Page 8 of Mistletoe Omega
“Well, you do what you want. The offer is there for the taking.”
He glanced up, his eyes dark with embarrassment. “I swear I didn’t know Tim hadn’t paid the guy. I’m not a thief.” He swallowed. “Tim fucked me over as much as he did that guy.”
I frowned. “I know that, Sam. I know people. It took me five seconds to see you’re a good person.”
He looked almost shocked by my words. He blinked at me, and then he looked away. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard myself described that way before.”
I moved to the door, and I paused to glance back at him. “We’ve got a clean slate with each other, kid. We have no history. We have no expectations. Let’s see what we can do with that.”
He nodded, his jaw clamped. “I’ll do my best.”
Chapter Three
Sam
Nausea got me out of bed earlier than I’d have liked. I went into the bathroom and ran water, hoping Graham couldn’t hear me puking. Once I felt a little better, I brushed my teeth and washed my face and went back to my room. While Graham’s house was way nicer than the motel I’d been in, I had less privacy. That wouldn’t have concerned me much if I wasn’t pregnant. But if I stayed, it would be hard to keep hiding morning sickness and a growing belly as time marched on.
The reality of being pregnant and abandoned was still only a few days old. Pregnant omegas without alphas weren’t exactly encouraged in our society. While this pregnancy hadn’t been planned, it was still happening, and without Tim to help me, I wasn’t sure I could do this on my own. Not that Tim had been much help in the financial department. He’d rarely been able to hold down a job the whole three months we’d been together. When he’d come up with the plan to leave our hometown and head for California, it had seemed like a chance for a fresh start. I’d had nothing keeping me where we were, so I’d been agreeable to taking off. We’d stopped at towns along the way to make some money to pay for gas and food. Tim and I had bickered a lot and been getting on each other’s nerves. But mostly the plan had been working.
Then I’d gotten pregnant, and Tim had bailed.
I jumped when there was a soft knock on my door. “Come in.”
Graham poked his head in. “I’m sorry to bother you. But I made way too many pancakes, and I wondered if you’d want some?”
My stomach growled as if on cue. “Um, sure.” I stood, feeling awkward.
“I only knocked on your door because I heard you washing up in the bathroom.”
“Oh, it’s fine.”
He grimaced. “I just want to reassure you that, if you decide to stay longer than just one night, I won’t be banging on your door every morning.”
I laughed, surprised he seemed to care what I thought. “I’m not worried.”
“Okay, good.”
I followed him to the kitchen, taking in the warm cherry wood cabinets and brown granite counters with flecks of gold. Last night, he’d taken me straight to the guest room, so I hadn’t seen the rest of the house. “Wow. This is a nice kitchen.”
He smiled and puffed out his chest. “I remodeled it myself.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. I even made the cabinets.”
“Holy hell. That’s impressive.”
“Thanks.” He scooped two pancakes onto a plate and set them on the table. “Sit. Eat.”
I did as he suggested and buttered the golden brown pancakes. Then I poured a generous amount of maple syrup on them. When a drop of the sticky sweet liquid got on my thumb, I sucked it off. As I did that, I also just happened to look up, meeting Graham’s gaze.
Something seemed to ripple through his dark eyes, but he looked away quickly. “There’s also bacon… if you want that.” He opened the oven and pulled out a tray of crispy bacon slices.
“Do you eat like this every morning?” I frowned.
He sighed. “No. I thought since it’s your first morning, and you look a little on the thin side, I’d put some effort into fattening you up.”
My face warmed. I didn’t want to explain I’d lost weight recently because I was pregnant, so I just didn’t respond. I assumed once the morning sickness was over with, I’d start packing on the pounds like most pregnant omegas. When I entered the second trimester, it would be nice to leave morning sickness behind, but it would also be harder and harder to hide the pregnancy as time passed.
