Page 23 of Luna

I put my hand on my hip. “Halos…whatever your last name is. I can help unload. I’ve been lifting bags of dirt for years.”

He grinned, his dimples showing. He seemed like he was in a really good mood, and my omega brain told me it was because of me.

History had usually proved me wrong about that, but it soothed me at least.

“Benally.” Halos shoved his hands in his pockets.

“What?” My train of thought derailed.

“You said ‘whatever your last name is’.” He brushed past me and grabbed a potted shrub. “I know you’re probably stronger than me but let me do it.”

He made it sound like a compliment, but the pack I’d dated before had hated how much time I spent in the dirt. How strong I was. He was probably not too different, probably wanting his omegas sweet and soft. Not covered in dirt.

And not pregnant with someone else’s child. I winced and stepped back.

“Show me where it’s going?” He grinned at me, looking mischievous.

“Come on.” I tried to hide my feelings, instead showing him around the side of my cottage to my massive garden. It had started life as a flower garden, but as the years passed it had turned into my own way of expressing myself. My sisters and cousins all had similar little cottages that dotted the outer edge of the Cosmic Bonds property, so that we were close to each other but still able to have our space.

My grandparents had bought the property almost a hundred years ago, and even though we could have sold it for millions of dollars on the market, we wouldn’t even consider it. Cosmic Bonds was our home.

On the main grounds, where the lodge and welcome center was located, the customers expected a certain level of finesse. The chaotic urge to replant everything during the nesting portion of my heats was too strong for me to ignore, so my backyard had become my experimental place.

Halos paused, studying the grounds. There was half an acre of land before my yard butted up against the trees at the edge of the property. I had stone walkways, water fountains, and twisting trees. Each area had its own theme. I had a massive pollinator garden, a rose garden, a purple themed wildflower section, and a grassy fern section. It might have seemed chaotic to others but made sense to me.

“This is beautiful.” He frowned a little bit, like he always did when he was thinking. “Very adventurous how you put the rose patch near the wildflowers.”

I thought it worked, although Raina hadn’t. “Thanks.”

He set a pot down near the wooden entrance and wandered around. He stopped at the massive wheelbarrow I’d repurposed for dahlias, where he turned in a slow circle to get the perspective, and then looked at me. “Okay if I look toward the back?”

I nodded, wrapping my arms around myself.

“It’s okay if it’s not,” he said as he studied me. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

I shook my head. “You didn’t. I’m not used to people who know what they’re doing …looking at my garden.”

“You clearly know what you’re doing.” He gave me a small smile. “I’m just surprised. The landscaping you do at Cosmic Bonds is more traditional.”

“It needs to be.” I shrugged again. “The clients expect a certain amount of…class.”

“This is classy.” Halos frowned. “This is…inventive and inspired.”

I let out a breath. “Not the right way.”

Halos studied me again, and apparently decided to let it go, because he nodded. “Alright. Why not give me the grand tour?”

I gestured at the wildflower garden. “A wildflower garden, obviously.”

“Why so close to the house? And the rose garden?”

“I like how the colors blend with the jewel tones of the roses,” I said. I was going to give him a flippant answer, but the truth just tumbled out. “And I love wildflowers. I can see them from the kitchen window and it’s nice to look out and see them every morning.”

I took Halos through the gardens, one by one. He asked intelligent questions, and I found myself talking about my gardens like I’d never done before.

Before I knew it, two hours had passed. I blushed a little as we headed back down the trail to my cottage. “I didn’t mean to ramble.”

“What do you mean?” Halos touched some of the milkweed I had planted basically everywhere. “It was fun.”

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