Page 94 of Knot Your Baby

I blink, surprised by the request. “You want me to bake for you?”

“If you’re willing.”

Such a simple thing, but the significance isn’t lost on me. An alpha asking, not demanding. But more than that. Thorne is showing an interest in something that matters to me.

“What would you like?” I’m already mentally cataloging the ingredients I’ve spotted appearing in his now very well-stocked pantry.

“Those cheese puffs you made for the café downtown.” His admission comes with a slight flush across his cheekbones. “I may have ordered them a few times. Even before I knew they were yours.”

The revelation hits me straight in the center of my heart.

He’d tasted my baking before. Had sought it out. All the while, he claimed to want nothing to do with me.

“Gougères,” I say, unable to hide my smile this time. “I can make those. I just need to get some gruyere cheese.”

“I’ll get some," Thorne says. "Then can you teach me how to make them?”

Zane and Miller keep watching from the balcony while I wait for the butter and water to boil. Thorne stands beside me and I’m not sure why he is here.

"Can I help you?" he asks as the mixture starts to boil.

I take the pan from the stove and mix the flour, nutmeg, and seasoning in.

“You can do this but keep stirring until the mixture combines and then put it back on the stove.”

Thorne takes over. Stirring the mixture while I turn down the heat. "I'm sorry, Freya. About what I did.” His voice is quiet as glances at me. I don’t reply and he continues. “I hate myself for ignoring what we could have been sharing all this time." His voice croaks. "Please forgive me."

I could tell him it's okay, but I want him to tell me how much he wants me. I want him to tell me how much he hurts and understand how much he hurt me. "Why should I?"

"Because I was blind to see what was in front of me. I was so in love with the omega who turned my head all those years ago, I just couldn't get the thought of her out of my mind. I wanted no other omega but her. I thought it was you once." He swallows as he continues his confession. "Oh God, I wish I wasn't so stubborn back then."

“You can put the pan on the stove now,” I say. “But keep stirring until it thickens up.”

He follows my direction pretty well. But now he is talking, I don’t want him to stop. "It was hard for me, knowing you were there in that club and looking past me. I know I'm a bit too much sometimes—"

"My God. You're not too much. You're perfect. I saw that, but I didn’t tell you and I'm so fucking sorry—" My throat tightens as he looks at me. "You followed me because you knew we were soulmates. I was the one who was too fucking stupid to let myself trust you."

I suck back a sob and he goes to turn to me. “Don’t stop stirring.”

He smiles and keeps doing as I ask. "I'm going to prove to you how sorry I am every day of your life, if you let me."

Our gazes lock. "I've been hurting every single day since you rejected me."

“Fuck!” His face crumples, and I see the alpha in him break.

My perfume fills the air. And despite how much I need to hear this, my omega instincts kick in and I want to comfort him right now, but I have to stay strong. “Now take it off the heat and let it rest for two minutes.”

He places the pan on the counter and takes my hands in his. "I know I hurt you, and I'll never forgive myself for it."

I pull my hands away from his, wrapping my arms around myself. Nine years of longing and pain can't just vanish with a few pretty words. "Do you have any idea what it was like to know you were my mate, to feel it in every cell of my body, and watch you walk away?"

"Freya—"

"I waited," I whisper, my voice trembling. "I waited for years, thinking maybe someday you'd realize it was me."

"I did once, but I let myself believe it was wrong. I was too busy chasing the memory of someone I couldn't even remember clearly. When you were right there all along.” Thorne drops his head in shame. “I’m sorry. I was waiting for her when I should have been feeling with my soul."

“We need to put the eggs in the pan,” I say, prolonging his agony. “One at a time.”

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