The Arrangement (Omegas of Hunter's Point Book 1)

Chapter 16

Damian was excellent company, but once he went to work, Von was by herself, and it didn't take long for the novelty of not working to become dull. With so much unaccustomed free time, Von had almost too much time on her hands. She used it to read, quickly burning through her e-reader content. But even that got boring. Next thing she knew, she found herself tuning into the morning and afternoon televised content aimed at omega homemakers, those domestic goddesses who somehow balanced the complex expectations of mate, mother, cook, housekeeper, laundress, arbiter, bookkeeper, and law enforcement officer in the same body, and just as mysteriously made it look effortless.

Her mother had always been good at the effortless part. Daddy had never seen what went on behind the scenes: Mom simultaneously making a three-course meal suited to the tastes of a grown man, two picky little girls, a fussy toddler and herself, while also helping Aily with math, entertaining Liam on his play mat a few feet away, and monitoring Von's piano and cello lessons. He never saw her rush upstairs and take the world's fastest shower so she could present him with a fresh face and styled hair. He never saw the piles of laundry, the never-ending dirty dishes, the hours spent cleaning together with the beta housekeeper, Mrs. Havloch, all to meet his sky-high expectations. Mom told her that was by design. He wasn't meant to know what went on while he was away. No alpha was meant to know, and it was part of an omega's job never to burden her alpha with that knowledge. When Von had asked Mom why she didn't want Daddy to know how hard she worked, she had simply replied that he did know. No sooner had Von asked how Mom knew he knew than Daddy arrived home with a dozen roses and two dozen kisses for his "beautiful princess."

As a young girl, Von had idolized her mother, had striven to be just like her. Mom kept Daddy so happy. By doing as Mom did, Siobhan would be able to keep her alpha happy, too. Then had come her diagnosis and preparing for an alpha who would never arrive suddenly seemed to be a massive waste of time. But once not long ago, Von had been pretty capable in the kitchen, when she chose to be.

Boredom drove her to consider dusting off some of those skills. Damian found cooking therapeutic, and Von had used to feel the same about baking. It had been years, though. Cooking with Tara that afternoon had featured a butter pecan cake with homemade icing. The show's website would have the recipe. Wouldn't that be a nice treat? Damian could come home to a flat that smelled like baking goodies, and they could both have cake for dessert.

Why not? Why the hells not?

She walked into the kitchen, opening the door to Damian's pantry. Flour, sugar (granulated and powdered), baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla extract were all present. She knew there were butter, milk, and eggs in the fridge. No pecans, but oh, well. She'd make do without them.

With the recipe open on her phone, Von assembled the ingredients as directed. She was pleased to discover she wasn't as rusty as she'd feared. The mixture was smooth as silk with nary a lump to be seen. Issues arose when she went looking for cake pans. Damian didn't have any, round or rectangular. He did, however, have several well-used loaf pans. Von marveled at what that implied.

Damian knew how to make his own bread.

She began scheming on how to get him to do exactly that as she greased the two largest of the loaf pans. There was more than enough batter for two cakes. Once she had them in the oven, timer set, she quickly rinsed the dishes she'd used, put them in the dishwasher, and scrubbed down the countertop.

The cakes would need to both bake and cool before they could be frosted, so she took the initiative to explore the library. Damian had quite the eclectic collection. Alongside the usual collector's editions of the classics that all home libraries seemed to have, were legal thrillers, mysteries, graphic novels, and a handful of trendier adult fantasy titles. Nothing struck her as particularly compelling.

What caught her eye, instead, was the corner bookshelf nearest his desk that was packed ceiling to floor with what looked to be a miniature law library. Dog-eared and much-highlighted copies of Legal Terminology, Criminal Defense Techniques and Tools, Criminal Law Principles and Enforcement, Trial Practice Manual for Criminal Defense Attorneys, and volume upon volume of Provincial Criminal Defense Motions had pride of place near a mammoth tome that proved to be half of the provincial penal code. She found the other half resting on the desk. Hefting one such weighty paperback, Criminal Law and Procedure, she flipped through it, and found herself intrigued.

No wonder Damian was so into this stuff.

That's where Damian discovered her when he got home - curled up on the leather couch in the library about halfway through the chapter on standards of proof. "There you are," he said. "I was calling you and you didn't answer." He flopped down on the couch beside her.

"Sorry," Von mumbled, distracted. She finished the paragraph she was on, then closed the book. "I was reading."

"I can see that," Damian teased, pulling the book across her lap to his. "Interesting choice, given all the other stuff in here that's infinitely more entertaining. Did you make cake?"

Von shrugged. "I got bored. It was supposed to be a pecan cake, but you didn't have pecans."

"It's just as well. I'm allergic to most tree nuts," he said, absently flipping through pages. "If you need groceries, just call down to the doorman. He'll get you whatever you need. And when you run through all these, I can get my old textbooks out of storage." He handed her the book.

"I'll leave you to it. Give me an hour and we'll have dinner. Chicken okay?"

"Chicken sounds great." Leaving Damian to prepare dinner alone after working all day did not.

"Can I help?"

Damian brightened. "Sure."