Page 27 of Priceless
“I’ve worked for the Caldwells a long time, and I care about Ocean. I wanted to meet who she’s meant to marry.”
I paused. “The Caldwells?” Ocean was one, but her parents had been dead for over a decade. To say that she still worked for them was an interesting choice.
Ruby waved a hand. “I suppose I should say the McCabes, but I’ll always work for the Caldwells as long as there’s one around.” She began to lead us through the house. I gestured at the man accompanying us to stay. He wasn’t needed. Yet.
“What’s your role?” Cameron asked.
“Think of me as a personal concierge,” Ruby said. “Whatever’s needed that falls outside the normal duties of the staff, that’s me. I make sure everything’s going well and everyone has their needs met.”
It wasn’t even a thought. I pulled out my wallet and the card with my personal number on it. “If you’d like to follow Ocean, please give me a call.”
She paused, making us all stop. “You’d do that?”
Cameron picked up the line without any trouble. “This will already be an awkward transition for Ocean. If there’s anything we can do to make it easier, even if it’s just a familiar face, I’ll do it.”
“Thank you.”
I watched her pocket the card, unsure if she would take the offer. It stood regardless.
Ruby stopped in front of a set of large double doors. Ocean’s scent hung in the air—just a trace of it—and it was so much better than my memories, even while not at full strength. Omega.
Knocking once before pushing the doors open, Ruby whispered, “Good luck.”
My steps faltered as I stepped inside. The room was soaked in her scent. It made my mouth water with the need to get as close as possible and simply breathe her in. To taste her.
My hands tightened on the flowers I held, trying to resist moving forward.
Frank and Laura stood to one side, and there, near the desk, was Ocean. She wore a purple dress that skimmed the curves I already craved, drawing out the deeper tan of her skin and the sultry darkness that was her eyes. She was so fucking beautiful I couldn’t breathe.
Which was a problem, because it was all I wanted to do. One more breath of her scent.
Ocean’s eyes went wide as she took in the three of us, shock on her face. She looked not only shocked but stunned, her hand flying to her chest.
That was all it took to know they hadn’t told her who we were, and she’d still agreed. Something in the back of my mind pricked unpleasantly at that. Did she have a reason to want out so desperately? Or had he forced her?
“Good evening,” I managed to say. Frank was already on his way forward, holding out his hand for us to shake. “Very good to see you all.”
“Likewise,” Micah said, but his eyes never strayed from our Omega.
“Ocean,” I said. “It’s nice to see you again.” Frank’s head whipped toward mine, and I smirked at him. “We met at the gala, though we didn’t know who she was at the time.”
My Omega seemed frozen in her place, so I approached her slowly. She didn’t seem frightened, more like she was still in a state of shock. “These are for you.”
I caught her hand when she reached for the flowers and gently pressed them into her palm. The feeling was electric. She lifted her eyes to mine, voice breathless. “Thank you.”
As soon as Micah told us his idea to get her flowers based on their meanings, Cam and I were all in. We each chose a couple of flowers, and the three small bundles could easily be combined into one bouquet. I was sure she could make them look better than we ever could.
My flowers were an orchid I’d come across, which was said to represent beauty and love, and a sprig of peach blossoms, which I had found meant ‘I am your captive.’
I’d seen the description, and nothing had ever felt as accurate as being captive to this beautiful woman. Because we didn’t know her yet, but every piece of me wanted to.
Cam chose purple tulips for eternal love, and snowdrops for hope. Micah ended up choosing the calla lily, which spoke of magnificent beauty. That was the fucking truth.
I watched Ocean’s face as we each handed her the flowers. Watched her eyes flicker over each one and clock the meanings of them. Her eyes flicked up to mine again with more shock, but this time there was pink touching her cheeks. Like it was the last thing she’d ever expected for us to do something as simple as give her flowers.
Clearing my throat, I looked at Frank. “Our lawyer is waiting in the foyer. He has all the paperwork, if you’d like to look it over. There are still some details that needed to be finalized for the signing, which our team requests be postponed until after the wedding. He’ll be happy to go over it with you.”
“Of course.” He didn’t look happy that it would take that long for the deal to be finalized. Neither was I, but we would make Ocean our wife first. End of story.
