Page 11 of The Omega's Fake Mate

This gave me a moment to study him. He hadn't changed much from that time I'd spotted him at Dean’s wedding, although he wasn't wearing a tux now. Not that he needed to be wearing a tux. He'd always pulled off the 'effortless' look very well, though I knew that nothing about it truly was. His brown hair was messy—he probably hadn't shaken the habit of running his hands through it all the time—but there wasn't a wrinkle in his button-down shirt, the blue color of it nicely complementing his eyes.

When I took a step forward, he finally looked up. His eyes widened in instant recognition.

A smile found its way on my lips. I couldn't say why, but I always smiled the widest when I was the most nervous. “Hi,” I made myself say. “I'm looking for a book.”

“A book.”

“Yes, I've heard you sell those here?”

That comment snapped Zander out of his stupor. Rising from his chair, he laid the book he'd been reading aside before I could take note of the title.

“What about that book?” I asked, pointing to where he'd put it beneath the desk. “Is that any good?”

Zander licked his lips. “You wouldn't want to read that. Boring drivel, I assure you.”

“Really? You seemed fascinated by it.” I walked forward until there was nothing but the desk with the register separating Zander and me.

Flustered, he ran a hand into his hair.

I had to laugh.

He bristled, as if I was insulting him. “Why are you laughing?”

“It's just... I can't believe you still do that.”

“Do what?”

“Every time you're thinking really hard about something, you mess up your hair.” It was kind of adorable. Sometimes, my fingers wanted to follow his. His hair was just slightly curly and soft to the touch. Or it had been. Did it still feel like that today?

Zander put his hands on his hips. “I don't do that,” he insisted, but the set of his lips told me he was well aware.

“Your features haven't really changed,” I muttered. It was a bad habit of mine to say things as I thought them. Which is why the next sentence escaped me. “You've become more handsome, though.”

Zander's Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I didn't know you were in town,” he said as if to distract from the topic.

“I'm staying with my cousin.”

His eyes flickered between me and Conner. “Oh right. You're related.”

“Yeah, no red hair on me, but still.”

“No.” His gaze focused on me again. “No red hair on you.” The way he said it, I knew he wasn't disappointed. No, I got the feeling he liked what he saw. If anything, his gaze was a littletoointense. It caught me off guard. We hadn't seen each other in so long, and we'd barely been teenagers when my family moved. After all this time, I figured he wouldn't be interested in me anymore.

Then why were you nervous to come in?

Because I knewIwas still interested. That was the problem. I'd known it the moment I'd laid eyes on him again at my brother's wedding. So I'd avoided him. I didn't want a relationship or to get mated. I wasn't that kind of omega. Those hormone rushes other omegas talked about? I didn't get those.

But Zander was as close as I ever got to having a boyfriend and when he looked at me that way, eyes locked with mine, he still made my heart beat faster. That had to meansomething, right? Only I wasn't at all sure what, or what to do about it. We were adults now. Puppy love wasn't going to cut it.

To break the moment, I took a step away from the desk and faced one of the shelves. “You're in charge of the store now? I can't believe the old lady is letting you handle her precious books all by yourself.”

“My grandmother passed away last year.”

I whirled around.Foot, meet mouth.I really needed to stop speaking without thinking. “I'm so sorry.”

“It's all right,” he said, even though I was pretty sure that it wasn't. For as long as I'd known him, Zander had always been closer to his grandmother than his actual parents. Losing her must have been hard. He didn't need me to rub salt in that wound.

But what could I say now? “It's good that you're continuing the store in her memory. I'm sure she's proud.”