Plus, the woman she’s talking to is nice.
Caroline.
So far we’ve learned that she and her partner, Tessa, have been together for almost forty years. They're from Wyoming. She was an elementary school art teacher and they met in college, and they’re finally able to travel the country because Caroline retired this past year.
“So, are you and Mikhail just vacationing or is this a chosen lifestyle for you two?”
Liv glances back at the RV as she pops her knuckles. “I guess it’s sort of both.” She turns back to the very friendly woman with an uncomfortable chuckle. “Testing things out to see if it works for us.”
Well, there’s a loaded statement.
Don’t have to carry a PhD to read between those lines. I’ll take it, though. She might not know it yet, and will clearly struggle to accept it, but Liv is stuck with me. There are too many feelings neither of us can ignore for much longer, so I’m not going anywhere.
“Tessa and I are, too,” Caroline says as she looks toward their site with a touch of sadness in her eyes. “We recently lost our Adam and since our Lewis passed about ten years before him, it’s just us now. We aren’t used to being alone.”
I squint through the window as those words are spoken, watching Liv like a hawk as her entire demeanor changes.
All of her defensiveness drops, her discomfort melts away, and her mask slips right off of her beautiful face.
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” she says softly as she reaches out, tentatively taking hold of Caroline’s hand before giving it a squeeze. “I’m sure that’s been really hard on the both of you.”
The woman nods and gives her a squeeze back. “It has. The four of us wanted to see the world together but when Adam got sick, he made us promise to do that no matter what.” Caroline smiles and swipes at a stray tear. “So, here we are, keeping our promise and bringing our alphas with us, if only in spirit.” Then she giggles. “And a couple of fancy urns but Tessa would be mortified if she knew I told you that.”
Liv smiles back at her, crossing her arms against her chest again. “I think that’s a really nice gesture.”
“So do we,” Caroline says as that bright smile returns. “That’s enough about us old ladies, though. Tell me about you and your Mikhail. It’s not often we come across a pair of omegas like us. How long have you two been together?”
Oh shit.
I switch off the burners as Liv’s back goes ramrod straight then I head outside as every ounce of awkwardness she possesses rushes back to the surface.
“About a year,” I say as I come up beside Liv and place my hand on the small of her back. “Everything is still pretty new.”
“Very,” she grumbles as she looks up at me, trying to play the part despite the way I blindsided her.
Caroline sighs dreamily as she clutches her hands together over her chest. “I remember those days. Exploring new love and relationships. It’s fun and exciting, and so passionate.”
Liv clears her throat as her cheeks flame but I chuckle and nod as I pull her flush against me. “I could not agree more.”
“Soul bond, I take it? Unless you have an alpha or two roaming around here that we haven’t met yet?”
“It’s just us for now.” My chest simultaneously cracks and swells as I answer her question without skipping a beat.
The pain of losingmyalpha is still raw, even after a year and a half, but the bit about a soul bond, it makes my heart race. It’s like she just gave the connection between me and Liv a name, and my heartbeat is confirming it, screaming it with every thunderous bang against my ribs. I don’t know how you figure something like that out but I’m not sure I need to. Not with how things have always been between us, or how they’ve intensified in a simple few days.
“It was just Tessa and I at first,” Caroline says with an even brighter smile as her partner joins us.
“Lewis and Adam didn’t come along until about two years after we met.” Tessa slips her hand into Caroline’s. “I’d like to say they were a quiet, peaceful two years, but this one”—she nods at the blushing omega at her side—“is pure chaos. Our alphas brought balance, I brought logic, and?—”
“I bring the fun!” Caroline giggles before nudging Liv. “I bet you’re the same way, girlie. I can see it. Your Mikhail is calm, cool, and collected, right?”
“Yeah…” She looks up at me and arches a brow. “I think that’s one way of putting it.”
Is it wildly out of line that I want to kiss her right now? I never used to feel this way. Being attracted to someone wasn’t normal, not until I really got to know them and even then, it wasn’t like this. I had friends in high school, friends I went onhits with. I ran track and hung out with my teammates. I did normal things with people my age that I had a lot in common with, but Dimitri was the only one that I actually felt connected to. I know why now, but I didn’twanthim, didn’t think about kissing him or anything else until I actually felt that connection.
That’s how it is with Liv.
It took a while to get here, drawn to her or not, but looking down at her right now and seeing that sort of playful glint in her eye… I want to kiss her. We’re connected, that was never in question, but I didn’t know how intense that was until she mentioned leaving the shelter. I didn’t know what it meant until I thought I might never see her again, and it didn’t have a name until this nice lady gave it one.
