Page 57 of They Love Me Knot (Starsfalls Omegaverse #2)
I’m so busy basking in my praise, words like genius and perfect and exceptional being thrown around, that I don’t notice Anicka join us until she says something.
“This is perfect! I loved your design, and it’s even better in person. The scents are a lovely mix,” she adds, looking at the three of us.
I guess it’s obvious what I was going for, but Anicka doesn’t have to highlight it by staring at us like that.
I keep my eyes trained on the flowers so no one notices my blush. Kieran and Sterling haven’t commented on that aspect of the arrangement, so I’m not sure they put it together.
Anicka continues without picking up on my caginess. “This will be an amazing entry for the contest. I assume this is the design you want to submit? ”
“The what?” I say.
Contest? Submission? What is she talking about. This is just a fun, friendly fair, right?
There’s no competing. There can’t be.
I never enter competitions, even floral shows that are just meant to display your skills and everyone gets a ribbon. I can’t handle that. My stress about being judged and competing against others won’t allow it.
“Oh, didn’t I mention it?” Anicka says. “There’s an awards show at the end of this week.
The town council votes on the entries, so you’ll see them coming by to look around.
Once they give out the awards, vendors hang their ribbons on their booths for the last week of the fair.
It’s just a friendly contest to get people engaged and recognize everyone’s hard work.
Plus, it helps us include the out-of-town vendors and show our appreciation for them joining us in Starsfalls. ”
I’m barely able to make out what Anicka is saying through the ringing in my ears, my hearing going in and out, and I’m more focused on staying upright anyway.
Kieran and Sterling grab my arms, so I may not be hiding my internal crisis very well.
“Are you feeling okay, Daphne?” Sterling says.
“Did you skip breakfast?” Anicka asks.
“Just a little worn out from running around this morning,” I say to cover up my looming fainting spell. “You don’t have to use my arrangement for the contest. We have so many others, I’m sure there’s a better one.”
“Don’t be silly, this is the most remarkable arrangement we have this year, plus there’s so much meaning behind it. Poppy and I have won plenty of times already, it’s your turn to get that recognition,” Anicka says.
Great, so Anicka and Poppy are world-renowned award winners, and now I’ll be the one to ruin Queen of Hearts’s win streak and embarrass the shop.
“She’s right, you should enter this arrangement,” Kieran says.
“We’ve all received awards over the years for our efforts. You’ve been working so hard on this design, Daphne, you deserve the recognition,” Sterling adds.
Oh, so everyone’s a big winner.
It’s even worse than I thought. It will be so awkward when I’m the only one walking away from the fair without an award. But with all of them encouraging me, I’m not sure how to get out of it without revealing my secret fear of competition and being graded.
I’ll just have to pretend to be a normal person who can handle normal things like being judged without having a meltdown. If I ignore it, I can get through the fair without stressing. Then I won’t even notice when I don’t win anything, because the contest doesn’t exist in my mind anyway.
“If you’re sure you’re okay with entering this arrangement, then that sounds good,” I say in a chipper voice.
Before anyone questions my sudden change of heart (and I already see Kieran opening his mouth, eyebrows drawn in confusion), I add, “Well, the fair’s about to start. I better finish up and get ready. I’ll see you guys later.”
I stretch up on my toes, waiting for Sterling and Kieran to give me a kiss goodbye. They bow to my whims and take turns kissing me. Anicka gives us privacy, departing with an “awww.”
They leave after promising to come by for lunch.
My smile slips after waving them off, but as fair-goers start trickling by, a genuine smile takes its place.
It was a hectic morning, but things finally calmed down, so I should have time for a short break. I might even be able to dash over to a food stall and get a midmorning snack.
I peer down the street, trying to see if any of the food places have a short line so I can get in and out quickly.
“Looking for me?” Feliks asks, wrapping his arms around me from behind.
I startle, but then push my ass back against him, happy to take any opportunity to be plastered against my beta.
He groans in my ear and kisses my neck. I wiggle against him, tilting my head to the side. Feliks groans and bites my neck, and I immediately go limp, legs useless. Luckily his arms keep me upright.
I whine softly as he makes his way down my throat, peppering it with kisses and bites.
“I came to tell you to take a break, but I see you’re already thinking the same thing,” Anicka says.
Feliks and I spring apart. Well, I valiantly try to get my feet back under me while Feliks turns us to face Anicka.
Now we seem respectable, like we weren’t just necking in public (and while I’m at work again ).
I pull my hair in front of my shoulder to hide the evidence.
“Um, yes, I thought I would step away for a few minutes,” I agree.
Anicka laughs and waves me off.
I show Feliks my amazing flower arrangement first, and after receiving the appropriate amount of compliments, we wander into the fair.
I briefly worry we’ll walk by one of my alphas’ booths and I’ll have to introduce everyone unexpectedly. But Feliks leads us away from Flourist and Art’s Art, and we pass by the street with Flower Gully’s booth without seeing any of my alphas.
Good.
Super.
Great.
I let out a sigh. Of relief.
Feliks squeezes my hand. “Is something wrong?”
“No, everything’s fine,” I say. My frown disappears when I look up at him, I can’t resist smiling at that face.
I don’t need Ciro’s attentions when I have Feliks and the others. Everything is fine.
Feliks smiles back and squeezes my hand again. “Good. I was thinking we would get a snack. Is there anything in particular you’re craving, or can I choose for you?”
“Ooh, you choose. You have great taste.”
Feliks always finds the best food for us and usually feeds it to me. Can’t say I mind being able to turn him on just by eating, because I know I’ll get stuffed with delicious food and cock.
Those are the best things in life.
Feliks takes us to several food trucks and brings our haul to a picnic table under a shady tree. When he spreads out the food, it covers most of the table. I’m not even sure how he carried it all.
Feliks sets my water cup and the glass bottle of elderflower cordial in front of me and starts popping open takeout boxes while I sip on it.
Every food stall we visited had only flower-themed food, which was surprising. I figured most places would offer a few flower-forward foods, but otherwise have their usual dishes. Instead, there was a flower in every dish, and there were even foods formed in the shape of flowers .
Feliks holds up a bite of salted lilac ice cream for me to try, and I suck it off the spoon, the sweet and salty flavor making me moan.
He feeds me another bite and groans when my lips close on it.
To be honest, Feliks’s reactions to watching me eat get me excited too, but I don’t have time to take it further right now.
Our table is pretty secluded, though…
Nearby laughter dispels that illusion.
We finish the rest of our sizeable snack in relative normalcy, which for us means trying to contain our horniness while in public.
When I’ve valiantly eaten all I can, I lean back to give my stomach room to breathe. Another reason to love sundress season, the loose style lets you eat as much as you want without being rudely constrained by fabric.
I relax while Feliks finishes eating (which goes faster now that he’s not feeding me too).
“How do you like the fair?” he asks.
“It’s amazing! Even better than I imagined. I’ve never seen a flower festival that practically takes over the whole town like this. If I’d known about it, I would have moved here years ago,” I say.
“I’m just glad you’re here now.”
“Me too.”
There’s no point in regretting the years that led me here.
We walk back to Queen of Hearts hand in hand.