Page 5 of Romancing the Omega

“He was,” Yeo said. He was fucking perfect. He smiled at the next customer and began ringing up her books. The line had grown while he was gone. It was going to be a wonderful, busy day. Maybe he had done the right thing in moving to a tiny town in Maine. He just had to keep away from Mr. Handsome before he did something stupid.

***

“I can’t believe so many people came,” Summer said. She moaned as she took off her shoes at the door to their apartment. They lived in the spacious apartment above the bookstore, making the walk home blessedly short. “You did good, Yeo.”

“I did well, sweetie,” he corrected absently. “Not good.” He set Linc down and watched his boy toddle across the hard-wood floor. He went straight to his toy kitchen and started banging the plastic pans around. “I have to admit that this town surprised me. We’ll have to split the book club into four groups.”

“You’ll still have story time every day too. We’re going to be busy,” Summer said. She didn’t sound displeased. The couch pulled her in when she plopped down. “Oh my god, it feels so good to sit.”

“Thank you for your help, sweetie. You know I don’t expect you to slave away in the bookstore every day. You have a life to live.”

The teenager rolled her eyes. “Don’t be stupid and say no to free labor.”

“Hmm, you make a good point,” he said, throwing a pillow at her. The apartment was good sized. He had bought the store and living space and had completely remodeled the apartment and bookstore both. It may have taken months, but their home looked good.

The apartment had a master bedroom and bath, along with three smaller bedrooms and two more bathrooms. The walls were brick and covered in colorful paintings. The living room and kitchen were completely open, letting Linc get everywhere he wanted, good or bad. Their furniture was durable, comfortable, and brightly colored. Large bay windows overlooked the street and a fireplace warmed everything. Photos lined the mantle, and he’d hung strings of colored glass from the ceiling. The light made the room a million shades of color. It was the perfect home for his little family. He thought of the gated community he’d left in Tennessee. He didn’t miss it a bit.

Yeo’s phone rang. He looked at the number and sighed. “Hey, Fawn.” He pretended not to hear the growl from the couch.

“How is she doing? Did her first week of classes go alright?”

“She’s doing fine. She’s made some friends, and the town isn’t to bigoted for a queer thirteen-year-old,” Yeo said. He smiled at Summer’s laugh.

“Yeo,” his step-mom said, exasperated. Yeo found it hard to hate her. She had taken him in and raised him as her own, even though he was physical proof of her husband’s infidelity. Granted, her way of raising kids tended to be very hands off. Nannies were the norm in the Cook household.

“Do you want to talk to your daughter?”

“I had best not,” Fawn said worriedly. “You know how Michael is.”

“I do,” Yeo said. His dad was garbage, pure and simple.

“I’m sending some more money orders,” she said. “How’s your new place?”

“We like it,” he said. He still needed to put the money orders from last week into Summer’s college fund. “Today was opening day for The Book Worm and we did really well. It was a promising start.”

“If anyone would know how to run a business, it’s you,” Fawn said, pride in her voice. “Your father isn’t happy with the man he hired to replace you.”

“Is that glee in your voice, Fawn?” Yeo laughed and sat on the couch beside Summer.

“Serves him right,” she said. “You were running the company just fine, and he had to go and ruin it.”

“I’m surprised Derek didn’t step in.”

“I love my son, but he just doesn’t have a head for business. Of course, you can’t tell him that,” Fawn said. “Well, your father did tell him that, but he thinks Michael just hates him.” She gasped. “Oh, I meant to tell you. I didn’t want you hearing it from somewhere else. Derek is dating Tracy.”

Yeo winced. “Why would she do that to herself? Wait, why would he do that to himself?”

“That ex-wife of yours is all about image, and right now, the eldest grandson of Richard Cook gives her quite the boost in society.”

“Yeah. That sounds like her,” Yeo said. He looked at his son playing at his toy kitchen. Tracy hadn’t wanted to ruin her figure having a baby. He sure as shit hadn’t minded getting pregnant himself, even if she had insisted he hide it from everyone. “Has Papa called? My birthday was two weeks ago, and he always calls on my birthday.”

“No, darling. I haven’t heard from him. I have your new number to give him when he does call. You know he will. Oh dear, I need to go,” Fawn said quietly. “He just got home.” She was silent for a minute. “Tell her I love her.”

“I’ll tell her, but it would mean more coming from you.” She hung up without replying and Yeo sighed. Complicated woman. Summer was curled into a ball, earbuds in her ears, music blasting. He went to the kitchen and started dinner. “You okay with chicken stir-fry?”

“Yeah,” Summer said. Her head peaked over the couch, earbuds gone. “I noticed you were acting kind of weird about Caden. Do you not like him? I thought he was nice.”

“He seems nice,” Yeo said, wincing.