Page 50 of Packing for Vacation

I laugh, and she grins, setting the kindle down and rolling to face me.

“He's a cinnamon roll,” she whispers.

It’s so easy to grab a handful of her ass, to hold her close, to kiss her. I could do this forever. “I’ll take your word for it,” I tell her, ignoring the little thought in the back of my mind that I should tell her now about Scott, Elaine, and I. She’ll know by tomorrow night. “Finish your chapter, then,” I whisper as her lips press a kiss to my neck. She takes a deep breath, nuzzling against me, her limbs growing slack with sleep.

I reach over, clicking the off button on her kindle, settling back to sleep, the omega I love in my arms.

Chapter Nineteen

Lizzie

The market is a busy outdoor affair, set up on a grassy park that sits opposite Paihia’s beach. It’s hot, the sun beaming down in a bright blue sky, and with only a few days to go before Christmas, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the holiday occurs in the middle of summer. It’s one thing to see it on paper, and another thing entirely to experience it in person, the culture shock making me feel like I’ve entered some alternate universe.

A good alternate universe. It may all be new, may be disorientating with the opposite seasons, and there’s so much to learn, but I can’t remember the last time I was this happy and relaxed.

I’m in the middle of taste testing various New Zealand honeys from a local beekeeper’s stall when Matiu nudges me, wearing a big grin on his face. He gestures over his shoulder with a lift of his chin, and my gaze scans the crowd as he draws close, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “Have you seen Santa yet?”

My eyes settle on an older gentleman with sunburnt skin and a fake Santa beard, matching wig, and the usual red with white fur trim hat, but then I register the rest of his outfit. Sunglasses. A Hawaiian shirt. Swim shorts. Flip flops. I let out a loud laugh before I can stop myself, and Matiu laughs along with me, making me feel less self-conscious about the heads that turn in our direction.

“Is he the actual Santa for this event? That’s the uniform for Kiwi Santas?”

“He’s Santa for the day, yeah. The outfit choice varies up and down the motu. There’s plenty that still opt for the full Santa suit, but can you imagine it in this weather?”

I shake my head. “No way. Where’s Scott, by the way? He was here a minute ago.”

“Making friends again,” Matiu points, and I follow the line of his finger, grinning when I spot Scott once again chatting up an elderly woman while Barry greets her dog, a greyhound, with the usual sniff of the behind. Scott points in our direction and the woman’s eyes meet mine through the crowd. I lift my hand in a quick wave, smiling, and she returns the gesture. It’s all so quick but it somehow feels monumental. There’s my alpha, pointing out his pack to an acquaintance, and here we are waving back, a happy family.

It’s all I’ve ever wanted.

I pay for a jar of mānuka honey and take Matiu’s hand, our fingers lacing together like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Alpha, my omega whispers oh so quietly, happy and content, and I lean into Matiu, his scent faint beneath the neutralising spray we’re both wearing.

“So what are you thinking about Christmas day? Do you and Scott stay up this way, or…” Matiu asks. My stomach flips at the question.

“I think we go with you.”

It’s always been a given that Matiu will spend the day with his daughter on Christmas, but it was only this morning that he floated the idea of Scott and I going with him to attend the lunchtime gathering his parents always host.

“You sure? The whole whānau will be there,” he reminds me. “I understand if you want to wait ’til next year, given everything.”

’Til next year. I smile and pull him down for a kiss, ignoring the crowd around us, the hope of next year, off all the future years ahead of us, blossoming in my chest.

“I’m sure. I’m nervous, but I’ll be nervous whenever I meet your family. Putting it off only delays the inevitable, and I want to meet Amo. Besides, based on the last heat I had, I’m certain we’ve got another week up our sleeves before my heat hits.”

After the most amazing lunch of hāngī—generous portions of chicken, pork, and stuffing, along with large pieces of potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, and topped with cabbage leaves, all cooked together and infused with an earthiness I’ve never tasted before—we return to the bach, only for Scott to declare that he and Matiu are heading back out again.

“What do you mean you’re going to the shops?”

“Well, turns out it’s really hard to buy gifts for someone when they’re right there,” Scott says, shaking his head dramatically. “Shocking, I know.”

“You guys don’t need to buy me gifts,” I protest, earning me a long look from Matiu.

“You’re an omega.”

“Yes, I am aware of that fact.”

“You squealed when I told you I’d purchased you something second-hand.”

“I did not squeal!” I totally did, and we both know it. “And I love thrifted things.”