Page 17 of Alpha’s Sunflower Smiles (Sweet in Silford #8)
Chapter 17
Wilfred
I felt silly for worrying about Pete not wanting to be in a permanent relationship with me but, in my defence, I didn’t really have much experience with dating.
What I did know was that Pete made me feel so full of happiness that I felt like I was going to burst.
He’d been so funny this morning when he drove me to my cottage and prowled around it, making note of all the things he was going to change before it was safe enough for us to live in.
I’d started to feel bad that I’d done such a bad job of looking after the place but he was pleased I’d had a fire alarm installed and had a fire blanket in the kitchen.
That made me feel competent.
We were going to stay at Pete’s house until my cottage was fixed because I could see the idea of staying in my cottage with the dodgy door caused him genuine distress.
I didn’t mind.
Really, I just wanted to be with Pete and I’d have lived in that boring, square house forever if that was what he needed to feel safe.
Luckily he didn’t want that.
He was right.
I loved my cottage.
Just not as much as I loved Pete, that’s all.
And, because I loved Pete, I was going to do something scary.
Like, really scary.
I was going to see his papa.
Last night, after he’d made love to me and cuddled me close, we’d talked.
My alpha had spooned up behind me and I’d felt his hard muscles press against me, his warm skin and his breath on my neck as he spoke.
I got the impression that he was able to talk much easier when he wasn’t face-to-face with me, and I’d listened to him carefully as he explained about his relationship with his papa.
Pete didn’t seem sure that his papa would accept him for who he was, not really, not if he didn’t marry an omega and have children.
However, I wasn’t so sure about that.
Obviously I hadn’t met his papa for very long – and it wasn’t the best introduction we could have had, since I’d much rather he hadn’t spotted us dry humping on the couch – but he’d looked surprised more than disgusted or annoyed.
I finished wrapping my candle holder and stood back to admire it.
It looked lovely, if I did say so myself.
And it also meant I couldn’t delay any longer.
I slipped into the workshop where Richard was working.
“I’m going out now.”
He looked up from the computer where he did all the boring business stuff.
He gave me a significant look.
“Good luck.”
I hadn’t told him exactly what I was about to do, but I think he was basically onto me.
Standing up tall, I took my gift and walked out of Sunflower Smiles.
I had to sneak out the back so Pete wouldn’t happen to spot me if he looked out the window, and then I drove to his papa’s house.
It was in a very nice area, and the house was older and had more character than Pete’s.
It wasn’t as nice as my cottage but I approved.
That was a good sign, right?
It took me a few seconds to work up the courage to ring the bell and then remember to smile when Mr.
Thompson opened the door.
“Good morning,” I said.
“I don’t know if you remember me, I’m Wilfred Smith, Pete’s, um, partner.”
I tried to remember to say ‘partner’ and not ‘boyfriend’ like Mr.
Thompson had.
“I remember.” The look he gave me made me think the image of Pete and me together was burned into his memory and he’d much rather it wasn’t.
I cringed a bit.
When he stood aside and said, “Come in,” though, I took that as a win.
“This house is lovely,” I said as we walked through to the lounge.
It was clear that somebody with a very experienced eye had designed it.
“Thank you, I do my best.”
“You designed it?”
“Yes.”
I could see he was trying to downplay it but he was proud of his house.
He’d taken care to make it look this way, and the beauty of everything stood out.
Everything around us had been chosen because it was pretty, and I could understand that.
After all, I spent my life making beautiful things.
That reminded me.
I held out the gift I’d brought him.
“Since you didn’t get to keep the last gift, I hope you like this one.”
I’d chosen a slightly different design from the red roses Pete had chosen.
When he’d burst in on us, Mr.
Thompson had been wearing a white shirt with thin blue stripes and I’d noted that his eyes were the same baby blue that Pete had inherited.
I’d taken a chance and gone with a periwinkle design instead.
When Mr.
Thompson unwrapped it, I was glad I’d made that decision.
Those pretty blue eyes went wide and he turned the candle holder round, admiring it.
“This is very nice,” he said.
It wasn’t so much what he said as the way he said it.
There was an honesty in his appreciation that made me feel warm, just like I always did when people loved the things I’d made them.
I thought it was a good start.