Page 18 of Alpha's Two Omegas

“Um, yes.”

“Ok, I can take those!”

He bounded up and took out his phone, snapping a photograph of the nearest thing. He twisted his phone around to show us the image and I cringed. Richard pulled his lip back and said, “We’ll need better photographs than that. No offence, Wilf.”

Wilfred was not a man who took offense easily, and so he waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. Maybe you’re right. Photography is an art, isn’t it? Hey, I wonder if I can learn! I bet that would be amazing. Do you think I can learn in time to get these photos right?”

Richard patted him on the shoulder and said, “We might need to hire somebody this time round. Ty, do you know anyone?”

I thought about it and, just as I was about to shake my head, I stopped. I knew Ronnie. He was studying photography. I didn’t know whether he’d be into taking pictures of random crafts but he might give it a go, and he’d probably charge decent rates, too.

“Maybe. Let me ask him.”

???

Ronnie had nearly fallen off his chair when I asked him.

“Me?”

“Yes, you. I know you might not normally do that kind of stuff, but I was hoping you’d give it a go.”

“I-I’d love to. I’ve never taken a photographforsomeone before.”

He was being extremely cute about the whole thing. He’d packed up his equipment and we’d loaded it into my car and driven to Sunflower Smiles. His leg had been tapping nervously the whole way, and I’d tried to put him at ease.

It hadn’t worked. I could see he was tense and worried the whole time, and I wanted to wrap my arms around him and hold him close, make him feel safe and secure.

I didn’t though. It wasn’t my place.

As soon as we walked through the door of the shop, though, Wilfred gave him one of those beaming smiles and I practically saw the tension wash out of him.

Ronnie and Wilfred got on like a house on fire. I sat back and admired the way they talked and arranged the products and Ronnie began to come into his own a bit, making decisions about lighting and placement. I could see instantly that he had an eye for it. Those images were going to be brilliant. They’d show everything to best advantage, which was what Wilfred needed – his products were quality and he needed to show that.

I also got a kick out of the way he kept glancing over at me, as though seeking my approval. I made sure to nod at him and comment each time he did. It was easy to do because he was nailing this whole thing.

“That looks great, Ronnie. I love how you’ve arranged those two together. That colour’s really going to pop…”

I meant to get some work done but I wasn’t even pretending to do it at this point. I was just fascinated by watching Ronnie work and explain what he was doing to Wilfred. Wilfred was even more enthusiastic about it than I was, but still Ronnie glanced at me to make sureIapproved. I felt the need deep within my bones to give him that approval. He deserved to feel validated and exceptional and, between me and Alder, we’d make sure that happened.

I smiled to myself. The longer we were there, the more I caught glimpses of Alder in Ronnie. He was just as beautiful, of course – I’d noticed that immediately but it just had never been important to me before because he wasn’t Alder. Alder had always been the only one I was interested in.

As I watched, though, I began to get feelings simmering inside me. I thought it was indigestion at first because I’d never felt those things for anyone but my best friend.

Ronnie, though? Turns out, I liked him. I liked him a lot.

In fact, I found him adorable and sweet and interesting.

And sexy.

My body found Ronnie incredibly sexy. The more he came out of his shell, the more my body leaned towards him, wanting him.

That was going to be awkward. How had I managed to want only two people in the world, and they were both my housemates?

Chapter 8: Alder

I’d worked late for a couple of nights that week and was looking forward to getting home and relaxing. Nobody made me feel better as quickly as Ty did, and I was impatient to see him again.

And knowing Ronnie would be there, too, made it better. I’d always felt bad about working late before because it would mean that Ty was alone, but he wasn’t alone in the house any more and I was glad he’d have someone to be with while I was out.

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