Page 2 of They Love Me Knot (Starsfalls Omegaverse #2)

Feliks

“ Y ou have to lift with your legs,” I tell Ciro helpfully.

Muttered curses are the only reply I receive for my thoughtful advice. It’s just as well, I’m too busy laughing to carry on a conversation.

Ciro spits out leaves along with the curses, but the plants continue to whack him in the face as he unloads the plumeria from the delivery truck.

I thought the heavy lifting might help him work out his irritation at the new plants, but it clearly hasn’t, and with the way they’re acting, the feeling is mutual.

Once I contain my laughter, I offer to help with the rest, but Ciro waves me off. I wait for him to finish so I can talk to him without interruption.

I lounge by the pots while Ciro signs off on the delivery. I don’t dare mention it now, but plumeria flowers look good, and I’m sure they’ll sell well. Maybe I’ll tell him I thought this was a good idea after he sees how popular they are.

For now, I’ll avoid the farmer’s lecture on the foolishness of importing tropical plants and attempting to grow them in an area that has hard winters.

Ciro stalks around his new plants muttering to himself, and I think I see him pick another leaf out of his mouth before he finally joins me.

“I assume you didn’t come out here just to watch my farm start pandering to influencer trends,” he says.

“It’s not pandering to buy new plants at the request of your local customers,” I say, barely resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

Ciro tilts his cowboy hat back to wipe the sweat off his forehead before pulling it back over his eyes.

“These are popular on that ShutterSoul app now, but soon enough this fad will be over and I’ll be stuck with dozens of tropical plants no one cares about anymore.

This variety is especially finicky to care for, even without factoring in that this isn’t its ideal climate.

I have to care for these delicate plants just because I listened to Anicka and her big ideas about staying current.

The flowers I sell are doing just as well as they always have, my farm doesn’t need to branch out.

She should have gone to one of the other farms with this idea,” Ciro says, the same complaints I’ve heard for the last few months.

“Anicka knows you’re one of the best flower farmers around, and she knows how to run her business and market her products.

She wouldn’t ask you to invest in something with fleeting popularity.

And no offense, but dealing with customers isn’t exactly your strong suit, so I would defer to her in figuring out what the people want.

Anyway, they’re here now, so you might as well focus on the part you like best. Get them to grow, and Anicka will take care of the rest,” I say.

I may have been short with him, but I know Ciro likes the challenge, despite what he says. He needs to accept that things change, and changes don’t have to be bad.

He gives a curt nod. “I know Anicka knows what she’s doing. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing me complain.”

“I didn’t mean that you shouldn’t talk to us. I just don’t think this will be as bad as you’re making it out to be. Like you said, the farm is doing great otherwise, so think of this as a little experiment. If it doesn’t go well, no harm done,” I say, clapping him on the shoulder.

“That’s one way of looking at it. Now, why are you here?”

“Pack Leof has decided to bond this weekend instead of waiting. I wanted to make sure you had enough notice so you can take off Saturday and attend the ceremony with us.”

“I can be there,” Ciro says.

“I’m sure it will be a great party despite the quick turnaround. You know how good Maisie is at planning things.”

Ciro grunts, a noncommittal noise. “How long have they been together? Has it even been a year?”

Since I’ve known Ciro for years and have a pack bond with him, I’m able to detect the faint edge in his question.

“They’ve been with Maisie just over a year now. They’re a lucky pack to find their omega. I’m happy for them.”

“Yeah, thrilled. It’s great they’ve found what makes them happy,” Ciro says with the least inflection possible.

I barely hold in my sigh before asking if he has time to show me how the farm is doing.

Flower Gully is Ciro’s thing, but our pack used to help when he first started it.

Now he has dozens of employees who could run it without Ciro overseeing the daily tasks.

He loves the hands-on parts though, the daily care and watering and pruning and planting.

I can’t see him ever removing himself that much from the growing process.

I know he’s implying that the farm is all he needs to make him happy, but the rest of us want a mate, an omega or a beta open to pack life. Ciro always denies he wants a mate for himself. He claims he’d be fine staying single and being a platonic packmate to our mate.

I’m not sure how he thinks his issues with romance will get any better if we find a mate who is happy to be with us and not him.

There’s no way that’s the best solution.

I’d like Ciro to work through his hangups before we find someone to join our pack, though it’s not like the rest of us are doing well in the dating scene.

It’s a toss-up whether we’ll even be able to find a potential mate before Ciro is ready for one.

I look over the acres of farmland that used to be just grass.

Greenhouses dot the landscape between rows of flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables.

Ciro has devoted himself to this farm, nurturing it and caring for it like an extension of our pack.

With all the love he has to give, I don’t understand how he fools himself into thinking he doesn’t want a mate.

This time I can’t contain my sigh over our love lives while Ciro talks about how the cloudberry plants are doing this year.

He pauses at my sigh, but I explain it away as a reaction to how good they look.

He continues the farm tour, pointing out the rows of white, pink, and purple bellflowers that are just starting to bloom.

I guess Ciro isn’t the only one who’s avoiding talking about the hard things.