Page 42 of Omega's Reluctant Mate
I’d caught him staring when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. Small smiles when my back was turned. It felt like he was seeing me for the first time.
It had given me hope that we were on the right path. But now he was on the phone with his papa, apparently being sent to London.
I swallowed as he placed his hand on mine. My alpha would come back for me. We’d made too much progress for him to run again.
He finished his conversation and ended the call.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, shifting so that both his hands held mine. “I have to leave for London tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I whimpered.
He blew out a long breath. “It’s a new and extremely lucrative contract. The first shipment was supposed to arrive today, but, according to Papa, the wrong parts were sent. Worse, they were sent with the wrong price as well. They’d ditched their last supplier after problems arose, so this could cost us the contract before we’ve even had the chance to prove ourselves.”
“Why you?” I asked.
This wasn’t me. I was never this needy. But we’d been on the verge of a breakthrough, damnit!
“When things go this wrong, you don’t send in somebody who has to call back to the home office for every decision. It’s a matter of respect. My being there will demonstrate that we’re taking this seriously, and value them as a customer.”
I bit my lip and nodded. “Ok.”
“Hey,” he said softly, thumbs bumping over my knuckles. “I’m coming back. It’s just a few days.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
∞∞∞
Tiny kept looking back over his shoulders at me as we passed Zaya’s house. Silently asking if I knew what was going on.
Nate had told me the night before that he wouldn’t be able to join us on the walk. He’d need to spend the time packing, or reviewing the details of the contract.
“He’s not gonna be here today,” I told Tiny. “Sorry bud.”
Tiny whined softly, and I understood the sentiment.
I let him off the leash as we reached the wider stretch of beach, but instead of finding the nearest stick, he just fell in beside me and we kept walking.
It was funny how much a man’s life could change in a matter of weeks. The morning walk with Nate had become a precious part of my day and it felt wrong not having him at my side.
We reached the far end, where we’d normally turn around on days we didn’t play fetch. It was as we walked back up the beach that my eyes fell on the sand, where the waves were slowly washing away Tiny’s pawprints.
Would this time apart erase the progress that Nate and I had made?
Despite everything, the memory of my fated mate running from me still haunted my nightmares.
Before I knew it, Tiny and I had made it back to Cody’s house, without me ever reattaching the leash.
“Are you ok?” Cody asked me as Tiny walked over to the couch but curled up at his feet instead of hopping up next to him.
I thought about it for a minute, then shook my head. “I hate this. I can be his friend if that’s what he needs. I can be his mate. I want to be both.”
A tear slid down my cheek, and I realized that I hadn’t let myself cry since that first horrible night.
I wiped the tears away. “I know he’ll be back in a few days, but I can’t forget that night. I want my alpha in my life.”
Cody stood, walked over, and wrapped his arms around me. “You’ve been so strong during all of this, stronger than most. He’ll be back. Sudden business trips are just a fact of our lives now.”
