Olivier didn’t know how to answer that. He squeezed Eric’s shoulder, but Eric had stopped answering.
The ambulance and police showed up minutes later. Ollie retreated into his shop, still shaken.
An accident had happened right outside his shop. Eric’s mom might die. Eric’s family had all but deserted him, and it was because of Olivier.
Sick with horror, Ollie turned to Levi and Jenn. “What do I do?”
Levi handed Jenn back to him. Jenn cooed in Ollie’s arms, warm and soft. Ollie held her close. Breathed in her sweet soap scent.
Eric trudged back into the shop, his lips a thin line.
Eric had lost his job. He’d been disowned, and his mom lay in a pool of blood. If he’d never met Olivier, if he’d stayed away and never left his bonding mark... none of this would have happened.
There was nothing Ollie could offer him, but himself as a burden. He’d taken everything else from Eric.
I shouldn’t have let him stay this long. He shouldn’t have become my alpha.
His stomach twisting with dread, Olivier held Jenn, realizing that this was perhaps the last time he’d see her. “Take care, hon,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Keep an eye on your dad.”
Then Eric stepped into the shop, and Ollie knew what he had to do.
“You should leave, Eric,” he mumbled.
If Eric was no longer affiliated with Olivier’s Strings, he could get his job back. If he was no longer seeing Olivier, he would have Dad and his siblings, too. And if he no longer had Ollie... Then he was free to find himself a better omega.
Olivier’s heart splintered.
Eric met his eyes, his gaze hollow and lost. “What?”
“We should break up,” Ollie said, stepping forward with Jenn.
He’d intended to return Jenn to Eric. But he tripped on his feet, stumbling. Panic sliced through him.
He lurched forward before Eric or Levi could get to him. His knees slammed into the thin carpet, and Jenn hit the floor, trapped in Ollie’s arms.
She began to cry. Ollie stared at her, his chest too tight, his thoughts whirling so fast he couldn’t catch them.
He’d hurt Jenn.
“Jenn!” Eric hurried forward, scooping Jenn into his arms. Then he hauled Ollie up, his lips a thin line. “Ollie, I need you to hold yourself together. I can’t deal with anything else right now, okay?”
Ollie’s heart sank to his feet. He shook his head. Is that what you think of me? A burden? “I can’t, Eric. You know that.”
Alice was the one who knew what to do, Eric had said. Ollie wasn’t that person. He could never be someone that strong.
“You should leave,” Ollie said again, backing away from Eric. “Take Jenn and go. I’m just going to keep tripping and hurting her.”
Something flashed in Eric’s eyes. He growled, “What the hell are you saying?”
“I’m saying I’ll keep on hurting Jenn.” Ollie’s chest squeezed tight. “I’m saying I can’t be your omega anymore!”
“The fuck are you talking about?” Eric growled, bobbing Jenn in his arms when she wailed. “I need you, Ollie.”
Levi had backed away, shutting himself into the backroom. Outside, the police lights flashed, and Ollie couldn’t see what had happened to Eric’s mom.
“You don’t need me,” Ollie said. “You need someone who doesn’t keep hurting your daughter.”
Eric hesitated. And Ollie’s chest constricted. Eric was so close to getting his life right again. All he had to do was leave Olivier behind.
“I don’t care that your mom’s hurt,” Olivier said, the words falling out of his mouth like sharp gravel. “I’m just glad that you’re safe.”
And that changed the look in Eric’s eyes, like Ollie knew it would.
“What?” Eric said softly.
“I wish she was hurt more. I wish she died!”
Silence rang around them. Ollie panted, not knowing if he’d spoken the truth. Some days, he had thought about it.
But Eric narrowed his eyes, stepping back. “That’s what you think?” he asked, his voice dangerously soft.
You’re this close to finding a better life.
“Yes,” Olivier said. “And—and Alice, too. Maybe she’s better off gone.”
That, Ollie didn’t mean. But he saw the change in Eric’s face, he saw the horror, the betrayal. I’m sorry I’m doing this to you again. This shouldn’t have happened.
“This is over,” Eric said, his voice trembling ever so slightly. His eyes burned like coals, and Ollie couldn’t drag his gaze away. “You’re not my omega, Ollie.”
Then he turned and strode out of the shop, the bells jingling on the front door. Eric never once looked back as he carried Jenn away.
Jenn looked over Eric’s shoulder, waving bye-bye.
Eric was out of Ollie’s life. Things would look up for him now, and maybe he’d even get his job back.
Ollie couldn’t move. Just closed his eyes, his heart breaking as his tears began to fall.
The backroom door creaked open. Levi poked his head out, looking warily at Olivier. “You okay?”
Ollie shook his head. Levi glanced around the empty shop, swore, and stepped over to pull Ollie into a hug.
“I’m here,” Levi whispered.
Olivier buried his face in Levi’s shoulder, and cried.
28
Eric
For the first week, Eric seethed.
All it had taken was one day for everything to go wrong. One day for him to lose his job, his family, and for Olivier to show his true colors.
Because of course Ollie would. He’d told Eric once before, I don’t love you. And Eric had wondered why the hell he’d fallen in love with his stepbrother. Ollie had lied to him, he’d been using Eric, and Eric should never have returned to Meadowfall.
For ten years, Eric had cursed at the memory of Olivier.
I wish she’d died, Olivier had said.
I never knew you were that kind of person. All those soft smiles, and all those pleasured sighs. Eric had let him so fucking close.
Mom was in the ICU. Eric had been by to visit her twice, and Dad had barely glanced at him. No one spoke about Olivier.
Eric still didn’t know if his mom would die.
He sat in the living room of Cole’s new apartment, Jenn’s cot and rocker and toys scattered around him, his clothes shoved haphazardly into boxes. He’d thought about applying back to work at Total Sounds, now that he wasn’t Olivier’s alpha anymore. It wasn’t like he’d be breaching any more company policies.
Cole stepped out of the kitchen, nursing a mug of lemonade. “You look like a tramp or something. At least get your face cleaned up.”
Eric flipped him off. Jenn closed her fists awkwardly, trying to get her middle fingers up.
Cole mashed his palm against his forehead. “Real smooth, Eric.”
“Shut up.”
“Sha-up!” Jenn said. “O-eee.”
Eric closed his eyes. Regretted ever teaching Jenn that name. Cole’s gaze burned into him. “Where’s Ollie? You never told me.”
“Damned if I know,” Eric muttered.
“You promised to protect him.” Cole glowered. “What kind of alpha are you, Eric?”
“He said it’s better that Alice was dead, okay?”
Cole fell silent. And Jenn shook her rattle, the pastel one that Ollie had bought for her.
Eventually, Cole asked, “What about his baby? The one you put inside him.”
Eric hadn’t thought that far. “I don’t know. I’ll pay for him to abort it, or something.”
That felt wrong. He’d wanted that baby.
Cole sighed. “Can you abort a baby at twenty-one weeks?”
Eric didn’t know that, either. He didn’t have the ultrasound image—that was with Ollie. He’d left Jenn’s old baby clothes at Olivier’s apartment, moved all her current clothes out, and swore he’d never return.
Because a
ll this had been Olivier’s fault—the job, the family. Eric had spent five months with him, and now he felt empty, like something had been ripped out of his chest.
He’d wasted so much time learning to trust Ollie. And Ollie had betrayed him again, in the end.
“I thought you loved him,” Cole said, crouching next to Jenn.
Eric gulped, his heart aching. He didn’t know anymore if he did. The cage in his chest weighed heavier than before, and the emptiness in him—all he needed was another omega to fill it, right?
“I thought I did, too,” Eric said.
“Peetot,” Jenn said.
Ollie had taught her that. Ollie had been trying to teach Jenn all the new words, he’d smiled that stupid soft smile whenever he looked at her.
Eric had been a fool for believing him.
His bed had been too empty this last week. Then he’d thought about looking for some random hookup, but he couldn’t follow through. Nothing said omega like carnation and honey, and Eric had fallen far too deep this time.
He’d carved Ollie’s name into his heart. Nothing he tried could erase that scar.
The doorbell rang. Cole went to answer it. When he returned, he dropped a small package into Eric’s lap—a box, with a redirected address label pasted onto it. Eric had ordered it before he’d moved out of Olivier’s place.
The parcel had come from Meadowfall Dreams, the best jeweler in town. Eric took one look at the package and nudged it off his lap. Didn’t know what to do with it now.
Cole looked oddly at him. “You’re not opening it?”
“I have no use for it anymore.”
So Cole tore into the box, sucking in a sharp breath at the velvet jewel case, the two rings within. Eric’s face burned. He’d been feeling too damn romantic when he’d made that order.
And the jeweler had done a beautiful job with it, too. White gold, with a simple aquamarine pressed into each ring. The color of Olivier’s eyes.
“The words on the insides are tiny,” Cole said. “What’s with all that cursive script?”
A song from my heart to yours.
“Just shove it in the box and toss it,” Eric muttered.
Cole squinted at the rings. Then he read the inscription aloud, and Eric wanted to lock himself in the bathroom and never step out again.
“You really were in love with him,” Cole said quietly.
“Shut up.”
“Sha-up!” Jenn said.
“You’re sure you’re leaving him over this? Just because he said shit to you?”
No, Eric didn’t know. He felt like crap even though he had Jenn with him. He’d been hoping that Jenn alone would’ve been enough.
But even if Eric got back with Olivier... what was the point? He hadn’t been able to save his mom. And then there was Alice, and he’d entirely fucked up his job. All the new applications he’d put in hadn’t landed any responses yet.
Mostly, though, Eric couldn’t forget the sight of the blood. Mom bleeding, just like Alice had been.
What if Eric messed up, and that happened to Ollie, too?
“He’ll be better off with someone else,” Eric said.
“I trust no one else to be his alpha,” Cole said dryly. “Really, after you tried so hard to convince me?”
“Yeah.”
“Gods, Eric.” Cole sighed. “You’re an idiot.”
“Idiot!” Jenn said, beaming.
Eric buried his face in his hands. No, he didn’t know anymore. And every day without Olivier just made his heart ache worse.
29
Olivier
Olivier stared at the empty cash register, dreading tonight’s stock-taking. Business had been bad. Way worse than the months before.
The Total Sounds ads had spread all over Meadowfall, in-your-face like a tidal wave. It was suffocating. Before Eric left, Olivier’s sales had been steadily increasing. Now, he saw three customers in a day, and maybe two would buy something.
Did Eric know? Or had he washed his hands off Olivier, and he didn’t care anymore?
Ollie cradled his belly, heartsick. I guess it’s just me and you now.
Maybe he shouldn’t have written to the Total Sounds corporate office. Shouldn’t have told them, I’ve terminated my relationship with your previous regional manager. Please consider hiring him again.
What was the point? If Eric knew... he’d probably scoff at that.
The shop’s front door burst open; Olivier panicked for a second.
Aaron bounced in with a bright grin. “Someone told me you might be here.”
Olivier sank against the counter, his pulse racing way too fast. “Gods, Aaron. I thought—I thought you were a robber or something. No one enters a shop like that!”
“Sorry.” But Aaron continued to smile. He glanced at Levi, then slipped behind the counter to where Ollie was, slinging his arm around Ollie’s shoulders. “Can I take you out on a dinner date?”
Olivier stared. “Sorry, what?”
Aaron raised his eyebrows. “A dinner date. Where you and I eat dinner under the stars.”
“Aaron, if this is some sort of sick joke...”
“Nope, absolutely not.” Aaron peered honestly at Olivier. “Ask Levi. I’m having him guard the shop while I serenade you.”
Levi shrugged. “Hey, if that’s what you want.”
Olivier cringed. “This isn’t funny, Aaron. I don’t need a dinner date. Please don’t try to be—” He cut himself off.
“Please don’t try to be...?” Aaron looked pointedly at him.
“Eric,” Olivier mumbled, his face warming.
It had been four weeks since the breakup, and Ollie still couldn’t forget him. Eric’s cedar scent had almost faded from the apartment, but the memories sat in Ollie’s chest like heavy stones.
Some mornings, he woke up on Eric’s side of the bed, the sheets bundled around him. As though his sleeping self had been desperate for Eric’s embrace.
Other mornings, Olivier caught himself looking at the nightstand for the baby monitor. He missed Jenn’s smile, missed her burbling laugh. Missed holding her in his arms, making breakfast for her.
He hadn’t realized he’d taken Jenn’s presence for granted, until the moment she wasn’t there. And now his days were empty, his apartment quiet. He’d forgotten what he’d even been doing before Eric stepped into his life.
Aaron shrugged. “I didn’t say I was trying to be Eric. All I’m saying is, let’s go out for dinner. It’ll be real good. Best dinner ever.”
He wriggled his eyebrows. Ollie covered his eyes.
“I promise it’s not suspicious or anything,” Aaron said.
“Why would you even say that?” Ollie asked, exasperated. “People only say that when they’re trying to hide something.”
Aaron shrugged, whistling.
Levi came over to squeeze Ollie’s shoulder. “Go ahead. You do need some cheering up.”
“I don’t!”
“I say you do.” Aaron dragged Olivier toward the front door, and Olivier sighed. He did need company. Someone to distract him from the loneliness that lingered in Eric’s absence.
“Have a great night!” Levi waved.
Then the front door shut with a jingle behind them, and Ollie was in Aaron’s sports car, Aaron’s pine scent familiar around him. It wasn’t cedar, though.
Aaron started the car, the engine purring lowly. It was dark inside, the console lit with blue lights. Ollie realized he’d never stepped into a sports car before.
“Seems like I’ve been seeing you a lot these days,” Aaron said conversationally, pulling them onto the street.
Ollie looked at his hands. “I guess.”
“How’ve you been doing?”
Olivier shrugged.
“At least, tell me about the baby. Cole was asking if you’re keeping it.”
“I am.” Ollie rubbed his belly, the baby kicking in response. Then he remembered Eric’s delight when he’d first felt the baby kick, Eric kne
eling at his feet, his lips pressed against Ollie’s skin. Olivier’s throat grew tight.
He’d had Eric’s love for a little while, and he hadn’t thought it would be so fleeting.
His heart squeezing tight, Olivier blinked hard. Tried not to think about Eric so he wouldn’t cry. “He—Has he found a job yet?”
He forgot to specify who, but Aaron knew, anyway. “Yeah. I think he’s a manager somewhere else now.”
“Okay,” Ollie croaked. “That’s good to hear.” It meant Eric and Jenn would continue to have a roof over their heads. Part of him relaxed. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I want to.” Aaron shrugged. “It’s been a long time since any of us spoke to you, Ollie. I hadn’t known... why you’d stayed away all these years. I’m sorry for not helping you when Mom pulled all that shit.”
Ollie fidgeted. “How is she now?”
“She’s out of the ICU. Some broken bones. Broken everything else. The bill’s sky high, but I guess that’s where we all thank the gods for insurance.” Aaron rolled his eyes.
“Okay.” Olivier bit his lip. Had Eric told Cole and Aaron what Ollie had said about their mother? If he did, Cole and Aaron hadn’t acknowledged it.
They pulled into the parking lot of Wy’s Drive-In. Olivier winced at the place; he’d caused such a scene when they were here the last time.
“It’s just me and you,” Aaron said. “Does it feel weird when I say that? You don’t think I’m actually trying to hit on you, right? ‘Cuz that would just be wrong.”
Ollie cracked a smile. “No, I don’t think it’s weird. You and Cole are just my brothers. E-Eric—He was different.”
“Good.”
They parked in a lot across from the restaurant. Through the side view mirror, Ollie watched as a waitress skated out of the restaurant, stopping by the driver’s side window.
“Hi!” she said cheerfully. Ollie read Hazel on her yellow apron. “Are you ready with your orders, or would you like a moment?”
Aaron ordered for them both. Then Hazel skated back into the restaurant, and Ollie sank into his seat. Didn’t know what to say to Aaron, when they’d been almost strangers for so many years.
Stepbrother's Secret Page 26
