Page 2 of Alpha's Sunflower Smiles

It was difficult to concentrate after that. I was pathetically excited about going over the road to see Wilfred and the only reason I got anything done was that, if I didn’t finish on time, I’d miss my chance to see him and also I’d be late for dinner.

My papa lived outside of town and it would take me an hour to drive there through rush-hour traffic. I had to finish early and gathered some papers into a pile, feeling guilty that I hadn’t quite finished. Ah well, I’d come in early tomorrow and finish them off. Working for myself meant nobody but me needed to know when the work was done, they only needed to know that itwasdone.

Locking up behind me, I strolled over to Sunflower Smiles, already feeling happier. The door chimed as I entered and I inhaled the unique scent of the shop. It was filled with crafts and gifts and scented candles. It should have smelled awful, all clashing together, but somehow it didn’t. Just the scent made me feel more at ease.

Wilfred came out from the back room at the sound of the chime and smiled at me.

He had a megawatt smile that made his whole face light up and he became the most handsome man I’d ever seen in my life. Annoyingly, my heart gave that familiar little flutter.

It would have been a wonderful feeling if I knew Wilfred was smiling like that because he was pleased to see me. Unfortunately, he smiled at everyone like that. I’d seen it. And I’d chastised myself for days afterwards for thinking I was somehow special enough to get a better smile than everyone else.

I didn’t know how Wilfred smiled so much but it was beautiful and made me jealous of everyone else who got that smile.

No wonder Wilfred hadn’t noticed I was flirting with him. I’d thought for weeks that hehadknown and that was why he was smiling at me so much, but then I’d seen him just as happy to see some other random customer and I’d realised just how low down the scale I was.

“Pete! How wonderful to see you.”

Yeah, my poor heart was really feeling it today. Wilfred’s words somehow managed to touch the very core of me. He made me feel seen in a way I’d never experienced before and I desperately wanted it to be real. For him to want me as much as I wanted him.

I managed to smile back at him and say, “Yeah, I, um, came in to buy a gift,” while what I wanted to do was take Wilfred in my arms and kiss his soft-looking lips until we both ran out of air.

“Oh? What kind of gift?”

“Um, something to take as a gift for a host.”

Wilfred nodded and looked around his shop. “What sort of things does the host like?”

I came up blank. Papa liked living in a spotless house, entertaining guests and badgering me to get married.

I really couldn’t tell Wilfred that.

“Um, he likes cooking,” I said. “He’s an omega.”

I don’t know why I added that. I was aware that I became very tongue-tied around Wilfred and never quite said what I wanted to. I wished I could be that suave kind of alpha who managed to sweep people off their feet but that was never going to happen. I was a bit nerdy, a bit socially awkward and I was never going to have the biological children my papa seemed to want from me.

Wilfred began to roam around his shop, studying everything. I knew he’d choose the perfect item. He always did.

I followed him round, mostly to be near him.

“Does he appreciate practical gifts or decorative?”

I considered. “Decorative.”

It was one of the ways Papa and I were totally different. He always said that I inherited my ‘prosaic taste’ from my alpha father, but I couldn’t remember him well enough to know that for myself. I was a man who didn’t have much use for pretty, frivolous things whereas Papa loved them.

“Hmm,” said Wilfred and moved away from the shelf he was at. I noticed that he’d been looking at some beautiful bowls with carvings on them. They were gorgeous and I knew for a fact that Wilfred had hand-crafted every one of them. They were the sort of thing I’d have in my house. Practicalandbeautiful. Just like Wilfred.

He was right to leave them, though. Papa would hate them.

In the end, he found the perfect thing. It was an elegant candle-holder in an intricate rose design. It was delicate and chic-looking, and I knew Papa would absolutely love it.

“Yes, that’s the one. Thank you.”

He took it over to the counter and placed it there carefully, checking it over until he was satisfied. “Do you want it wrapped?”

“Yes, please.”

It probably didn’t matter either way but it would look pretty all wrapped up and it would mean I had an excuse to stay here with Wilfred for a while longer, so I took it. Wilfred took out some tissue paper and began to wrap it carefully but he stopped.

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