Page 13 of Omega's Pretend Mate
I wondered what it was like to be close enough to a brother to want to spend so much time together. Whenever I saw Josh and his family it was always perfunctory. He was a CEO-in-training, and his kids were expected to grow to be pillars of society. A day at a public beach or at an amusement park sounded like something he’d decry as gauche. He was more the private resort type with scheduled activities for the kids.
Part of me envied Christian that he could just have fun with his family.
“I’m glad you got to see them,” I said weakly.
“Do you have siblings?” he asked.
I nodded. “One brother, alpha. He’s older than me and already has a wife and kids.”
“See them often?”
I shook my head. “No. We… Josh and I don’t have a lot of shared interests,” I finally managed.
No shared interests was actually more like it. But right then I felt like I came from such a different world.
“Sorry,” Christian said before taking a bite of food.
We fell into a strange silence again, which I didn’t try to break a second time.
He took my plate after I’d finished and carried it to the kitchen to wash, leaving me to wonder just how big of an ass I’d made of myself the night before.
“I’ll take you back to pick up your car in a bit,” he said from where he stood over the sink. “In the meantime, feel free to take a shower if you need.”
“Thanks,” I muttered. “But I can call for a ride since I didn’t drive myself last night.”
He wiped his hands on a dish towel and walked back over. “Well at least there’s that,” he said, sitting again. “I’m glad you had the foresight to know that driving was going to be a bad idea. I can drive you home though, no need to call somebody.”
“It’s ok…” I said. “I shouldn't take up more of your time.”
He studied me for a minute, then sighed. He ran a hand through his hair. “Gabe… I know it’s none of my business, we’re just coworkers. But… are you ok? Are you in trouble?”
“Huh?”
He grimaced. “You… you weren’t making a lot of sense last night. But you seemed extremely concerned about your house. You kept saying that somebody was going to take it away. Is your landlord trying to illegally evict you? Are they jacking up your rent? Do you need a place to crash? I know the rental market is tight right now, and I can’t do much. But I want to help if I can.”
The blood drained from my face. Nobody at work knew I was from such a wealthy family. I didn’t invite coworkers home because I didn’t need them realizing that I was loaded. I felt it would make things awkward at the office.
But here was Christian, offering to help, even though he barely knew me.
The tears spilled over before I could stop them, the stress of it all finally too much now that there was the barest hint of relief in the form of somebody listening.
Christian rested a hand on my shoulder, then stood and walked away. My heart sank. Then he returned with a box of tissue and set it in front of me.
“Better out than in. That’s what my papa always said,” he murmured.
I grabbed a tissue as fresh tears burst free. So many people would just see me as an overly emotional omega. But Christian was patient, and made it clear he’d wait to learn what I was emotional about.
I realized that secrets had consequences too, and he probably wouldn’t understand without seeing where I was coming from.
“I…” I started. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. “I’m not trying to avoid the question. But I think this discussion will make a lot more sense at my house. Is that offer to take me home still on the table?”
Christian nodded.
“Thank you,” I murmured. “I’ll… I’ll get changed, then we can go.”
“You can shower first if you’d like.”
I shook my head. “Thanks. But… This is already going to be hard enough, and the longer I stall the harder it’ll be.”
