Page 5 of Shopping for His Omega (Omegas of Oliver Creek #15)

Daniel

Hell.

I had hoped to ask Maverick out on a date.

Planned to tell him that I was giving him the banana bread and instead, the whole thing blew up in my face.

It was such a small thing to argue about, but our work issues were making it difficult to even hold a civil conversation—when I wanted it to be much more than just civil.

But there was no reason to believe that could ever happen, making a small part of me ready to run for the hills, abandon the store and home, and start over somewhere I would not have constant reminders of the mate who did not want me.

Unfortunately the same factors that brought me home were still holding me in place.

Things were better, but there was no guarantee I could sell the old place for enough money to make my dads secure, and even if there were, what if the buyer wanted to change the place into something else.

Like a sushi bar or a boutique. Gramps would never forgive me.

Also, leaving because I couldn’t face my mate stank of cowardice. Not a good smell for a wolf or one mine was likely to tolerate. Was life supposed to be this hard? When I headed off to university, I thought all I had to do was work hard and get good grades and then everything would be easy.

As I strolled toward the store the morning after my encounter with Mav, I tried to picture what that life would have been.

An elegant townhouse, evenings at nightclubs and nice restaurants.

Business trips and vacations to exotic places all over the world.

I’d dreamed of it and planned, but once I changed course, I never looked back.

And the images that had danced in my mind once upon a time appeared misty now.

I’d never have met Mav if I’d let the store go, and my dads wouldn’t be healthy and happy and, last I heard, taking surfing lessons in their sunny spot.

When things got tough, I could look back at the choices that got me here and feel good about them.

According to all the legends, Mav and I should have taken one look at each other and fallen into one another’s arms, ready to run and/or hop off into the sunset.

My dads met at the store, shop assistant and customer, and that was it.

They moved into together right after my alpha dad’s shift in the produce department.

The lights were on in the pharmacy, even though they didn’t open for another two hours, but I could see Mav sweeping the floor and getting things ready.

With the light fog outside, the shop glowed with warmth, and I wished I could rap on the door and go in and visit for a while.

But I didn’t need the rejection this early in the day.

Still, I hesitated, wanting to end the feud and clear the air.

I was just about to knock when I spotted something new near the rack of chips on the counter.

A larger refrigerated case that held not just the bottles of water and soft drinks he’d already had but apples, bananas, and prepared sandwiches.

Why? Was he trying to make a point?

I had hoped that when I revealed that I was his secret baker, it would be romantic, would help to bring us together, and then we’d had the argument in the alley and parted angry.

Is that why he did this?

No…it seemed unlikely he had time to install that case since last night, but it was a kick in the teeth nonetheless. Why was he selling food? He had the pharmacy and all the health and beauty products for sale. How did that translate into selling lunch?

Steaming under the collar, I stomped on down the sidewalk to my store and let myself in. My wolf was grumbling inside me, caring not a whit about any feuding over product placement, but I couldn’t let him erode away at the pride that kept me going.

By the time my staff arrived, I was fit to be tied, wanting to do something, anything to shut down Mav’s grocery department.

What next? A butcher counter? Bakery department?

When I thought about the guy who’d come in last week to talk about my carrying a line of high-end supplements and I sent him down the block to Mav? I wanted to kick myself.

“Boss, can we open the door? There are a couple of customers out there.”

And I was standing right in front of it, so lost in thought I hadn’t even noticed the two older males, porcupine shifters, who had moved here to retire because they loved to dine out and also loved to cook gourmet meals for others who appreciated good food.

“Yes, I’ll do it.” I twisted the lock and pulled the door open.

“Welcome! What are you two here to shop for? I have some beautiful fresh tuna today, if that tickles your fancy?” We were not a supermarket, with every brand and every kind of everything, but what we did have was personal service and a knowledge of our customer base.

No, we didn’t get every tourist that came down the street, but the locals counted on us to have what they needed or wanted.

“Tuna? Randy, how did he know just what we had in mind?”

“You’re a wizard, Danny. Let’s get a look at that fish.”

I strolled the aisles with them, discussing what they wanted to serve with the fish and what all they’d need for their dinner party.

How did I know to have the tuna? Eavesdropping.

Last week, when they shopped, they’d been talking about a dinner party and thrown out some of their ideas, giving me a chance to stock accordingly.

And with the low markup on most of the pantry items, things like tuna, made me more money.

Usually spending a bit of time with these cute old guys would cheer me up. They had found one another only a few years before, after both had been widowed—their late mates females they had adored—and neither had dreamed of finding happiness again. Fate had truly been kind to them. Twice.

So why such a sense of humor when it came to me and my mate? He was right here, available, and he might as well have been in the Antarctic for any chance I might have had of mating with him.

But at least the porcupines were happy, and the store stayed busy for most of the day. That helped me not to think too much about Mav and the fact that I was looking at decades of watching him from afar, with longing and grief.

If he didn’t want what Fate gave us, that was his right, to reject it, to reject me. Even to pick another companion to spend his life with. But I couldn’t just let that happen without at least trying to reach him and get past this feud.

In the scheme of things, did I really mind that my mate was selling sandwiches? Was he really costing me money with what he sold?

No.

But was he doing it to drive me away?

Please no.