“So, what do you do for work, Forrest?” she asks.
Thank fuck.
“I inherited my grandfather’s land and turned it into a mountain ski resort,” I say. Shit, I should have asked her a question back.
“Which one?”
“Cider Point Resort and Spa,” I say.
Her mouth drops open. “I went there for a family vacation two years ago. What are the odds? It’s an exquisite resort, Forrest, that’s extremely impressive. So many other resorts in New England are a little dated, but yours is modern while still giving off rustic mountain charm. Are you still heavily involved in the day-to-day functions?” she asks, her fingers gripped on the pendant on her neck, sliding the necklace back and forth as she looks at me.
“I try not to be. It’s been difficult,” I tell her, which is true.
I’m the owner. I’ve hired the best people I could find to run the business. It’s hard to let go of control over something that means so much to you.
“It’s why the cruise worked out so well. Summer is the slowest season,” Wells chimes in. “How about you, Claire? What are you most passionate about?”
I should have asked her that after she asked me. I unbutton the top button of my shirt, feeling like it’s stifling in here. She looks at me, before turning to Wells.
Her cinnamon apple cake scent spikes with Wells’ question, and I swallow thickly.
“Well, I’m really involved in charity work with my mom. I enjoy cooking, reading, and I’d like to get outdoors more,” she says and I perk up.
I’m about to ask her more about what she enjoys doing in nature as the server comes to take our order.
Fuck.
After we order, she takes a thick sip of her ginger ale and I wonder if I’m ruining everything. It was so much easier to talk when it was a matter of making sure she was okay and safe.
But now that all I have to offer is myself, I feel lost. I wasn’t enough for my dad; I didn’t have many friends growing up, or relationships with any significant meaning. Wells seems to like me for who I am, but could I be enough for an Omega?
“Excuse me for a moment,” I say, leaving the table and heading toward the bathrooms.
I don’t go in, just stand by the wall.
Wells is going to leave me. There’s no way an Omega is going to want me when I can’t even come up with simple fucking questions to ask them. I rest my head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling as I take a heavy breath.
“Forrest?”
I know it’s Claire before I even look down and see her standing before me.
“I’ll be right back,” I say quickly, and the left side of her mouth tilts up.
“Is it me or the setting that makes you feel uncomfortable?” she asks and I adjust myself, standing taller.
“You don’t make me uncomfortable.” I clear my throat, not knowing exactly how to say what I’m feeling.
“I like that you’re a little shy,” she says and my brows furrow.
“I’m not shy,” I quickly say back.
“No?”
“No. I just don’t know what to say sometimes,” I blurt it out and she smiles at me.
“I don’t expect you to fill silences, Forrest. It will make it that much sweeter when you open up to me. Come on, let’s get back to dinner.” She says it all so easily, casually, as she slips her smaller hand into mine and leads me back to the dinner table.
When we get back to the table, Wells is giving me a wide grin. Did he tell her to come get me? Or did she do that all on her own?