Page 35 of Omega's Pretend Mate
I pressed my finger to his lips. “No.” I sat him up and met his gaze. “Have you ever blindly done what your family wants before?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Then don’t start now. My preference is for a small wedding, but I’m willing to go as large as you want. Not your family. You. If you don’t want this to be a statement wedding, then don’t make it one.”
He leaned in and rested his head against my chest. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being on my side.”
I laughed. “Would I be here if I wasn’t on your side?”
“I guess not.”
He shifted to get closer, and I made room so that he could snuggle as much as he wanted. It was a relatively new habit of his, only having started after his heat, but I wasn’t about to deny myself the opportunity to hold him.
Gabe was silent for several minutes, and as I’d come to know him better, I understood that he was preparing himself to deal with his relatives. In every other situation he was opinionated and expressive. But he’d become so used to his secondary being held over him by his own family that, even though he loved them, there was always a fight about what omegas should let their alphas handle.
“You can blame me if you want,” I offered.
“Huh?”
I smiled and kissed the top of his head. “You’re trying to decide what to say that will make them listen, right?”
“How did you know?”
I tightened my arms around him, earning a soft sigh in the process. “Just something I’ve noticed. I’m assuming everything you’ve thought of so far they can counter with money, right?”
He groaned and nodded. “Yeah. Not enough time? Hire more people. Too much stress? Hire more people. Everybody booked up? Fly in their people. I just want things small and intimate? Nonsense! It’s a wedding, and we’ve got the money, so it should be lavish.”
“Just tell them that I’m uncomfortable with having a bunch of people there that won’t be important in our lives.”
“Then they might say that you walked all over me and what I want.”
“Leave everything to an alpha, until the alpha doesn’t agree with them. Is that it?”
He gave a single sarcastic laugh. “Sounds about right.”
“What about your grandfather?” I asked.
“What about him?”
“Even with a private jet, flying across the country is going to take a toll. You already said that he had to spread out visits from the family over the holidays so that it didn’t tire him out. I can’t think of anything more exhausting than having to schmooze over several hours. Limiting the guest list will make it easier for him to take necessary breaks.”
Gabe thought for a moment, then nodded. “That… might work. If I tell them that we both wanted something smaller, and that we also wanted to keep things easy for grandfather… Grandmama would be more likely to agree then. Once she’s on board then it’ll be easier to convince everybody else.”
I smiled. “Good.”
He nuzzled against my chest. “I just hope it’s good enough.”
“Don’t be afraid to put your foot down. I’ve got your back.”
“Thank you.”
“Anything for you.”
∞∞∞
