“I think it sounds perfect, but do you want to think about it or have me meet her or something?” What I wanted to shout was all the yesses and run to pack my bag. The way he talked about his daughter, even if it was through rose colored glasses, let me know that if nothing else, I was going to be in a house filled with love. I needed that. Marge had been right about that. I might come back to the shelter in the future, even if only as a volunteer, but I needed a break, a break filled with giggles, smiles, and all the love.

We tried to give that here. Make this a place of joy for the kids we housed for as long as they were here, but their baggage was heavy and never left most of their sides. And consequently, the weight on their shoulders often tugged on mine as well.

“Thinking too hard on decisions like this instead of going with your gut often leads to rational, yet horrible choices.” He bit his lip, his eyes somber. Wyatt was speaking from experience.

“You, are a wise man.” He was spot on in his assessment. I had planned and thought and made checklists before Dave and I agreed to mate. My initial gut had been to run and I pushed it down as cold feet. After all, he was offering me my dream.

“I speak from experience.” His honesty was refreshing, even if he seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve, letting me know before his words were out.

“As do I.” I blinked slowly before schooling my face. My former alpha had no place here. “My gut says yes. I accept the offer.”

“Mine does too, for what it’s worth.” He offered his hand for a shake before we hashed out the details. The more we discussed things, the more at excited I became. I was going to embark on a new adventure, one that included a family, even if it weren’t mine.

Wyatt’s terms and conditions were simple to follow, at least for me. I was to take care of Chloe, do some very light housecleaning, as he already had a maid come in twice a week. The one most people would probably have an issue with was not anything that would concern me: I would refrain from bringing dates back to the house. In return, I got room, board, and more money than I made now. Worked for me. It wasn’t like I was in the market for dates, anyway. No one wanted a broken omega.

The hours would be weird because his hours were, but that was true here as well. My one week a month on call had become more as the place grew. Only here, middle of the night issues meant getting up and dealing with heavy stuff. There, it meant putting the child monitor in my room and going back to sleep.

After we made arrangements for me to begin, we exchanged information, including copies of my criminal background checks and medical releases, because even though he said he was fine without them, I felt more comfortable with him having them in hand. In that way, he was far too trusting. Although, I also trusted him more than I should. Something about the combination of his open body language, his honest words, and his, frankly, luscious and enticing scent might have contributed to that.

That scent kept me seated as he got up to leave. I acted like I was going back to work, but the truth was, my erection had only intensified as we continued to talk. I was going to need to shut that shit down if I was going to stay in his employ.

No one wanted a nanny walking around with a boner all day. Maybe it would simmer down once we were not in an enclosed space. If not, I was going to become very friendly with my hand to keep that shit tempered. And it wasn’t like he’d even understand, seeing that he was married before… to a woman. I was a lot of things, but a woman was not one of them. If he liked boobies and vaginas, I was not the one for him. Not that I would have been even if he was into guys, because… boss.

Fuck. I was already thinking thoughts far too dirty. I turned on the news radio. That was sure to de-escalate things, especially with the way politics were going lately. Sure enough, three stories in, I was ready to go. Well, ready-ish. I could at least hide a semi as I found my way back to Marge. Knowing her, she was outside waiting to pounce.

Sure enough, I made it halfway down the hallway before she waved me down. I was going to miss a lot about this place, especially Marge.

“So?” Marge called out before she even made it to me.

“Sewing class is next week, Marge you know that.” I held in a chuckle. One nice thing about Omega House, that wasn’t true for all shelters like ours, there was always a learning opportunity. When I could pun around with them, that made them even better.

“Wise ass.” She elbowed my side. “So, the interview, how did it go?”

“It went.” I shrugged and made my way to the bench. If we walked, we were bound to run into the dinner crowd and I wasn’t ready for this to be common knowledge just yet. I wanted to get my ducks in a row first.

“It went? You need to give me more than that.”

Good old Marge. Not that I would ever call her old to her face. Okay, I would but only in fun.

I sat, but she stood over me, her arms crossed. “I need to do no such thing.” Her pout was hilarious. “You fired my cute butt not too long ago.”

“Do I need to backsie it?”

“Yes. But only for two weeks,” I reassured. Two weeks. It was starting to become reality. There was so much to do in that short period of time. I need to train someone, probably Leo, on the awful paperwork I did, and pack, and I didn’t even know what, but things needed doing. Of that I was sure.

“You took the job.” She gave me a brief hug, her face beaming.

“I did.”

“Isn’t he hot?” She winked my way. I was so not taking that bait, even if he was the hottest man I’d ever laid eyes on. I shook that image from my head, not needing to go back to my aroused state, which imagining him would surely do and in record time. What was it with that alpha? Or more accurately, with me?

“I think you might be outside his age bracket.” I shoulder bumped her with a wink.

“What are you talking about? Sixty is the new twenty.” She feigned shock and we both belt out joyful laughter. I had a feeling I owed Marge far more than I even knew.

“Whatever gets you to sleep at night,” I spit out between laughs.