Page 10 of Temporary Omega

The mention of his papa had the alpha sobering and sighing.

“Okay, I know the plan sounds completely crazy, but my papa’s been having a very difficult time since my dad passed away,” the alpha shared.

For some reason, Luca felt the need to go soothe the man at the pain he saw in his eyes at the mention of his late father.

Without thinking about it, he took a step forward. “I’m sorry,” Luca whispered.

“Thank you,” the alpha replied, “but I’m good, it’s my papa I’m worried about. They were married for forty years and dad was just about to retire and finally take papa traveling on all those trips they’d talked about their whole lives. Papa losing him, well he’s been depressed, and the first time I heard the spark in his voice in almost two years was at the mention of me dating someone— not just dating but dating seriously. So you see, I can’t break his heart and tell him there’s nobody.”

Damn it, the alpha was pulling at Luca’s heartstrings to want to go to this extent to make his papa happy. Well….

But he couldn’t give in just like that…

“You’re,” Luca used his hand to gesture at the alpha and paused, stopping himself before he said hot or something equally embarrassing.

“You’re…” Luca began again.

A grin appeared on the alpha’s face, his eyes dancing with barely concealed mirth. “Yes?” the man prompted.

“Well, you don’t seem to look like someone that needs help getting a date,” Luca said. Yes, that was good because saying the man looked like a fallen angel would be bad. Very bad. Besides, he shouldn’t be noticing these things.

“Thank you,” the man smiled.

Luca noticed the smile seemed to have butterflies flood his belly. Or maybe it's just hunger or indigestion, his head insisted. Well, which was it, hunger or indigestion, it couldn’t be both.

Luca sighed at himself. He needed to get it together.

“You know what I mean,” Luca said instead of acknowledging the butterflies anymore.

The alpha sighed, “It’s complicated. Suffice it to say, I’m desperate and I think we can help each other.”

Luca looked at the man considering, “You could choose anyone.”

“That wasn’t a question,” the alpha pointed out.

“Why me?” Luca asked. “Why pick me?”

The alpha frowned like he hadn’t expected that question from Luca.

“I,” the alpha began, “I don’t know.”

Luca stared at the alpha considering. “For some reason that makes me feel less…more,” Luca took a breath. “Better, that makes me feel better.”

“So is that a yes?” The alpha prompted.

“I don’t know,” Luca began but the alpha interrupted.

“If you don’t do it for you, than for your baby,” the man said. And if there were ever a shot below the belt that was it.

His baby. But it didn’t mean he was going to just say yes without asking what was in it for him.

“What’s in it for me?” Luca asked, lifting his chin.

The small smile appeared again on the man’s way too handsome face. Luca wanted to say pretty, but the alpha seemed just a little too alpha for the word.

“Well,” the man began, “a place to live until you get back on your feet.”

Luca interrupted, “Why? You do know that could take a while. I won’t be able to work very soon and what happens when you get tired of this ruse? I’ll be back to where I started, homeless…”