If they weren’t going to listen to me about the dingo in the woods, I wasn’t going to take their pushing towards Orson. Besides, they didn’t know it was pointless, and I couldn’t exactly tell them. Orson’s secrets would be revealed when he was ready, and not before.
Lying to her about Orson didn’t feel good, but I reasoned we did walk for a little while. I said he got a business call he had to take and left not long after. Close to the truth, at least.
Both of them steered any potential mention of the woods back to safer topics. Still, I knew in my heart he existed, and I would be damned before I let this go.
My parents were called into the hotel around dinner time. I made use of the time alone to wrap my foot and head into town to make sure I had the supplies I needed before venturing out.
I had a scooter and used that to travel to the beach. The main stretch was busy, with barely anywhere to park.
“Hey, Sully!” people greeted as I walked past Rosie’s to the camping goods store. Plenty of tourists like to camp out on the east side of Haenvale, where there were a couple of really beautiful waterfalls.
“Hey!” I called back.
“Sully!” Orson gave me a start when his hand landed on my elbow. Really, I could stand to pay better attention to my surroundings. It felt like he just appeared from thin air, but he had to have been in one of the stores and seen me walking by. “Could we talk for a moment?”
“Sure. Rosie’s?”
“Works for me.”
We headed back to the café where Orson stood patiently next to me while I ordered my usual. He made a skeptical face at my drink.
“Have a sip,” I offered.
Holding out the glass straw to him, I held the cup steady so he could try it. His sip was tentative.
“Hmm… that’s nice. Actually, could I get one of those, too, please?” he asked Taylor.
“Sure thing.”
Once we both had drinks, we found a table in the corner. I was aware of people watching us together and gossiping.
“Thanks for talking with me and for being so understanding about my situation,” Orson said quietly, with a faint blush on his cheeks. Objectively, he was attractive. Being mated to him wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. If it had to be someone, I could cope with it being him.Unfortunately, both of us were focused on others.
“No worries. We can be friends, right?”
He looked at me gratefully. “I’d like that. It’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about. Drawing boundaries. The person—“
“Don’t tell me about them, just in case. Must be hard being on the other side.”
“We… we’re making some difficult decisions. I want to know if…” Orson leaned closer to speak at a lower volume. “If you’ll be okay if we leave town?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“Because everyone thinks we’re dating. I don’t want your reputation to be damaged. Not after—“
“Right,” I cut in. We didn’t need to go over the story once more. “At this point, it’d probably do me a favor. I can wait for my fated to show up instead of getting mated off to whoever will have me.”
Orson winced. “If it helps, I picked you. My parents had put you on the no list.” His face flushed, and he reached for my hand. “I didn’t mean to tell you that.”
“Oh.” I let him hold my hand in his. This time, it wasn’t clammy. This was the touch of a friend,comforting me. “Why did your parents go for it, then?”
“Well,” Orson cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He didn’t let go of my hand. “Your parents are very successful. They don’t need all that much put into the hotel. A bank would lend them the money for an expansion with no conditions. I also looked into you. The degree you attained is compatible with our interests—“
“You would have let me work?” My voice rose in shock.
Orson smiled, sadly. “Yes. Likely part-time because my parents want grandchildren. My mother wanted to take some of the childcare duties on.”
“Wow! That’s a lot to take in.”
