Page 2 of Loving My Omega (The Perfect Designation Trilogy #2)

Chapter

Two

I didn’t say anything, trying to get my blush under control. Marcus knew exactly what he was doing, the smile on his face confirming it. However, he gave me a moment as he looked over the room. His eyes settled on the far wall for a moment before he changed the subject completely.

“Gaspard is going to be so upset we didn’t stop by to say hi first.”

“Wasn’t there a window out to the dinning room?” I tried remembering how it looked when we sat in the kitchen.

Marcus leaned forward, keeping his voice low. “The mirror on the far wall. It’s a one-way mirror.”

Gasping, I looked back to the mirror that had an ornate, bordering on ostentatious, frame. It fit the architecture of the room and could be explained away that it made the intimate dinning space look larger. If that was how the staff could spy on the dinning room, it was ingenious.

“So he already knows…oh no.” I shivered.

“It’s fine. We will say hello after.”

Our waitress came over, bowing slightly while holding up a bottle of water. Looking at it, if she explained that they imported it from the springs off of Mount Fuji itself, I would have believed her. She poured it in our glasses before stepping back.

“Chef Gaspard has advised me to tell you that you will not be provided menus. He will be the one to oversee your dining experience this evening. I hope…that’s alright.”

I looked at Marcus and started to laugh. He also smiled. Gaspard probably had something up his sleeve. Raynor wasn’t the only one looking at the reservations. Though, I don’t know if he knew me anything other than jeune , which he called me all night when we met.

“Yes, that’s fine. Thank you.”

The waitress nodded and I think she expected us to get upset. Either way, she disappeared and it had me wondering what the menu would be like. Despite being nervous for the whole night, I had been looking forward to tasting a world-renowned chef.

“I’m excited. We actually get to taste multiple dishes. The last time was so good.” I smoothed the napkin in my lap. “Hopefully it will be minus the dramatic ending?”

Marcus laughed. “Maybe. We will see how the night goes.”

That had been before everything changed. I’d had asked Marcus to pick me up from my last day of work. I was quitting the night shift at the docks I’d worked out since January of this year. My father showed up, trying to get me to go back to the pack. While my boss had chased him away, I needed a ride home that would discourage my father from trying to kidnap me. An Alpha-10 dragon shifter had been the best option, despite wanting to keep my distance from Marcus.

When I let it slip that I had gone to the doctor, he freaked out. Well, not over that I went to the doctor but how truly underweight I was. I technically still was. I’d been trying to gain more weight, but I was still getting sick over every little food.

“Did you eat today?” Marcus had a habit of being able to read my mind and my face gave away that his question was unwanted. “Colt, you did eat today, right ?”

“I did! I ate!”

His eyes narrowed. “What did you eat?”

“I had a yogurt with graham crackers this morning, a chicken wrap, a protein shake, and even some rice a little later.”

“Did you keep any of it down?”

Looking out the window, I cleared my throat. “You know, it really does look beautiful outside with all the lights. I’m glad they decided to put the lights up this early.”

“Colton.”

“It’s going to look even better when it snows.”

He let out a deep sigh, but he wasn’t going to let it go. “Did you keep anything down today?”

I let my eyes fall. “No…”

“Colt, why didn’t…? You need to talk to me when you can’t even keep simple protein shakes down.”

“I mean, there isn’t much I can do. Nothing was working. I tried tea and the ginger drops. I’m okay. I’ve been drinking water. I’m not lightheaded or anything.”

Apparently, none of that was the thing to say. Marcus’ face continued to darken to where I just shut my mouth and looked back down at my lap. He inhaled slowly and I knew that I was about to get chewed out. Instead though, the waitress popped up with our first course. I’d never been so thankful and whatever Marcus was about to say died. His eyes narrowed at me before he turned and smiled at the waitress.

“The first course. Enjoy.”

We looked at each other, surprised she didn’t go into any details about the food. In front of us, there was what looked like a pastry, but I had a feeling that it was just the top. Taking a spoon, I cracked the top of the flaky crust. Under the layer, there was soup. I dipped my spoon in and scooped some of the soup. Sticking it in my mouth, my eyes widened.

Looking down at the bowl and then to the mirror, I wanted to cry. Marcus started to chuckle as he took a bite as well. This was A?go Boulido . It was the soup that Gaspard had originally served us that night. Marcus had warned him I wasn’t feeling well and this had been one of the few things I ate that I had kept down.

“Well, this is fitting.”

“It’s even better this time.” I hummed happily as I dug into the soup.

Marcus eyed me as I ate. “We aren’t done with our conversation.”

I sighed, shoveling another mouthful of garlicky goodness. “There isn’t anything I can do. It won’t last forever.”

“How are you outside of that?” He continued to watch me over his glasses as he ate.

“I mean, I’m exhausted all the time. Not having to go to the docks hasn’t really helped make me any less tired. I just end up sleeping more.”

He smiled. “The sleep you’re supposed to have, Colt. That’s what you should be getting normally. You need to be getting more.”

“I’m fine. Really. I’ve been more energized going into…” I pursed my lips before I continued.

“You aren’t.”

I took the last bite of pastry, looking out at the window.

“Colt! You don’t need to be working at the cafe anymore! Why?”

“I just…I like working. Plus, I’m still able to hide…”

Marcus growled low and I dropped my head. “It’s not…that’s not…” He pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up a bit. “You aren’t supposed to have a job in the first place. You know this. The dock was too much but you were supposed to stop all of it. If you need money…”

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. “Not this again. Marcus, I’m not doing it for the money. I like to work. I don’t need you to pay for everything.”

He let out a chuckle, but it wasn’t a happy one. “Not that I would pay for that apartment.”

Turning my head, I looked out the window. I didn’t want to argue with him. It wouldn’t end. While I understood where he was coming from, Marcus didn’t know I felt. Trying to be on my own, be self sufficient, all while hiding the fact that I was an Omega wasn’t easy. Always being afraid and hiding away from the world was worse.

I’d already need to do that soon. That heightened my anxiety. I still hadn’t decided what to do. Marcus courting me hadn’t been in the cards. It complicated everything. My feelings for him only got deeper as we spent more time together and I didn’t want to leave him. We hadn’t talked about the next steps mostly because I had been avoiding the conversation all together.

Our bowls were taken and another plate of food was placed on the table. It looked like a cured fish but I didn’t know which. Cutting into it might as well have been cutting into a stick of butter with a hot knife. The taste of the fish was mild but with the sauce, it was so good. It felt warm, but not in a spicy way. Marcus had said that the way Gaspard treated food was more of an experience but I thought that was what people said when the food wasn’t this amazing. Somehow my plate ended up empty before I realized it.

“Colt, I’m sorry.”

I shook my head. “It’s fine.”

He reached out and took my hand. Looking up at him, his brow was knit. He was an Alpha through and through. Marcus tried to take care of me in every way. I just didn’t let him. Part of me was still worried that he would change his mind. That I wasn’t going to be enough. He’d actually come to his senses and see I was just too much baggage. Even I knew I was too much, but Marcus had snuck past my walls.

I liked him. More than the fact that he was the epitome of beauty. He was infuriatingly sweet. His actions proved just how much he cared for me. Marcus also respected that I wanted to continue to hide. My fingers twirled the bracelet he gave me.

His courting gift were the sister crystals to the ones I had around my neck. They helped suppress my pheromones. No one would be able to tell that I was an Omega with these. Hell, all of my scent was now nearly non-existent with how powerful these crystals were. Previously, I’d cracked or destroyed crystals simply from not being able to control my pheromones. I’d never need to replace my crystals again with these.

“I mean it. I am sorry. I just…I worry .”

“I know.” I gave him a smile. “I appreciate it. I’ll be okay. It won’t be for much longer anyways.”

He didn’t looked convinced. “Do you know when?”

Shaking my head, I squeezed his hand before pulling it back into my lap. “Pretty much until my sweaters don’t work? Or the apron won’t tie in the back?”

Chuckling, Marcus shook his head. “You swim in those sweaters. Are you trying to work through the whole winter?”

“I don’t think I’ll last that long.” I blushed, rubbing my palms together. “I’m getting way more noticeable. I was hoping to last till the end of the year, but it’s not looking great if I keep going like this.”

“Did you talk to Duke yet?”

I sighed. “Yes. I asked. He…wasn’t happy. He said he would get back to me.” A chortle escaped me. “Mike wanted to threaten Professor Davidson. I told him no. It would have the opposite effect.”

Marcus rolled his eyes. “If you want, I could talk to him.”

“Please don’t. I’ll work him on it. I don’t think Professor Davidson is unreasonable. I like that he forces students to come in person to his class. It’s my fault I got myself in this situation.”

“Well, not all your fault. I may have made things worse. Remember, we are in this together. I’ll do what I can to help.”

I nodded. “I know. I appreciate it. This just…I’m going to try to handle it myself. You’ve helped me so much already. And I…”

The waitress came over and placed the third course in front of us. This was a bit heavier. It was a potato dish with slices of red meat on it. However, as much as they looked like potatoes, the texture was more creamy than I had ever experienced. They also tasted like they had cheese in them.

“How does he do this? How do you even make potatoes like this? This texture is insane.”

“Gaspard is one of the top chefs. He had been hiding behind another Michelin chef. It was stifling him. As soon as he stepped into the light, he outpaced his mentor by miles.”

Sighing, I closed my eyes as I took the last bite of the potatoes. It was heavenly. The meat I also thought would be heavy, but it wasn’t. It felt light and while there was fat, it was rendered to melt in your mouth. Looking up, it wasn’t just me who was marveling at the food.

Marcus said he didn’t come here often, but I didn’t always believe him. He let it slip that he had been here with a date previously. His explanation was that he’d been upset over my “dumping” him. We weren’t together but he had seemed interested and I’d shut him down. In his anger, he’d agreed to a meeting with another shifter. While I didn’t ask details, he said it went horribly and had only proved that his feelings for me were the real deal.

As the waiter took our plates, she smiled. “There will be one more course and then a dessert.”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

She bowed and stepped away. I looked out the window. It was so clear that you could see a few stars even with the lights. What I wanted was the snow to fall. It was the only good thing about the cold.

“What do you think?”

I hummed, looking back at Marcus. “I think you are in the perfect lighting. You look incredible. It was a bit selfish to want to show me you though.” Smirking, I winked. “You already know I think you’re bewitching.”

He blushed as his eyes widened. “What?”

Laughing, I shook my head. “You’re too easy to fluster.”

“I…that’s…it’s not…”

I continued to laugh. “How do you not know how beautiful you are?”

“I’m not…really. I’ve grown up having the same face as another person. As Keith and I grew up, we tried to make our appearances different. It still is hard to think you are anything other than a copy of someone.”