Page 6 of Thorns That Bloom

“No. She didn’t,” I say, lowering my voice.

The angry, lonely part of me I’ve been nurturing these past few months wants nothing to do with this. It doesn’t want to pay attention to his hopeful eyes, excited for a chat, for human interaction.

But I also feel horrible. Everyone here seems decent enough. How messed up is it for me to be skeptical of such a simple thing like a coworker inviting me for lunch? He all but does with the way he glances at me.

The last thing I want is to come off as some weird loner on the first day of my new job.

“Could you show me there?” I ask, using all my willpower to keep my voice from shaking.

This is good for me.For us.

Kristoff raises his eyebrows excitedly. “Course!”

There might be no alphas here, but there will be in the other departments. If I’m to face that, I’d rather do it with this person by my side than alone.

Chapter 3

Theo

I plop myself on the bench and stretch my arms above my head with a groan. It’s been a busy morning of more than usual running around the factory. Ben pushes a tray of food in front of me, having gotten me the meal that I wanted, though my little pot of tiramisu sits onhisside.

“Hey, I was excited about that,” I say, flashing him a disgruntled frown.

He crosses his legs, resting his ankle on his knee. “Tax,” he says with a smirk.

I playfully roll my eyes and start eating. More guys from the floor join us shortly. A wave of boisterous chatter quickly fills the space. Compared to the focused silence and the methodical clicking of the machinery, it brings me peace and, weirdly, relaxes my brain.

“When is your music thing happening again?” Ben asks, chewing with his mouth open.

Blake, sitting across from me, hears and lifts his head. “Still going on with that?”

I nod and look down with a shy smile. I hardly ever getstage fright, but for some reason, talking about my hobby in front of my coworkers makes me feel all anxious. Half of them are my parents’ age and probably think it’s something stupid and useless to spend time on and that alphas are supposed to do something manly and tough, not strum a guitar and sing romantic songs in bars.

“Yeah. It’s Thursday evening.”

“Thursday? Eh… Couldn’t you have done Friday?” Ben mutters.

“Fridays and the weekends are for big names. I’m not a big name,” I say with an amused chuckle. I should count myself lucky that the place even accepted me.

“Yet!” One of the guys at the table shouts.

Ben gives me a knowing look. “Yeah. According to my missus, he’ll be big one day. Has that, and I quote, ‘cute face, pretty smile, and dreamy voice.’” Ben narrows his eyes while pointing his spoon at me. “Never leaving you alone with my wife, by the way.”

Most people around the table erupt into laughter. Feeling my cheeks heat, I poke Ben’s shoulder with a chuckle. “I’m not trying toget big,” I say. “Or steal your damn wife, for that matter. It’s just a hobby.”

“You’ve got superfans already,” Jeremy notes bitingly, mostly aimed at Ben, who makes a dissatisfied grunt. “That’s how it all starts.”

My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I pull it out.

Speaking of superfans.

As soon as I see Emily’s name on the screen, a wave of discomfort passes through me. It must show on my face clearer than I mean for it to, because Ben immediately leans in tocheck for himself.

Missing you, babe… And I know you miss me too. *winking emoji*

Call me? Please? xx

“My god,” he nearly yells in my ear, making me flinch away from him. “I thought you said you ended things with her?”