Page 5 of Knot So Sweet
"Look, she's an omega. A cranky one and wants to be left alone."
Not exactly true. Woman made it clear she's got an attitude problem and no respect for people trying to run a business. But Meredith doesn't need to know that.
“A grumpy omega, you say?”
There’s a pause. Then a smile spreads—slow and satisfied, like she hit the matchmaking jackpot. “You know, dear, you’re quite grumpy yourself. Perhaps you two belong together.”
The bell chimes and Frank shuffles in.
Good. I grab his usual without asking. He nods, pays, takes it, leaves.
"No." I set her coffee down hard enough to slosh it. Coffee spills over the rim, darkening the cardboard. "She's rude, and thinks I'm some kind of monster, because I don't appreciate being woken up by someone howling loud enough to wake the dead."
"You're probably dramatizing it."
"Go ask her yourself and see."
Meredith taps one manicured finger against her chin. "Maybe she needs the right teacher. I've worked miracles with tone-deaf children before."
The brass bell chimes again, with Xaden jogging in, still breathing hard from his run. Hair plastered to his head with sweat, wearing those ridiculous shorts despite the cold.
At thirty-two, he moves like the soldier he used to be. Every step deliberate.
"Morning," he says, grabbing a water bottle from the cooler.
Great. Now I've got two people who'll want to stick their noses in my business.
"Morning, Garrick. Meredith." Xaden's breathing hard but his eyes are already scanning, taking everything in like he always does.
"What's with the woman sleeping in the car outside? Been there since I started my run."
"She's not sleeping. She's sulking."
Xaden raises an eyebrow.
"Garrick tried talking to her," Meredith chimes in. "Now he keeps putting extra scones in my bag and spilling coffee."
“All I did was told her to move the car. She didn’t like that.” I scrub at the counter even though it’s already clean. “Crawled into the backseat like she plans to hibernate.”
Xaden leans against the display case. “Really?”
“I didn’t yell.”I toss the rag in the sink. “Didn’t growl. Barely even scowled and she acted like I kicked her damn puppy.”
Xaden laughs and Meredith’s smirking like she already knows how this’ll end.
A few regulars have wandered in, and none of them are in a hurry to order, just pretending to browse while they listen. Town thrives on gossip.
I focus on straightening the pastry display. Don't need to justify myself to anyone.
Xaden wipes water off his chin, still grinning. “You can’t do normal human interaction. Especially with women.”
“Fuck you.”
Xaden's been calling me on my crap for three years now. Doesn't mean I have to like it.
"So what's her story?" Xaden nods to the window. He's finished his water and is now doing those subtle stretches that runners do, rolling his shoulders and flexing his calves. "Car trouble? Running from something? Both?"
"How should I know?" I toss the cleaning rag into the sink with more force than necessary, the wet fabric slapping against the stainless steel. "Like I said, she wasn't interested in conversation. She sang her lungs out at four in the morning and then give me attitude when I suggested she move her piece of junk before it exploded all over my storefront."
