Page 2 of Alpha’s Sunflower Smiles (Sweet in Silford #8)

Chapter 2

Pete

A s soon as Papa opened the door, I knew the evening was going to go badly.

He was wearing a smart shirt and he tutted at me.

“You should have freshened up before coming. Your shirt is creased.”

“I didn’t realise I needed to impress you,” I said, stepping across the threshold and bending down to kiss his cheek.

“It’s not me you need to impress.”

My stomach sank.

“Papa, tell me you didn’t invite me here to set me up with another omega.”

“No,” he said, but his tone told me he was lying.

It was too high-pitched and indignant.

“Papa,” I began.

He cut me off.

“Don’t be difficult. I’ve just invited a friend round and her son is coming with her, that’s all. Xavier is a lovely young man and he’ll make a good husband.”

“I’ve told you I’m not looking for an omega.”

“You’re not getting any younger, Pete. When are you going to settle down?”

“When I find somebody I want to settle down with .”

As I said it, I had a very clear picture in my head of Wilfred, his bright smile and kind eyes, his soft lips, and soft, strong body.

As a non-presenting man, he was average height and average build with a touch of softness around his belly.

He was basically exactly my type, hence I’d not managed to show any interest in anyone else since I’d met him.

Whoever this new omega was that Papa was trying to set me up with would end up disappointed.

I might have a preference for men but my dick just didn’t get hard for slim, tiny little omegas.

I liked men with more meat on their bones and, if they could have a killer smile and a big heart, sign me up for life.

Papa tutted at me.

“You can settle down with Xavier. He’s a suitable omega and I’m sure you’ll like him.”

“I’m sure he’s fine but that doesn’t mean I want to marry him.”

“Well of course you don’t!”

For a second, I thought my papa had finally caught on to the fact that I didn’t like omegas the way that most alphas did and my stomach tightened.

I didn’t know how he would react to something like that.

It turned out, I needn’t have worried.

Papa added, “You don’t know Xavier yet. You’ll have to spend time with him before you get engaged.”

It looked like my papa was planning our life together already.

“Papa, I’m not looking for an omega.”

I don’t know why I always said it like that.

I always erred just on this side of telling him I liked non-presenting men and wasn’t interested in omegas as a romantic prospect.

Maybe if I’d had the balls to come out and say it, Papa would surprise me by being understanding.

On the other hand, even if he did understand, he’d probably end up setting me up with random other men and I wasn’t interested in that.

I wanted Wilfred.

Papa ushered me into the lounge and I held out the package that Wilfred had wrapped for me.

Papa said, “You can give it to Xavier when he gets here.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. He might get the wrong impression.”

The doorbell rang, cutting off any further argument.

When Xavier walked into the room, I could see exactly why Papa wanted me to marry him.

He was slim and pretty and demure, and he gave me a very calculated smile.

I felt as though he were measuring it out, giving me the exact right amount of smile that he felt I’d earned.

I struggled to smile back.

He held out his hand for me to shake.

“Xavier. I’ve heard all about you, Pete.”

“I bet you have,” I muttered and reached for his hand.

It was small and soft and I made sure not to grip it too tightly in case I hurt him.

His eyes dropped to my other hand, in which I was still clutching the ornament, all wrapped up with a bow.

“Is that for me?”

“Uh,” I said, not sure whether I could outright tell him it was for Papa and I had no idea who he was.

Papa saved me the trouble of deciding.

He swept into the lounge with an elegant alpha woman and said, “Yes, it is.”

I had no option then but to hand it over.

Xavier unwrapped it and I took a second to admire the way Wilfred had wrapped it so that it looked beautiful but was easy to unwrap without having to rip through the paper or cut the ribbon.

Xavier didn’t seem to notice either way.

He took out the ornament and I was struck again by how lovely it was.

The roses shone with lustre and it was clearly unique and hand-crafted by a master.

Xavier turned it round in his hands and I glanced at Papa to see whether Wilfred and I had been right.

We had.

Papa’s eyes widened a fraction at the sight of it, momentarily stunned by it.

“It’s beautiful.”

I thought I detected a note of regret in his voice.

After all, if he hadn’t just shoved some random omega at me, that could have been his.

My attention shot back to Xavier when he stepped close to me, put his hand on my arm and leaned up on tiptoes to kiss my cheek.

I was sure he lingered close for longer than he needed to and I squirmed with embarrassment.

“Thank you,” he breathed.

The whole thing was designed to demonstrate his gratitude and probably to turn me on with his proximity.

If Wilfred had been pressed like that against me, I’d be rock hard.

For Xavier, though?

Nothing.

It wasn’t his fault and I was sure that he was a nice enough person and there was someone out there who would really, really want him.

He deserved to find that person.

And I deserved to be with someone I actually wanted, too.

Come to think of it, I wasn’t even sure whether Xavier liked me.

I was short for an alpha, though I was broad-shouldered and strong.

Many omegas preferred bigger alphas and even non-presenting men had told me I wasn’t alpha enough for them.

Xavier could be disappointed, for all I knew.

I stepped back, trying to smile at him.

“You’re welcome,” I said.

“I hope you enjoy the evening but unfortunately I have to leave.”

With that, I practically ran to the door.

Just as I was opening it, Papa rushed up behind me and hissed, “What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving. I have work to do.”

“You’re embarrassing me in front of our guests.”

“They’re not our guests, Papa, because I don’t know them and didn’t invite them. They’re your guests and you sprang them on me because you want me to marry but I’ve told you I don’t want an omega.”

A frown creased his forehead.

“You don’t want a female omega, do you? I thought you liked men.”

“I-I do like men, Papa. I like—”

It was on the tip of my tongue.

All I had to do was say ‘non-presenting’ and he’d finally know.

He’d stop setting me up with little omega men who didn’t do anything for me and made me feel inadequate because I couldn’t get hard for them the way they expected me to.

“—Men.”

I hated myself for not being able to tell my own papa who I was romantically attracted to but the word was out and it was inadequate and I just needed to get away.

Away from Xavier and from Papa and from the tight knot in my stomach.

I fled back to my car and drove into Silford.

I found myself back at the office without having intended to set out there.

I parked outside on the high street, which I could never do during the daytime because there was never room but at night the road was clear and deserted.

Had I come back for my briefcase filled with papers?

The evening was getting chilly and the cool air blew around me as I climbed out of the car and took a look around.

Opposite me, Sunflower Smiles was still open.

The light was on and Wilfred was at the door.

Further down the street, I saw two people walking away, one clearly an alpha with his arm protectively around a small omega.

I longed to walk over to that shop and breathe in the scent of it and wrap my arms around Wilfred.

Holding him would make everything better, I was convinced of it.

But he wasn’t mine to hold.

I turned away and trudged into my office and settled behind my desk again, grabbing the stack of papers from earlier.

Might as well get some work done, since I wasn’t going to be enjoying my evening.