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Pulling his phone out, he scrolls through until he finds the images he’s looking for. Handing it to her, he watches as she looks through the photos of the attic.

“This is going to make the most amazing nest, Nina,” Millie says excitedly. “Would you like to come sit with me so we can look through some books to see what you like?”

Nodding shyly, I walk around to sit next to her as she pulls out a book.

“Nina?” Cooper asks. My head snaps in his direction, where he’s pointing toward where Riley and Ethan are talking to George. “I’m going right over there. Yell if you need me please.”

I have my phone in my pocket, but nod anyway. I love that he was making sure I knew he wasn’t going far.

“Okay, let’s chat about color schemes,” Millie says. “What are your favorite colors?”

She makes it so easy as she helps me build my nest by adding everything that we talk about to an app she sketched out the attic on. It makes it so much easier to see the way everything will look.

An enormous bed on a pallet on the ground means if someone falls off during a heat, it’s not as far to fall. It also gives the illusion of a floating mattress.

“Do you like curtains?” she asks.

“I love them,” I sigh dreamily. “It’s so silly, but I’ve never been able to have my own space. Now that I can, it feels overwhelming, or maybe like I’ll mess it up.”

“There’s no way to do that,” she says. “It’s your space. If you want curtains, get them. A swing chair? Hell yes, let’s go. This is your chance to design a space that’s uniquely yours.”

Somehow, I feel better hearing it from another omega. Do Itrust Cooper? With my life, but he also will do anything to make me happy. The anxiety still hits me that I’m a terrible omega.

I lose track of time with Millie as we chat and I touch different fabrics for my nest. Slowly, I lose the sense that I’m doing this badly, and start having fun. I choose a hammock chair that’s large enough to lay in for a corner of the room, fluffy blankets, gauzy curtains that’ll flow on both sides of the bed, and a few hanging plants.

“What do you want for your lighting?” Millie muses, going through some options. “You have a really chill boho vibe right now. We could go with willow vine lights to crawl up the walls behind the mattress if you’d like?”

The word “willow” should creep me out, but a deep breath dispels it. I’m free, I want to remind myself of that.

“Yes,” I answer. “I like how gentle that lighting is.”

“I do too,” she murmurs. “Do you want the chair enclosed with a cute curtain doorway to shut yourself off from everything? It’s easy to feel overstimulated sometimes.”

“You just get it,” I sigh. “The world gets really loud. Even bright lights are an issue.”

“We move through the world differently than alphas and betas,” Millie explains. “We feel deeper, are very creative, and need an outlet for that. That’s why it’s important to have employers who understand that and a nest to escape to. That’s why I work in this nook, even though the lighting is fantastic in this store.”

Looking out at the building, I realize she’s right. Not once have I felt as if I’m sweating underneath the lights, and the music they have playing is really chill instrumentals.

“I haven’t had any problems here,” I admit. “It’s so nice.”

“An omega and her alphas own this store. They’re amazing to work with and so nice,” Millie gushes. “I think we may need another light or two for your nest…”

Putting our heads together, we decide on a beaded chandelierand a lamp for my little swing nook. We also pick out decorations, pillows, and a wall of fairy lights. She helps me with suggestions as we chat, and I’m almost surprised when my alphas walk over.

“It’s been three hours,” Riley teases me. “If you’re still working, I should bring you food to keep your strength up.”

“I think we’re done,” Millie says with a smile. “I’m free to come set this up on Tuesday. Is that okay?”

Nest coordinator is literally the coolest job ever.

“We’ll be home,” Cooper says, coming around to help me up. My back is sore from sitting for so long while barely moving and I wince. I’m also starving. “Did you have fun, Nina?”

“I actually did. Millie made this a really fun experience. I’m glad I didn’t have to do this by myself,” I admit.

“That’s why I love what I do,” she says. “We work with a few other businesses for some of the specialty items, but it’s nice to plan everything in one place, knowing things will come together the way you want them to.”

“I didn’t know this job existed,” I say. “It makes sense though. There’s a need for it.”