A Mate for Lu - Amy Bellows Page 0,5

to my omega. You know that.

There’s another pause before his next response.

Okay, Sam. Then stop having feelings for this other guy.

It’s like talking to a brick wall. A really snarky, vulgar brick wall.

I can’t. That’s why I’m texting you about it. I’ve tried to not think about him that way, but I can’t help it.

He sends a rolling eyes emoji. If you can’t help it then you haven’t done anything wrong, have you?

Why do I even bother with him?

I get a message from someone else—Lu.

I’m okay with 5k.

He can’t be serious. After my cut and the agent’s cut, he’ll only be getting a little over two thousand dollars for those gorgeous illustrations.

We can get more. I think we should hold out.

His response breaks my heart.

Mary needs new clothes. 5k is fine with me. You can take a bigger cut if you want.

He cooked us a nice meal yesterday. At the time, that made me uncomfortable for completely different reasons. But now I feel sick. How much did those collard greens cost him?

Send me her size. I’ll buy her some.

I promised myself I wouldn’t see Lu again, but if he’s desperate enough to sell our book just so he’ll have money for Mary’s clothes, I can’t abandon him.

No. I don’t want your charity.

It wouldn’t be charity. He’s been working with me for no pay for a year now. He could have been spending that time on jobs that would have brought him income.

It’s almost eight o’clock. I’m surprised the kids haven’t woken me up yet. I’ll have to get them out of bed so we can make a trip to Target. I’ll just buy Mary clothing in three different sizes. One of the sizes is bound to fit.

I can buy Lu some groceries too. And slip some cash in there as well.

This isn’t cheating. It’s just helping out a friend when he’s down on his luck. After all, I can’t stop having feelings for Lu. I’ve tried. And if I can’t help it, I haven’t done anything wrong, right?

I can’t believe I’m using Ed’s justifications to make myself feel better.

I walk out into the hallway and open the door to Jesse’s room. They’re not in there. Morgan and Parker aren’t in their rooms either. I jog into the dining room to find all three of them eating cereal.

“Did you try to wake me up?” I ask.

Jesse shakes their head. “You were up late last night, so I thought you’d want to sleep.”

“Did I keep you up?”

“No. I just heard your door shutting. That’s all.”

Jesse seems so much older sometimes, even though Morgan and Parker are only two and four years younger. Sometimes I worry that Jesse had to help out too much when their father died.

“We’re going to Target after breakfast,” I tell them, then send Lu one last message.

Tell me her size or I’ll guess.

5

Lu

All morning I’m a nervous wreck. I shouldn’t have told Sam about Mary’s clothing situation. I don’t know what I was thinking. I could ask Axe for a little extra money, or maybe one of the jobs I bid on last night will pan out. I beg him not to buy any clothes. I even tell him that I won’t answer the door. But he says he’ll leave them on the doorstep.

That shouldn’t feel nice. He’s doing it because he feels sorry for me. But a horrible part of me can’t wait to see him again—a horrible part of me loves that he cares.

I spend all morning cleaning, even though I cleaned the whole house yesterday. Mary follows me around with her empty squirt bottle and rag, “cleaning” with me.

Noon comes and goes, so I feed her lunch. At one o’clock, I put her down for a nap. I’m just about to get out my laptop again when I hear a knock.

I told him I wouldn’t answer, but I practically leap off of the couch and rush toward the door.

What will he think of me if I open it? Does it matter? I’ll never get to see him again anyway.

I unlock the deadbolt and twist the knob. There’s no need to get excited. He’s just here out of pity.

“Please, Lu. Let me in.”

I pull the door open. He’s standing on the stoop with six reusable grocery bags filled to the brim with food and clothes.

“What is all of this?” I ask.

He opens his mouth, then shuts it again. “I… didn’t know how bad things were for you.”

“I’m fine.”

He pushes inside and sets the bags on the