Page 7 of Alpha’s Sunflower Smiles (Sweet in Silford #8)

Chapter 7

Wilfred

A slender omega man barged into the shop and looked around.

He was several years younger than me and had sharp, clever eyes.

Those eyes settled on me and he said, “I take it you’re Wilfred?”

“That’s right. Can I help you?”

“Yes, you can. I want to see your workshop.”

“Oh, okay then. It’s out here.”

I was already leading him through the shop when the door burst open again and Ty came in, looking harassed and flushed.

“There you are! Where are you going?”

I blinked at Ty.

The omega beside me batted his eyes innocently.

“I was just asking Wilfred to show me his workshop.”

“Already? Alder, you’re meant to make polite conversation first.”

Ty sounded half frustrated and half amused.

It suddenly clicked.

“Oh, you’re Alder,” I said.

He was the third person in Ty and Ronnie’s triad relationship, and I’d heard a lot about him.

By all accounts, he was something of a loose cannon.

“Yes, I am. Pleased to meet you.”

He held out his hand and I shook it.

His grip was firm, especially for an omega.

I didn’t like to stereotype but omegas tended to be softer and weaker than non-presenting men.

Alder shook my hand with confidence.

Then he said, “Now we’ve done the small talk, you can show me your workshop.”

I was already nodding and opening the door when Ty said, “Wilfred, you were going to take him out there and you didn’t even know who he was?”

“Oh, yes, I see. Well, he asked to see it. Besides, he knew who I was,” I said, hoping that justified it.

I hadn’t actually thought about it.

Alder seemed to have such a forceful personality that I’d automatically obeyed him.

Ty rolled his eyes.

“You’re too trusting, Wilfred. He could have been anyone.”

Alder put his hands on his hips.

“Wilfred was just being nice to me, Ty. And he’s proud of his workshop. He’s going to show me how he makes these cups.”

I only noticed then that he had one of my own clay cups in his hand.

“They’re fun to do,” I said.

Alder turned to me, a glint of interest in his eyes.

Ty sighed.

“You’re not going to settle down until you know everything about it, are you, Alder?”

From what I already knew of Alder, I’d say the answer was ‘no’.

I led him into the workshop and his eyes were everywhere.

He asked about every piece of machinery and I explained what they all did.

“That’s a lot of expensive equipment. What security do you have?”

“We have alarms on the doors at night. Nobody can steal it.”

Alder gave a disbelieving hum.

Perhaps I was a tad defensive, since Pete had commented on the same thing when he’d been in here to supervise the door replacement, but I said, “It’s worked so far! The insurance company is happy with the arrangement.”

“ You ’re not happy about it though, are you?”

I deflated, all my defensiveness whooshing out of me.

“No,” I admitted.

“I was happy with it before because that’s what I thought worked, but…”

“But?”

“Pete wants me to get CCTV as well. He says it will increase security and keep me safe.”

I didn’t want to examine why my stomach began to get that fluttery feeling again when I said that.

He’d been so magnificent when he talked about it, his voice dropping low into a near-growl.

It was such an alpha thing to do, to want to protect his—

Maybe that was why it felt so special to me.

Because Pete had wanted to protect me and keep me safe, even if it was just by having CCTV in the shop.

I had never felt the lack of a partner before, not particularly.

I had friends and loved spending my time on my crafts.

Something in me, though, leaned towards that new feeling.

It was unfamiliar and a bit scary but I wanted more of it.

Maybe because it was Pete who was creating it.

Either way, I suddenly felt…

safe.

Looked after, because somebody cared.

And it was nice.

Alder’s sharp eyes took in my expression and I wasn’t sure what he saw there but he gave a decisive nod.

“You need to be safe, Wilfred. And all of this equipment.”

Ty groaned again and I got the impression he did that a lot around his forceful boyfriend.

He was leaning in the doorway, watching us.

“Alder, you make it sound like you’re more worried about the stuff than Wilf.”

“I’m not! Only I haven’t played with all the toys yet, so I don’t want anyone stealing them.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

There was a glint in Alder’s eye that told me he was joking, but sort of not joking at the same time.

I had always known I’d like him.

He wanted to learn stuff, too.

And that’s why I’d ended up with so much equipment.

I was always learning the next thing, and the next, diving in and learning to create beautiful things with my hands.

It turned out I was right about Alder.

He was absolutely determined to learn everything there was to know about pottery.

The strange thing was, I loved telling him about it, too.

His eyes lit up with interest and he asked so many questions.

Nobody had ever really done that before.

Other people showed a polite interest and then left it.

Not Alder.

He wanted to know everything .

Ty had started off standing by the door to my workshop, watching us.

It was as though he expected us to be done quickly.

We weren’t.

He learned that eventually when Alder asked yet another question and I got out my apron and a spare for Alder.

Ty interrupted for the first time.

“Wilfred, you don’t have to show him. It must cost money for clay and you’re meant to be working.”

I shrugged it off.

“Don’t worry about the cost,” I said.

“And the door has a chime on it, so we’ll hear anyone who comes into the shop.”

Ty relented.

Alder settled down to learn and get his hands dirty, literally, and I spent the next three hours talking him through how to throw the clay and the various tools I could use to create different effects.

Ty served four customers while we were busy.

By the time Alder and I were done, we were both covered with smears of clay and we must have been wearing identical smiles of satisfaction.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent such an enjoyable afternoon.

We were packing up and I was promising to have Alder’s pot fired by tomorrow when Ty said, “I’m sorry Ronnie missed this. He’d have loved to photograph it.”

“He can photograph it next time.”

Ty sighed.

“Alder, you’re meant to ask if you can come back, not assume.”

He looked at me in surprise.

“But Wilfred wants me to come back, don’t you?”

I nodded.

“You’re more than welcome. I had a great time.”

“Besides, what else is Wilf meant to do while you’re working? I want to paint my pot.”

Ty and I exchanged a baffled look.

It was Ty who asked, though.

“What work am I doing, exactly?”

“You’re getting the CCTV set up, of course!” He tilted his head to the side and fluttered his eyelashes.

“I know you can do it. You’re so good at all that practical stuff.”

Ty gave him a flat look and I restrained a laugh.

“You know I never believe you when you flatter me, Alder.”

The omega huffed and folded his arms.

His voice became normal, which was to say a little authoritarian.

“Fine. I want to come back here and play with Wilfred’s equipment – not a euphemism – and we both want him to be safe and protected. So you’re going to set up the CCTV and Wilf is going to show me more cool stuff while you do it.”

Ty looked at me over Alder’s shoulder.

“That okay with you, Wilf?”

I nodded.

It was really kind of Alder to think about me and I did get a lot of satisfaction out of being around my friends and looking after them and having them look after me.

I didn’t get the same fluttery feeling from Alder or Ty that I got from Pete, though.

I wondered…

No, Pete was just being a good neighbour.

He wasn’t interested in me.

He’d been on that date with an omega.

Although…

he’d been back at his office that evening, looking miserable.

Something must have happened.

Perhaps I could help him.