Page 5 of Alpha’s Sunflower Smiles (Sweet in Silford #8)

Chapter 5

Wilfred

R ichard left us alone in the shop, having made it clear that the workshop was out of bounds and the office space was his domain.

Pete gave me a quizzical look.

“Is he always that bossy?”

The smile I’d been restraining slipped out and I nodded.

“Yes, he is.”

“You sound pleased about it.”

“I am! You know, six months ago, Richard was miserable because he’d been repressing his true nature. He’s bossy. He likes taking control and being in charge and he likes to organise things. He’s a bit of a marvel, you know. He’s organised all of our new website.”

“I didn’t know you were getting a new website. Hang on, did you even have a website?”

I shuffled my feet sheepishly.

“No, I didn’t. That’s why Richard made us get one. I thought it was going to be too expensive and I’d run out of money but Richard organised the money, too. He’s very efficient.”

The way Pete’s eyebrows rose made my hackles rose.

I didn’t mind people dismissing me but it annoyed me when people dismissed Richard.

“He is efficient,” I insisted.

“He’s very talented. Don’t you think omegas can be good at business?”

Pete waved a hand dismissively.

“It’s not that. I know omegas can be great business people. I work for enough of them. I just didn’t realise Richard was running as much of your business as he is. Is that why you like him being bossy?”

A surprised laugh burst out of me.

“No, it’s not that. I just like to see him being himself, that’s all. He’s gained so much confidence! He didn’t think twice about banning you from the workshop and you’re an alpha.”

“That reminds me,” said Pete, and his voice dropped low.

There might even have been a hint of a growl to it.

I braced myself.

I hated it when people got angry with me.

“The back door was unlocked.”

I waited but that seemed to be all he was going to say.

“Oh?” I said at last.

Pete sighed.

“Wilfred, it was unlocked and anyone could just walk in. You wouldn’t hear them from out here.”

“Nobody’s ever walked in before.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Oh?” I said again.

Was I being thick for not understanding what he was getting at?

“It’s not secure, Wilfred.”

“Do you want me to lock it again?”

“I want—”

He cut himself off and held himself tight.

I could see his shoulders were tense and I hoped his headache wasn’t coming back.

“Yes?”

When he spoke, I got the feeling he was measuring his words out carefully.

“I want you to be safe. It doesn’t make sense to let the workshop be insecure.”

My protests of, “This is a nice area, though,” were a bit half-hearted.

I hadn’t considered that my workshop was insecure before.

The door locked at night and that kept everything safe, right?

Pete said, “What if someone comes in while you’re out here?”

I considered that.

And I felt a wave of panic as I realised what that could mean.

“If someone walked in and I was out here, Richard would be alone with them in the workshop! What if they did something to him? What if he couldn’t call for help?”

I didn’t realise my voice had got louder and panicked until Pete put his hands on my shoulders and spoke in a deep, soothing voice.

“It’s okay, Wilfred. Richard is fine. Take nice deep breaths for me.”

Deep breaths.

I could do that.

I’d just sucked a load of air into my lungs when Richard’s sharp voice cut across me.

He stood in the doorway of the workshop, scowling.

“What are you doing to him? Let him go now or I’ll call the police.”

Pete took a step back and held his hands up, as though showing Richard he was unarmed.

My shoulders suddenly felt cold after having his warm hands on them, and I missed the contact.

Richard moved forward to stand beside me and shot me a concerned look.

My breath whooshed out of me in a rush.

“It’s alright, Pete was just helping.”

“He looked like he was shaking you.”

“No, he wasn’t. I was just, um, maybe having a bit of a panic.”

Richard’s voice went up.

“Why? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Pete just told me that the back door isn’t secure. I was worried somebody would come in and hurt you and I wouldn’t know about it.”

Pete muttered, “At least we know you’d hear a commotion. Richard heard us easily enough.”

Richard gave him a doubtful look and, weirdly, it felt nice to have someone be that protective of me.

Richard might be small but he was clever and fierce.

I’d liked him immediately and we’d built up a trusting relationship over the months.

I suppose he was a bit like a son to me.

“Maybe you shouldn’t work out there until we’ve sorted the door,” I said.

Then I looked at Pete, realising I had no idea how to sort the door, or even what exactly needed sorting.

“How do we make it better?”

“Just lock the door unless you’re using it. Both of you can come in and out the front door until it’s secure. At least have a keycard or something.”

I nodded.

“Yeah, I can do that. And then we can… fix the door.”

“I can do that.”

Richard and I both looked at Pete in surprise.

He’d sounded very alpha as he’d said that, in the sort of voice that alphas used when they meant business.

I tried not to shiver.

Men like me didn’t hear alphas sound like that very often.

Mostly we heard alphas growling if they were angry, but Pete didn’t sound angry.

Richard was the first to recover.

He said, “It’s not your responsibility.”

“I want to do it.”

“Why?”

Pete took a breath.

“Because I’m the one who said it was insecure in the first place. I’m the one who worried Wilfred. I want to fix it.”

Richard glanced at me.

“Are you sure he wasn’t shaking you?”

“Yes. He was helping.”

“Then it’s up to you, I guess.”

I looked into Pete’s eyes and they were fixed on me, and they looked so sincere that I couldn’t help but fall into them.

His voice was deep and captivating.

“Let me do this, Wilfred. I want to keep you safe.”

And that’s what did it for me.

I’d have let Pete do anything after that.

“Okay.”