Page 15 of Surprise Mother Pucker

Giving the barista a warm smile as I stepped up to the counter, I glanced over the menu. As well as coffee, there were several sweet treats, ranging from cakes and cookies to pastries. Would it be too forward of me to get one for Kennedy?

“What can I get for you?” the barista asked after I had spent a few seconds perusing the sweet offerings.

“Hi. Can I get a flat white, a vanilla latte, a chocolate croissant, and a chocolate chip cookie?” I reeled off the order. “And a bottle of water!” I tacked on at the end.

Within minutes, the order was in hand, and I was making my way back up the stairs. I may have been a levelheaded man, but I was still an alpha. The idea of giving food to an omega—especially one I was so attracted to—scratched a deep, almost primal itch inside me.

Kennedy was right where I had left her, sitting cross-legged at her table, a different textbook in front of her as she made notes.

Taking a deep breath, I braced myself for the delicious sweet floral scent to hit me again. It packed a punch, but in the best way.

“Here you go,” I said casually as I plopped the latte, water, and the croissant down on her table, doing my utmost to remain casual, even though my chest was pounding.

Her eyes shot up between the drink and me. “Oh! Thank you, you didn’t have to?—”

“I wanted to,” I assured her. “You’ve been here hours, you could use some more caffeine, and I was going to the café, anyway.”

A slow, shy smile spread across her face—I had pleased her! “Thank you!”

Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for what I was about to say. “No pressure at all—I’ll leave you to your studying—but how would you feel about grabbing dinner sometime?”

Chapter 7

Kennedy

Oh.

He was asking me out.

On a date. Like, a real date.

When was the last time a guy had asked me out?

I had clocked the alpha the moment he sat down at the table next to mine. His smoky vanilla scent had made me squirm in my seat. Considering my lady business had been drier than the Sahara for the last six months since I gave birth, its sudden awakening was shocking, to say the least.

I wasn’t mad at that particular development, though. There would be time later to explore those feelings, but for now, I was focused on studying…. Or, at least, I had been.

Then I’d had to talk to him. Realizing that my outlet wasn’t working had made me panic. I needed to be reachable in case the sitter needed to reach me. So, I had braved talking to him, thinking it would be a quick interaction and he would swiftly forget about me.

He was handsome, with dark hair that flopped in front of his face and glasses that gave him an academic look. But his body was anything but academic. He had long, wiry muscles that had clearly taken some work to develop.

Strong and smart.

It was a surprise I wasn’t visibly drooling over him.

As soon as my phone cable was plugged in, I retreated, since the last thing I wanted to do was outstay my welcome and irritate him. I was single, painfully so. I didn’t know the protocol for talking to members of the opposite sex. The only man I had spoken to for longer than two minutes in the last year was Char’s pediatrician.

I hadn’t even considered dating since finding out I was pregnant. My priorities were graduating and getting a good job, so I could provide for myself and Charlotte. Appreciating an alpha from a distance was all well and good, but there was no way he would ever want to date me, even if we had bantered with ease.

Then he’d placed the coffee and goodies in front of me, awkwardly so. Like he was nervous about giving them to me.

When was the last time someone had bought me coffee? Or a snack?

The chocolate croissant smelled phenomenal, and I knew it was going to taste delicious, just from the smell alone.

He had been shifting from foot to foot as he looked at me like he was trying to gather up the courage to say something. I half expected him to ask me to leave. Maybe the latte and the croissant were simply a peace offering before he asked for some quiet to work.

“No pressure at all—I’ll leave you to your studying—but how would you feel about grabbing dinner sometime?”

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