Page 18 of Alpha’s Sunflower Smiles (Sweet in Silford #8)

Chapter 18

Pete

T he door to my office opened and I looked up to see Papa walking in.

I shot to my feet, and then wasn’t sure what to do with myself.

“Papa?”

He closed the door and then stood there, slightly awkward.

“Don’t I get a hug?”

“Yes, of course,” I said, and moved around my large desk to embrace him.

“Come and sit down.”

I led him to the comfortable chair and got him settled, and then wasn’t sure what to do with myself.

“Sit down here and talk to me.” Papa always did like to get straight to the point.

I sat and my body was tense.

I wasn’t sure what was about to happen and it could be either very good or very bad.

I wished I could rush across the street and grab Wilfred and bring him over here.

It would be much easier with him sitting beside me, radiating calm and happiness.

Papa didn’t give me a chance to do that, though.

“Your partner came to visit me this morning.”

“Wilfred?”

“Unless you have any more partners you haven’t told me about.”

It was a statement, but the sharp tone in Papa’s voice told me that it wasn’t just a throwaway remark.

It needed an answer.

“No, Papa.”

“You know, he’s a very talented man.”

Okay, that was not what I had been expecting him to say.

Not that it wasn’t true, because it was, but still…

not what I thought Papa would lead with.

Slowly, I nodded.

Papa continued.

“He made the most beautiful candle holder. It was even prettier than the one you gave Xavier.”

I decided that it was time to speak up.

Clearly not speaking up for myself had been a bad tactic, over the years.

I might not have had the courage to do it before but I had Wilfred now and I needed to make it very clear where I stood.

For the record, I stood right beside Wilfred.

Metaphorically speaking.

“Papa, you gave that to Xavier. I bought it as a gift for you .”

“Is that when you met Wilfred?”

“Um, actually I already knew him a bit before that. His shop is only over the road.” I gestured out the window.

I saw Papa’s eyes catch on the beautiful display and realised that, if this went well and Papa accepted us, he’d be over in Sunflower Smiles all the time.

He’d probably need to be restrained from spending a fortune on Wilfred’s crafts.

Wilfred made beautiful things and Papa had a real weakness for them.

“I see. So you’ve been after him for a while, then.”

Again, it was a statement and I wasn’t sure if I was meant to answer.

“Yes, Papa. I love him.”

“That’s very fast.”

“Yes, but it’s true.”

“I see.”

The problem was that I couldn’t get a handle on Papa.

We’d just never had the sort of relationship where I could read him very well.

I wasn’t sure whether that ‘I see’ was just plain fact or whether it was some form of judgement.

I cleared my throat.

Might as well go for broke.

“I’m moving in with Wilfred.”

That statement fell like a stone and I waited for Papa’s reaction.

“That’s also fast.”

“Yes.”

“As long as you know what you’re doing. Wilfred seems like a decent man and I assume he makes you happy?”

“Yes, he does. He’s-he’s kind.”

“I know.”

Silence built between us for a moment until Papa stood.

“I can see you’re not going to talk to me about him.”

Automatically, I stood as well.

“Wait, Papa, that’s not— I didn’t know you wanted me to talk to you about him.”

My omega father had quite a stare, and I sweated under his gaze.

Finally, he lowered himself into his seat again and folded his hands in his lap.

He waited.

I sat again, shaking a bit and not sure what to say.

We looked blankly at each other.

“What do you want to know?”

Papa sighed.

It seemed I’d messed that up already.

Just as I was really starting to feel my intestines twist together, the door to my office opened again and Wilfred’s head popped round it.

“Is now a good time?”

“Yes!” I stood, going straight over to my man and sliding my arm around his waist.

The feel of him grounded me and made me feel more sure of myself.

I would bet that Wilfred had been peering through his shop window at us and had come over to help when he saw Papa about to leave.

He smiled at Papa.

“I saw you were visiting and I wondered if you’d like to pop across to the shop when you’re done? I’ve got some herbal tea I think you’ll like.”

To my surprise, Papa actually smiled back at Wilfred.

“Yes, that would be lovely. I think we were done here, anyway. Pete’s never been very good at talking.”

I hadn’t?

“He’s getting much better at it,” said Wilfred valiantly.

Just when I thought he was defending me, it turned out I was wrong.

He added, “He doesn’t want to upset you by saying the wrong thing.”

Both men turned towards me expectantly and I began to panic.

Wilfred subtly pressed himself into my side and my arm tightened around him.

“Yes, I, um, didn’t think you’d like the fact that I’m not attracted to omegas.”

Papa’s eyebrows rose.

“You’re not attracted to omegas at all?”

“No, Papa.”

“Then why have I been setting you up with omegas for the past five years?”

I stared at him blankly.

At last, I said, “I don’t know. I thought you wanted me to marry an omega.”

Papa threw up his hands.

“I wanted you to find a partner and be happy. If you’d told me you liked non-presenting men, I could have set you up with some of them. Do you like alphas as well?”

“Um, no. Just-just non-presenting men. But I really don’t want to be set up with anyone else.”

Papa eyed Wilfred, particularly where my arm was still around his waist.

“No, I can see that. At least you managed to choose well.”

“Thank you?”

Beside me, Wilfred pressed his lips together to prevent himself from laughing.

Papa took a deep breath.

“I owe you an apology, Pete. I made an assumption about you wanting an omega and never questioned it. I’m sorry.”

Tears pricked the back of my eyes and my voice came out a bit croaky.

“Thanks, Papa. I understand.”

His tone turned sharp again.

“Now that I do know, perhaps you won’t keep me in the dark quite so much.”

Oops.

It looked like I’d hurt my papa by hiding myself from him for so long.

“I’m sorry, Papa.”

He nodded.

“Now, I’m going to go over to Wilfred’s shop and take a look around.”

With that, he left.

I stood there for a moment, not sure what had just happened.

Papa had never been predictable.

After a moment, Wilfred tugged on my hand.

“Are we going over to the shop as well?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if Papa wants us there.”

Wilfred’s forehead creased in confusion.

“Of course he wants us over there. That’s why he went.”

“But he just walked out without us,” I pointed out.

Wilfred smiled and turned into my side, pressing against me.

“He was giving us a minute. He’s actually very sensitive, you know. He just doesn’t express it very well. I think he’s had to learn to project a lot of confidence, since he was an omega in an alpha’s world. It can’t have been easy for him to be a single omega raising an alpha son.”

I looked down at my man, amazed.

“Really? You think Papa’s sensitive?”

It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him, it was that I had never thought of it before.

Wilfred gave me an affectionate but slightly pitying look.

“Yes, I do think he’s sensitive. He’s got a great eye for colour. He wanted to be a designer but he wasn’t allowed to take the qualifications. He had to work for designers instead of being allowed to do it himself. It’s such a shame that he lived in such backwards times. I’m glad omega rights have come such a long way.”

I stared down at him.

“Papa wanted to be a designer? Why didn’t I know that?”

“I don’t think he talks about it much. It was his dream, and it was crushed. It’s painful for him.”

“How do you know, then?”

Wilfred blushed, and it was adorable.

“I’m very nosey. It’s one of my biggest failings. I have to know about people. When I saw how much care he’d taken with his own house, I started asking questions.”

I nodded, dazed, and we left my office to wander over to Sunflower Smiles.

Before we went through the door, I paused, pulling Wilfred back against me.

He looked up into my eyes as though I were everything, and it made me want to lay the whole world out in front of him for his pleasure.

“By the way, thank you for going to talk to him.”

Wilfred pressed a kiss to my cheek.

“You’re welcome. I’m glad it worked out well. I didn’t like seeing you upset.”

“I’d never have thought of it.”

With a chuckle, he said, “Talking to people is what I’m good at. It’s my superpower. I’ll have to leave the doors to you, though. Apparently I’m no good with them.”

That made me laugh, and I felt much more hopeful than I had in years.

“Maybe we could ask Papa over for dinner one day, once I’ve moved into your cottage?” I suggested.

Wilfred gave a fake gasp and cried, “That’s a great idea!”

He was not a good actor, my man.

“You already asked him, didn’t you?”

He looked sheepish.

“Yes, I did. And he was very keen to see my cottage and to spend time with you. He wants to know about your life, you know. But I’m very proud of you for thinking about it. Your papa will probably appreciate you asking him.”

“If you’re happy with that.”

I pushed open the door and ushered Wilfred inside.

Papa was over the other side of the shop, standing next to Richard, their heads bent together as they discussed scents.

Wilfred gave my hand a squeeze before murmuring, “I’ll go and put the kettle on.”

I smiled, watching him disappear into the workshop.

Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad.

I could talk to Papa with Wilfred here to guide the conversation and then, maybe if I played my cards right, I could sneak into the workshop with Wilfred alone and make out for a while.

Just to make sure the workshop kept its reputation, of course.