesn’t fit.”

As absolutely glorious as that sounded, I balked, not wanting to be that much of a bother. “No! I’ll try—”

“Done,” Gio interrupted, sending me a look that said arguing with him would be a waste of breath.

Within the hour, we’d checked out, overloaded with bags of clothing. An excited Tommas took my hand, pulling me down the row of shops toward a home goods store. I tried to keep up with him, but my movements were sluggish. My legs felt like lead, and my feet dragged as I struggled to match his longer strides.

“Just one more stop,” Marco assured me, his touch on the small of my back guiding me through the door and into…wonderland.

Air fled my lungs in a whoosh at the sight of plush pillows and blankets, and cushy chairs and beds. This place was a sensory overload of soft, fluffy things.

“Pick out anything you want,” Tommas urged, gesturing to the endless shelves, and for the first time since we’d begun shopping, I was tempted to do just that—money be damned.

A dreamy sigh left my lips when I ran my fingers along a plush throw, imagining how it would feel to wrap up in it. An arm reached over my shoulder and plucked it off the shelf. Eyes wide, I turned quickly enough to spot Gio tossing it into the cart he was wheeling through the store. Seeing the big, scary mountain of a man looking so damn domestic almost made me laugh.

My lips twitched.

“You can’t just buy everything I touch…” I tried to argue, but Gio simply crossed his arms over his chest.

“Watch me, Dolcezza.”

This time, my sigh sounded exasperated. But since walking felt like trudging through molasses, I didn’t have the extra energy to fight with him.

I picked out a few more blankets, sticking with my favorite colors—deep greens and teals—before moving on to pillows. “This is nice,” I murmured, running my hand over a large body pillow that I could cuddle up with at night.

“Great choice,” Marco said, adding it to our overflowing cart.

My vision blurred as I daydreamed about making a makeshift nest in my room. I’d never had one before. The closest I’d ever gotten were the eight blankets I used to keep on my bed at the OMA, but they were a far cry from the plush bedding surrounding me now. Since I didn’t have any money to my name, I’d had to make do with the government issued throws that came standard for all Omegas.

I’d never gotten to shop like this in my life.

Nothing I’d ever owned could compare to the possibilities the mountain of cozy blankets around me provided. An Omega could create any type of nest she wanted. The options here were endless—cushiony mattresses that covered the floors, soft wall panels to create a den-like environment, and covers in more colors than I could have possibly imagined. There were various lighting choices, from string lights to fiber optics, and shelves upon shelves of bedding and pillows.

Being inside this store was like living in a rainbow. Or a cloud, given the fluffy factor. Either way, this place was a dream, and all I wanted was to burrow into that softness and disappear.

I wavered on my feet, grabbing onto the cart to keep myself upright.

“Kitania?” Dimitri’s concern broke through my haze as he strode up to our group with a second wagon already half full. “Are you alright?”

I nodded automatically, my throat too tight to speak. The fingers of my free hand clutched at the edge of the shelf next to me, seeking an anchor in the sea of exhaustion threatening to pull me under.

Trying to hide how weak and dizzy I felt, I improvised. Pretending to shop, I grabbed the closest blanket, a shaggy blue monstrosity that looked like someone had skinned Cookie-Monster.

“Maybe this?” I held it out, my lips quivering as I tried to hold a small smile.

Dimitri arched a brow, perceptive enough to recognize the throw didn’t match my other choices. Wordlessly, he took it and added it to the cart anyway.

I cringed and instantly began plotting how to sneak the awful blanket back onto the shelf so they wouldn’t waste their money on the ugly thing.

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