you. You know all this.”
“Yeah.”
“So, yeah. Meeting someone would be nice. But…whenever I think about doing it—one of those dating apps, or anything like that—it just doesn’t feel like the right time. I guess I don’t feel ready to seek someone out.”
“But what if you never meet someone?”
“Then I guess that’s my fate. Right?”
To my surprise, Elise started to cry. She pushed her face into my armpit and sniffled quietly.
“Hey, hey. Elise, what is it? What’s the matter?”
“Don’t say that! That makes me so sad. You’re not going to be alone, you’re not! That’s not your fate, or anyone’s. Everyone has someone who will love them. Who they can fall in love with.” She looked up at me, eyes red, snot running out of her little nose. “Everyone, okay?”
I smiled and kissed her head again. “Yeah,” I said, touched by her concern for me, but also her innocence. Not everyone did have a fated mate out there for them. Love was anything but the magical thing we imagined as kids, and I’d learned that the hard way.
An unusually busy day.
The orders were flowing in and customers waiting for their food started to clog up the café, so I tagged Jillian in to take the register while I dipped into the kitchen to help Ivan handle the cooking. Other than confirming orders, he and I worked in silence, both entirely focused on the task at hand. We’d always had this level of cohesion between us, even when we were kids.
Unlike my lifelong interest in the culinary arts, my brother hadn’t had anything to fall back on when he opted not to go to any academies out of high school. Dad had always called him lazy, and maybe he’d taken it to heart. All I knew was Ivan was a great brother and a great person, but because he was an unconventional alpha like I was, our parents didn't understand.
Getting my business going had been as much for him as it had been for myself. I knew what Ivan could be capable of if he had some direction, and I knew he would make a great cook.
“Order’s up,” he said, sliding a plate of lamb sausage and golden fried potatoes onto the serving window.
Jillian grabbed it and jammed two new orders into the queue. Before turning away, she said, “Markos, your friend is back,” and gave me a wink.
I peeked out of the kitchen and saw Kole sitting alone at one of the outside tables, reading a book as he waited for his order. I felt a little kick of happiness to see him again and immediately had to remind myself to chill out.
What was I getting excited about? It didn’t matter if I thought he was cute. I had to keep myself in check—Kole was a nice guy and a friend. But that was it. Just a friend. I wasn’t going to allow myself to feel anything more than that.
It was nice of him to come by again, though.
I glanced at his order—one of our premium white teas and a pesto pasta salad.
“If you want to go out to him, I think I’ve got this handled for now,” Ivan said.
“Go out to what, now?” I said, playing dumb and being way too obvious about it.
“To go talk to that omega. Come on, Markos. I know you’re interested in him.”
“Not in the way you’re probably thinking.” I yanked open the fridge to grab the container of pasta salad.
“Come oooonnn. Really? Since when would you go through the trouble and time to leave the café with Jillian and me just to take a single cup of tea all the way down the block for someone you weren’t interested in?”
I cringed inwardly. “It was the right thing to do after spilling all over him,” I stammered, “and because he’s been helping Elise out, I think making a good impression is important, right?”
“Sure, sure.”
“I’m serious, Ivan. How am I gonna be into a guy I just met once?”
“Damn, Markos. I’m not telling you to mate the guy. I’m just saying, if you’re interested in him, you should talk to him. Who knows where it’ll go?”
“Nowhere,” I said. I poured a measure of loose-leaf tea into a metal strainer and dipped it into a mug of hot water. “Nowhere, because I’m not interested in taking anything anywhere with anyone!” I grabbed the plate of pasta in one hand and the tea in the other. “I’ll be back.”
Ivan gave me the most obnoxious grin as I left