Page 37 of Temporary Omega
His papa wrapped Luca up in another hug before stepping back and letting him get in the car. Linc shut the door and it was just the two of them.
“Don’t screw this up, Son, he could be good for you.”
He walked to the driver’s side before replying, “Love you pops. I’ll call you sometime this week.”
“Bye, Son.”
20
Luca
After the visit with Lincoln’s papa, Luca missed his papa even more. They’d always been close, talking and laughing for hours. Until Luca had started sneaking around with Frankie, there wasn’t much he hadn’t shared with his papa.
When they were leaving and Jules had hugged him tightly and whispered for Luca to call him, whenever, he’d teared up.
He’d felt so alone, he’d been so alone, since leaving home, even when he was with Frankie. Sure he had Riley, but he hadn’t wanted to burden his friend with everything he’d been going through.
Especially because he’d been embarrassed. And not to mention a part of him felt like he didn’t deserve any sympathy, seeing as he’d created the whole situation. Now here he was with Lincoln, who he’d known for less than a month now, and his papa Jules, who Luca spoke to at least every other day.
It wasn’t obligation or even keeping up the act for Jules’s benefit that had him doing so. It was the older omega’s warmth and kindness. And his genuine happiness in Luca’s pregnancy. Luca needed someone to feel as much joy as he did at the impending arrival of his baby.
Luca enjoyed his conversations with Jules and he hoped that when the truth came out, he didn’t lose the older omega’s friendship.
Lincoln on the flip side was a total mystery to him. He’d thought he’d sensed something growing between them, but it was almost like the alpha had retreated since the day at his papa’s home. And Luca couldn’t figure out why.
Every time he caught Lincoln looking at him, Luca thought he caught something in the alpha’s eye that said he maybe saw Luca as more than just the pretend boyfriend, but it was gone too soon for him to be sure and the alpha’s actions or non-action, as the case may be, spoke volumes.
It wasn’t his imagination that Linc suddenly hired a housekeeper that came in daily. He said it was to make things easier for Luca. But Luca thought it was to keep an eye on him during the day which Lincoln had done when he’d returned from the hospital. But all he did now was “check-in” with Luca to make sure he was settling in.
How long was it supposed to take to settle in? They used to have breakfast and dinner together, then it reduced to just breakfast since Lincoln’s homecoming time was sporadic at best. Even that stopped; Lincoln managing to have left before Luca woke up like he was deliberately trying to avoid him.
Luca sighed. Maybe he was just being hormonal and everything he thought he felt was in his head. It was his fault for getting swept up in the possibility of something happening with Lincoln.
That was a pipe dream. He’d known it, but the alpha’s kindness had him forgetting. There was no way an alpha like that would be interested in him. It would be better if he refocused on what he needed to do once his baby was born. And how he would take care of them. Because it would be just them, and it would serve him well to remember that.
Luca decided he needed a walk, he was feeling a little cooped up and stir crazy. He put on his Burberry Sandringham trench coat, another little something Linc had delivered for him. Linc had picked up things for him in various sizes, making sure he had clothes for every stage of his pregnancy.
That was how generous and thoughtful the alpha was.
The nasty voice in his head telling him all the reasons why he wasn’t good enough for Lincoln got louder. It was telling him the alpha probably regretted meeting him and getting involved in the mess Luca had created.
Luca felt more and more suffocated. He would lose Lincoln, just like he lost his parents. And it would be all his fault.
He knew self-recriminations were pointless but sometimes it was all he had. Especially when the alpha’s million little displays of kindness and consideration had Luca falling for him.
Luca would never forget the couple of weekends before when he’d come down the stairs to find Lincoln reading a pregnancy book. It also wasn’t the only book he had stacked on the floor beside him. The alpha had blushed to the roots of his hair, being caught reading childbirth and baby books. When Luca had questioned him, he’d tried shrugging it off. But Luca had heard the worry in Linc’s voice, seen the fear in his eyes that said he didn’t want to be caught unawares again if Luca needed him.
How could he not lose his heart to an alpha that cared about Luca and his baby’s wellbeing to that extent? Even though he was under no obligation to do so. And even though Lincoln had been avoiding him, there were the text messages during the day checking up on if Luca had eaten or not, how he was feeling. Even sometimes the random picture Lincoln sent that had him smiling.
Yea, it wasn’t his fault that the alpha was so damn lovable. And that Luca was in love with him.
All these thoughts were running through his head as he waved to the doorman of their building before exiting to the street. Luca didn’t care which direction he was going and simply turned and began walking. He hadn’t taken a couple of steps before someone blocked his path.
“Excuse me,” Luca said, sidestepping the person in his way. With his head down and his hands in his pockets, he didn’t even bother looking up to see who it was. He didn’t care. Until the next words had him frozen in his tracks, “Now is that any way to welcome back the father of your child?”
Luca prayed he was hallucinating, hoped like hell this was a dream. But as his back straightened and he looked up and met the dark green eyes of the man he’d thought he loved, thought he’d known, and thought he would spend the rest of his life with, Luca knew it was no dream. For Frankie returning could mean nothing good. No, this wasn’t a dream, it was his nightmare.
“Hello, Frankie. To what do I owe this displeasure?”