Page 7 of Baking for His Omega (Omegas of Oliver Creek #13)

Gideon

When the party ended, I stayed behind and helped clean up. Kelly looked so tired, I couldn’t bear to see him have to do it all himself. Even a group the size of this one, especially with toddlers, managed to create a mess that could make a brave man cower in fear.

“Everyone had such a nice time, don’t you think?” Kelly asked as he brought more sippy cups and silverware into the kitchen where I was buried up to my elbows in suds.

“Yes, and I overheard more than one dad saying so. Also, the fact that by the time they left, nearly all the kids were crashed out from fun.”

“Even the birthday boy.” He laughed. “Wyatt was one of the first to go down. Thank you so much for helping to make his birthday such a special day.”

“I didn’t do much,” I protested. “It was fun to get to attend the party I made the cakes for once.”

“And all the cleanup?”

He had no dishwasher, but I didn’t mind handwashing at all. Once everything made its way in, I washed and he dried and put away. It was a nice, calm task to do together. “Part of the service.” I dried my hands on a dish towel. “Okay, what’s next?”

“I can finish.” He slid a tray into an upper cabinet then tried to stifle a yawn. “Really.”

“So I see. How about I go run the vacuum and you wipe the counters?”

Like that, we moved from one job to the next, going over the events of the evening and generally having a pleasant conversation like— dare I even think it —an old married couple. My bear was humming inside me, content for the moment for this time spent with his mate. Even though he of course wanted more, he’d do anything just to be in his presence.

Wyatt was tucked into his crib, all the blue buttercream washed from his skin and hair. I was careful to use natural colorings as much as possible, in the case of blue; this involved things like blue spirulina and freeze-dried powdered blueberries. Natural, yes. Good-tasting, for sure. Stainproof…not at all. I’d found that used carefully, they didn’t take over the flavor of things like a good natural vanilla, as well.

What could have been a chore flew by all too fast, and then it was time for me to go home because staying any longer would have been rude. Kelly said the baby’s daddy and he were not together, but it wasn’t clear that it was final. Was he over the guy? Did he feel the attraction I did? Did his deer also cry mate for me?

Time to go.