Page 56 of Omega's Vengeance

“I’m not really sure.”

She flicks her gaze to Dario and then back to me. “Is the cake for you?”

My cheeks warm. “Actually, yes.” It’s surreal to be picking a wedding cake for myself and Dario. I never pictured getting married this young, and definitely not to an alpha like Dario.

She grins, showing her gold teeth. “And he’s your alpha, right?” She winks at him. “You don’t need to answer. I could tell right away. The way he hovers.”

Dario frowns. “I’m just standing like a normal person.”

She cackles. “It’s thewayyou stand that gives you away. You’re protective. That’s good. You should be.” She waggles a gnarled finger at him. “It’s your job to protect your omega.”

Dario appears confused by her lecturing tone, but he just nods politely.

Trying to cut her off from saying more about how he needs to protect me, I say, “I remember you always had delicious buttercream cakes. Maybe that would be the way to go.” I meet Dario’s gaze. “Do you like buttercream?”

“Yes.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I love all cake.”

The old woman nods. “Of course you do. Cake is like a piece of heaven.”

“You’re not wrong.” Dario leans over and peers at the refrigerated cakes. “Ooh, those look good.” His eyes light up as he takes in all the different cakes.

“They don’t just look good, they are good.” She smiles.

His gaze stops on one cake in particular. “I’ve had that before. It’s delicious. What’s it called?”

“That’s an Italian ricotta cassata cake. It originated from Sicily. Cassata consists of round sponge cake moistened with fruit juices or liqueur and layered with ricotta cheese, candied peel, and a chocolate or vanilla filling. It's topped with a marzipan layer and we can sometimes decorate it with candied fruits.” The old woman purses her lips. “That wouldn’t be a very good cake for a wedding though.”

He glances up. “Oh, I wasn’t thinking of the wedding. I was just thinking it might be delicious for lunch.”

I frown. “You can’t eat cake for lunch.”

“Why not?” He straightens. “People eat cereal for dinner.”

A smile hovers around the old woman’s lips. “Would you like a sample? We give out free samples.” She doesn’t wait for his response. She opens the case and takes the cassata cake out. She cuts a slice and puts it on a paper plate. She hands it over the refrigeration case along with a plastic fork.

Dario takes the cake, frowning. “That’s too big for a sample.”

“Is it? I didn’t notice.” The old woman grins and puts the cake back in the case. “Now, look through the book. I’ll need to know how many tiers you want the cake to be, and the flavors you’d like. When did you need this cake?”

“Saturday,” I say.

She bugs her eyes. “Saturday? That’s only two days away. Mighty short notice for a wedding cake. They take a while to make.”

I grimace. “It’s not going to be a big wedding. It’s just a tiny ceremony. We only need a small cake.”

“Oh, I see.” She nods. “We can probably do that.”

Dario glances up, cream on his lips. “We could always get a bigger cake and then we’d have leftovers.”

I can’t help laughing. “Jesus, you really do love cake.”

He nods and happily goes back to eating the sweet treat. He’s usually rather dour and thuggish looking. But at the moment, he looks a bit like a kid. His dark hair falls onto his forehead, and his expression is one of pure of bliss as he consumes the creamy cake. As if he feels my gaze, he looks up and holds out the fork. “Sorry. Did you want a taste?”

I shake my head. “No, thank you.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” Watching him I get a weird ache in my chest. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that emotion was affection. But there’s no way I feel affection for Dario. The things I feel for him are all based off of instinct. Affection is an actual emotion. I don’t haveactualfeelings or emotions for Dario. Do I?

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