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I was speaking from personal experience. Rian was good with doors, but when I was growing up, my dad was constantly distracted with worries about things I didn’t care about, like people trying to walk through when we were entering.

I could have told Ember about the proper technique for stairs, but I was comfortable with them, and I didn’t want her to have too many new instructions at once.

“I’m going to line us up with the doorway,” Ember said. She sounded so happy, like she was out shopping, not guiding me through the city. It was nice she wasn’t acting like this was a burden. I could have worked around it, but I was glad I didn’t have to.

“Great idea.” I squeezed her wrist. “I’m ready when you are.” I kept my cane closer to my body. I’d need it for the stairs, but since we were cutting across the flow of the sidewalk traffic, I didn’t want it too wide.

Ember walked forward before jerking to a stop. “Excuse you, we’re walking here.”

She sounded so put out. I laughed. “So bossy.”

“People need to get out of the way.” She huffed, and a few more feet led us to the stairs.

“Go up the first one without you?” she asked, sounding a bit panicked. Maybe I should have given her quick instructions on stairs after all.

“Yes, I’ll follow you.” I tapped the front of the step with my cane. “I know where it is.”

It wasn’t the same as seeing, I was sure, but I’d been around steps like these, wide and narrow leading up to a restaurant, so I barely needed my cane to tell me where the next one was.

Ember went up slowly and then stopped. “I’m going to put my hand on the handle.”

“Go ahead.”

“Here, let me get that,” a stranger’s voice said to our left.

“Let me,” Ember said quickly. “I want to learn.”

The voice chuckled as I slid my hand down her arm and reached the handle. “Shouldn’t this be the other way around? Alpha holds the door for the omega?”

I opened the door, feeling the weight of the wood and inhaling the scent of freshly baked bread and something roasted.

“I’m a twenty-first century omega. I can open my own doors,” Ember said primly. “I also have an omega boyfriend that uses a toy knot on me.”

I choked a laugh. “Oh my god.”

“Thanks for getting the door, Ben.” She patted my arm and stepped into the restaurant. Scattered voices surrounded us, so I slid my cane down to the ground and tapped around. The click was soft and muted, so we were on carpet.

“Oh, he’s blind,” he alpha dudebro said behind us. “I could have gotten the door.”

“We got it,” Ember said firmly, and I loved her streak of independence. “We’ll ask for help if we need it.” She took a fewmore steps forward and then stopped. “Hi, two please,” she said brightly.

“Of course.” The maître d’ sounded confused. “Uh, is there a specific table you’d like to accommodate your alpha?”

“One with a beautiful view,” I piped up. I couldn’t help myself.

Ember giggled. “Yes please, one with a view.”

“Of course, right this way.”

“I’m going to do the narrow passageway thing,” Ember said, putting her hand behind her back again. I moved my hand without thinking about it. “It’s a tight fit through.”

“No problem,” I said, walking a little closer than I should. “I’ll squeeze in with you any day.”

The restaurant didn’t sound too crowded, and the voices didn’t echo on the walls. I assumed the décor was muted with lots of thick carpet. I’d ask Ember later.

“Here we go,” the maître d’ said and paused, probably wondering how I would know where to sit.

I held my hand up. “Put my hand on the back of the chair and let me know which way it’s facing.”