Let Me Find Your Omega - Ashe Moon Page 0,12

Ivan laughed. “Crushes? Jillian, you know this guy. I don’t think he even registered there were other people in his classes, he was always so wrapped up in his own world.”

“It’s true,” I said with a resigned shrug. “The only time I ever fell for someone, I fell hard. And you both know how that went.” I polished off the remainder of my wine. “Anyway. I doubt Elise has a crush. She’s like me. Too much in her own world.”

“Don’t you find her sudden interest in becoming a dating agent suspect?” Jillian asked. “She seems to be very interested in romance all of a sudden.”

“Yeah, well. You know how she is. Always finding new things to be interested in. And she just became friends with that omega, Kole.”

“Ah, yes. The cute omega, right?” Ivan asked, smirking.

I returned an ambivalent grunt.

After Jillian and Ivan had left, I went to Elise’s room and peeked my head through the door. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of an open book, staring intently at the little divination crystal in the palm of her hand.

“Hey, Elise,” I said. “What are you up to?”

She looked up. “I’m practicing. Kole gave me this book when I went to visit him today, Divination for Beginners.” She picked the book up and held it up proudly. “I’m trying to channel my energy through the crystal to get a view of the spectral flow.”

I scratched my head. “That sounds… cool. I’m glad you’re so dedicated to this.” I sat down and took the book from her. It was as thick as one of her textbooks, with small print and intricate diagrams. “You understand all this?”

“Kinda.” She shrugged. “It’s dense, but I think I can get it.”

I laughed and handed it back to her. Yeah, I thought. I’ve got nothing to worry about.

She really was like me. All I’d wanted to do in school was study cooking and food. Everything else was a real pain in the ass to learn, but when it came to culinary stuff, I absorbed it all like a sponge.

“Listen, honey, I’m really glad you’ve found a passion for this whole thing. I’ll do everything I can to support you in your journey to becoming an agent. Ivan and I, we never got that kind of support from our parents, and it’s something I’ve resented for my whole life. I don’t want that to be the case with you. Understand?”

She nodded.

“Good,” I said. “Then, in exchange, please do your best to focus, okay? Aunt Jillian is right. The better you’re able to do in school, the more options you’ll have when it comes to this stuff.” I patted the book.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll try. Even though it is super boring.”

“When I was your age I hated school, too. Things worked out in the end, and I think everyone goes at their own pace… But I do see that I could’ve formed better habits back then. Anyway—I trust you. I know you’ll do good.”

She smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Dad. So, uh… promise not to get mad at the parent meeting?”

I snorted. “Well, we’ll see about that.”

As I stood up to leave, Elise said, “Dad? Why are you afraid to date?”

Hiding the surprise from my face was not easy to do. “Why do you say that?” I asked.

“Well, it’s kind of obvious… You haven’t tried dating anyone since Mom left. And you avoid Aunt Jillian and Uncle Ivan’s suggestions. But I know you want to. I’ve heard you say so to them before. So that must mean you’re afraid to.”

I felt a welling of pride with the realization that I was witnessing my daughter growing up. I shouldn't have been surprised that she would be so perceptive. I sat back down next to her and wrapped my arm around her, and she hugged me around the waist.

“Yeah. I won’t lie to you and say I’m not. Dad went through a lot with your mother. It was a very painful time for me, understand? Very difficult. Finding out the person I was in love with wasn’t the person I thought they were at all. It really turned my world upside down. In fact, you were the only thing that kept it straight.” I kissed her on the top of her head.

“And you had to fight to keep me with you, right?” she said.

“That’s right. Old clan law usually keeps kids with the parent who birthed them. I had to appeal to the ministers to let me keep