But the second I came into Link’s presence, I knew that Dane’s father, while a great connection, was not my destined alpha. The instant intensity, the desire to fling myself at his feet and beg him to stay with me all the time, to move in now and get married tomorrow...this was so much more than the physical attraction level I’d felt in the past. My late husband had been a kind, sexy, warm mana and a loving father.
But this...gods, this was something else.
My anger at my son’s behavior abated in the face of this much larger issue. With Dane’s dad, I’d never felt in the middle, as if I had to choose. And I’d never given a lot of thought to marrying again. But this connection, this immediate desire and emotional bond...I couldn’t ignore it. Nor could I move forward if it ripped out my son’s heart. He didn’t even know his papa, only knew him through the stories people told and the pictures. Like the framed one of the three of us, Dane only a teeny baby, on his nightstand.
I tipped my head back and closed my eyes, praying for wisdom. Being a father was never meant for those of weak character, but right at the moment, I felt like the weakest character in the USA. On top of all the rest, I suddenly resented my late husband so much, it made my head pound. If he’d never died, we’d still be in our cozy house on the canal. I did a little math and determined with the time difference, we’d be tucked in bed, our son sleeping in the next room. Maybe another child by now. We’d both wanted a large family.
I’d never have moved to the States, uprooting Dane from the only home he’d ever known, and met a man who showed me, in a totally innocuous afternoon at the kids’ club, what I’d been missing.
“Papa?” I opened my eyes to see Dane resting his hand on my arm. “Papa, are you terribly angry at me?” He spoke Dutch again, and I replied in kind.
“No, Son. Not angry, just sad that you are so upset. And disappointed that you didn’t feel like you could come to me quietly instead of shouting at our guest.”
He dropped his hand and studied the floor. “I shouldn’t do that.”
“No, you shouldn’t. Come here.” I lifted him and settled him on my lap, hugging him close. “You know you can always tell me what you’re thinking, what you’re feeling, don’t you?”
“I guess.”
I cupped his chin and lifted his face so he would see my serious expression. “You guess? Have I ever punished you for sharing like that?”
“No.” His lower lip thrust out. “But I don’t need another papa.”
And there lay the trouble. “What makes you think he’s going to be your papa?”
I watched the struggle in his face. He was so wise, my son, but he was still a little guy. Not always good at understanding his own feelings, much less those of others. “I saw him and you and you were smiling and you wanted to hug him.”
Okay. Pretty good. “All right, but we just met Link today. Right now, we’re all just getting to know one another, right?”
He shook his head, hard. “No. I don’t want to know him.”
Oh my gods, what was I going to do with this? I wanted to flee back across the ocean, turning back the clock as I did so. Thinking quickly, I nodded. “I understand. For now, perhaps he’s just my friend, then. I wanted to include you, but if you’re not comfortable, then if I visit with my friend, I will get you a sitter.”
His eyes went wide. “But I…”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want him to be your friend.” Tears spilled down his cheeks. “I’m your friend.”
We’d either moved here just in time or far too late. “You are my son and my friend. But we came here to make new friends, didn’t we?” I swiped the tears from his cheeks and planted kisses where they’d been. “You are starting at My Brother, My Sister to make friends, and I will have friends, too. But they don’t have to be the same people. So, no more taking you along on my, err, playdates with Link.” He parted his lips but I shushed him. “Now, go to your room for the rest of the evening because no matter how upset you were, you behaved badly. I will bring you some dinner.”
“Do I have to say sorry?” I’d never seen such rebellion in his little face or heard it in his tone before, and I considered saying no. Just to avoid another scene. But I brushed that aside.
“Yes, when we’ve been rude to someone, we always have to apologize. So, when you see him at the center, you go right up to him and do that.”
“Okay.” He pushed out of my lap and started for the stairs, tossing over his shoulder, “But I don’t want to.”
I stood, with a weary sigh. “As long as you do it,” I muttered, heading for the kitchen to make a plate for Dane to eat in his room. I had no appetite. Despite my strong words, I might not be able to pursue a relationship with Link if Dane remained so strongly opposed. The teacher wasn’t someone I wanted to have the occasional dinner with or coffee. He was my true mate, and that meant so much more.
Chapter Six
Link
I tossed and turned most of the night, plagued by what Dane had said. Yes, he was small and probably struggled with all the moving issues and coming to a new country compiled with losing his father.
As I thought over the afternoon, I soon was entranced again by Gustav. Despite his son’s protests, I knew the man wanted me just as much as I wanted him. He responded to my touch, bit his bottom lip as I flirted, and found ways here and there to touch me.
Yet here I was, lying in my bed just minutes before the alarm was set to go off, thinking of him and stroking myself beneath the covers instead of where I wanted to be—inside the omega I’d met the day before.
In seconds, with visions of Gustav’s mouth and what I imagined was a luscious body under those clothes, I climaxed as the alarm clock went off.
After my typical routine of showering, brushing my teeth, and getting dressed, I took longer than usual nursing my coffee, again lost in what could’ve been.
I knew that dating or mating, as I wanted to, a single dad, would be complicated.
Just not first-date-cock-blocked complicated.
The snow fell in curtains of white, so I waited to go outside until the last minute, intending to sprint to the car as fast as possible. The rest of my coffee went into a travel mug, and I groaned, slipping on my boots and heavy down coat.
The day at school dragged on forever. We’d moved on to Jane Eyre, but the mood remained the same inside my classroom. The students who loved Wuthering Heights loved this Bronte classic, and the others, well, they wanted more action and less angst.
Angst made my world go round.
That afternoon, for the first time in my life, I stayed in my car in the center parking lot and second-guessed my place there. Would Gustav and Dane be there? Would it be awkward?
Worst-case scenario, Gustav would take his kid’s advice and stay away from me altogether.
Still, I summoned the courage and went inside. With fractions and eager students to keep me busy, the time flew. I wished my high schoolers were so eager to learn. I partook of the cookies and hot chocolate provided by George and the center, surrounded by my students.
“We’re not allowed to read that,” Jeremy said when I’d asked if any of them had read Lord of the Flies.
“Not allowed? By whom?”
He shrugged. “It’s not in the school library. I asked.”
What had times come to when Lord of the Flies was banned? “Can’t you get it from the public library?”
They looked at each other as though I’d suggested they fill their ears with spaghetti.
“We don’t have library cards,” one of them replied. I’d forgotten his name.
I was miffed. These kids were hungry for knowledge and a world of said knowledge was right there for the taking.
“Edison!” I called out, not caring if he looked busy at his desk.
“What is it?” he asked, coming over to the table.
I knew my face had to give away my displeasure at the situation. I had no poker face. My father had told me that since I w
as a kid. “These kids don’t have a library card. It’s two blocks down the road. How can we make that happen? I’ll bring them myself.”
Edison tipped his head down. “I don’t have one, either.”
The kids got a kick out of his admission.
“Tragedy!” I exclaimed.
Hands in the air, trying to white-flag me, Edison said, “Okay, okay. I’ll get some permission slips in their bags today. They can go tomorrow.”
The kids hollered and cheered. They had no idea the treasures held in a library, but they always enjoyed a field trip.
“I want to go, too, please.” I recognized the voice and turned to see my unrequited friend Dane, with Gustav behind him, a curt smile on his father’s face.
“You may come with us. That’s fine,” I answered, waving my hand to invite him over. His change of attitude was forced or fake; either way I would take it. “Come have some cookies and hot chocolate with the other kids. Kids, why don’t you ask Dane about living in Holland. I’m sure he has some interesting stories.”
And I wanted to take the opportunity to talk to his papa.
“Hey.” I walked over to Gustav, not really knowing where we stood.
“Good afternoon. I wanted to apologize for yesterday. Dane will apologize, too. He was supposed to do that promptly but was taken over by his love of libraries.”
I nodded and rocked back on my heels. “I understand. At least that’s something we have in common.”
Gustav bit down on his lip again. I wanted to do that for him. “We came to an understanding yesterday.”
“Is that right?” I tried to not sound eager, but my voice had other intentions.
“I’d like to see you alone until Dane warms up to the idea of you. I can get a sitter.”
He reached out and touched his fingers to mine in the most gentle, yet intimate way possible.
“I’d like that. Maybe one day I can win him over.”
Gustav nodded and ticked his gaze over to his son. “I hope so. But until then, you can work on me.”
My chest warmed. I knew what he meant. But there were multiple ways I would’ve liked to work on this man.
“How about dinner Friday night? That gives you enough time to find a sitter? There’s some on the board over there.” I pointed to the bulletin board where reliable sitters were advertised as well as community events.
“Yes. I think so. In the meantime, we can talk here or on the phone?”
He blushed while roundabout asking for my phone number. If that wasn’t adorable defined, I didn’t know what was.
“Give me your phone. When you have time, call me or text me.”
He fished his phone from his pocket and handed it over, allowing our touch to linger. I typed my information into the phone and took a selfie to mark my contact information. “Here you go. I’ve got to get back to the kids, but I’ll be waiting for you to call me.” Feeling frisky, I leaned over to whisper in his ear. “And if the mood strikes you, you can send me a picture of yourself, too. Clothing optional.”
He gasped, and I chuckled before going back to my duties. Dane was the center of attention, telling us all about his language and the differences he’d already noticed between cultures and countries. The kids were obsessed, asking more questions than he could answer.
Edison passed out the permission slips to the kids, and I listened as he gabbed on about making sure it got signed so they could go to the coveted new place the next day.
I waved to Gustav and Dane on my way out and hoped to the gods he used my number.
Chapter Seven
Gustav
The alpha couldn’t have found a better way to get to my son than using the magical word, “library.” Although he wasn’t a strong reader yet, Dane loved books. We read together every night, and he’d memorized a lot of his faves and could “fake read” them to me. In two languages.
I’d taken him to the local library back home, which in our neighborhood was a magnificent building several hundred years old and graced with art by more than one of the old masters. He’d been enchanted, running his little fingers along the dark-wood carvings in the walls, tipping his head back to look at the paintings and sculptures...appreciating the artworks in a way most kids never would.
But his reaction to the actual stacks, the rows upon rows of shelved volumes...that was amazing and wonderful. He sucked in a breath and approached on tiptoe, as if afraid to disturb them then walked up and down each row, eyes wide and hands at his sides, fingers flexing. The librarian approached to direct us to the children’s section, but I waved him off, allowing Dane to explore at his leisure.
The library...I was torn between annoyance with myself at not having taken him myself and a feeling of hope that he’d give credit to Link for giving him the pleasure. The next day dragged on forever, for me waiting to see Link again, and for Dane waiting to go to his favorite place. Luckily, it didn’t seem to have occurred to him to ask me to just get in the car and drive there. Kid brains. But by the time we were headed for the center, he was bouncing in his booster seat and listing all the books he planned to take out. Unfortunately, most of them were Dutch editions, but I felt confident he’d find lots he liked at the local branch.
“Papa, are you coming with us to the library?”
I hesitated. The whole point in signing him up was to have some time in the afternoons to work uninterrupted. As it was, I did most of my coding at night after he went to bed then got up early with Dane. Burning the candle at both ends, as it were. And so far, I hadn’t left him alone at the club. “I don’t know...I should go home and work for a while.”
“Papa? Please?”
The plea in his voice only bolstered my own desire not to leave any location where my alpha—where Link was. “Okay. I guess I can stay today. We should know where the library is, after all.” Because in a town this size I wouldn’t ever find it.
Sure.
“Thank you, Papa.” He settled back in his seat, singing a little song called “Sinterklaas Kapoentje,” a tune about the upcoming feast of St. Nicholas. It was a shame they didn’t celebrate it here, but we would for sure celebrate at home.
“You’re welcome, Son. Hey, maybe you can teach the other kids that song. Maybe tell them about Sinterklaas. Did you know Santa Claus comes here on Christmas Eve instead of December sixth?”
“Why?”
Uh-h. “I don’t know. Maybe you and your new friends can figure it out. It’s a mystery for sure.” I found a parking spot near the entrance to the center, a good thing on such a cold day. I hoped all the kids brought warm jackets for the library trip.
By the time I climbed out of the driver’s seat, my clever son had unbuckled himself and was ready to exit the car. “I don’t know if I can explain it enough,” he mused. “I’m mixed up already.”
“I wonder if there’s a book at the library about Sinterklaas and Santa,” I suggested. “Or other ways families celebrate around the world.”
He hopped to the ground, eyes dancing, and held up one gloved hand to me. “Do you think the other guys would like that? Some of them are pretty old and they might think it’s too little kid.”
“What?” Link’s voice rolled over me as I turned to face the doors. My tall, dark, and handsome alpha stood just a few feet away, wearing a fitted leather jacket and jeans that outlined his long, long legs. I didn’t drool. Much. “Did someone just say Christmas is for little kids?”
Dane shifted closer to me and wrapped an arm around my thigh in an unusual show of shyness. “I-I did, Mr. Link.”
The alpha dropped into a crouch in front of us. I also tried not to think too much about that. “Well, am I a little kid?”
Dane shook his head hard, and Link sighed.
“So, no Christmas for me...or your papa, I guess. I’m so sad.” He pushed slowly to stand up and, shoulders slumped, turned away. “No Christmas for us. I guess I’ll go inside and drink coffee or something.”
“Wait!” Dane pushed off
my leg so hard I almost tipped over, and dashed to move in front of Link. “You’re not that old.”
“I’m not?”
“Not. But my papa always says we should go to the library and do re—what is it, Papa?”
“Research,” I supplied. I’d said that a few times when he’d been interested in something new like ladybugs or clouds.
“Yeah, research. And we are going to find a book about Christmas everywhere in the world.”
I came alongside them in time to see a smile brighten my alpha’s face. “So, maybe even grown-ups can have fun at Christmas?”
“Maybe,” Dane said gravely. “We have to find out. I need to tell the kids!” He disappeared inside, leaving us on our own in the parking lot.
My smile stretched my cheeks as I faced my alpha. “Hi there. I hear we may not have any fun this Christmas. Not gonna lie. I’m a little worried.”
Link reached around my waist and pulled me tight against him. My cock reacted by becoming achingly hard, butting against his. “I can think of lots of ways we can have fun this holiday season, omega,” he growled into my ear, and I shuddered. “Some of them even with clothes on.”
He took my lips with fearsome force, demanding entrance, which I gave willingly. Our tongues tangled in a kiss so absorbing, someone driving by honked and told us to get a room. Then everything faded into only his body against mine, the heat of his mouth, his hands holding me in place, his—
“Gentlemen?” Edison’s voice shot me back to reality. “There are about fifty kids in there waiting to go to the library. They say they need to do research about Christmas?”
I jumped back, cheeks flaming. “Uh, yeah, just give us a second.”
“I think that’s wise,” Edison replied. “We’ll meet you out front in five minutes. Try to control yourselves.” His words would have held more weight if he wasn’t laughing so hard.
Link gave me a cheeky grin. “Friday, omega…”
Roseville Romance Page 25
