Blizzards and Brews (Holiday Hollow Omegaverse)

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lindsay

I t was a few days later that I finally got the opportunity to take Ollie out.

It seemed surreal that we’d spent a heat together and were living together but had never been out on a single date just us. And while I already wore his mark and he was mine, I still wanted to make sure I made him feel special and wanted.

Never again did I want him to feel like he or his designation was a burden. I loved him exactly as he was and I’d spend the rest of my life reinforcing that with my actions.

To tell you the truth, I kind of loved the fact that I got to plan something for him. Adam and Spencer always took the lead when we were out, and Dustin and I usually found our path together, but with Ollie I had the opportunity to put something together myself.

I had planned the date of all dates, and I’m pretty sure Spencer would want to bow down to me afterwards with how happy I was going to make our omega.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Ollie asked.

He was seated next to me in the car, both of his hands holding my free one as I drove us down Main Street. “You’ll see soon enough, we’re almost there. I promise you’ll love it.”

“I’ll love anything we get to do together,” he said sincerely, with a deep sigh. “Honestly, I haven’t felt this centered in all my life. I know everything is going to work out, and I’m just so damn…”

“Happy?”

Ollie laughed. “It feels like too paltry of a word.”

I squeezed his hand in mine, pulling up to the curb in front of our destination. Ollie’s blue eyes widened as he saw the sign for The Confectionary and he looked at me excitedly.

“Are we starting off with some of Adrien’s world class chocolates because that sounds amazing?”

Adrien was one of my best friend Claire’s alphas, and was a classically trained French chocolatier. The things he made were absolutely sinful, and thankfully for me, he was giving me a bestie benefit and helping me with Ollie’s surprise today.

“Something like that,” I said, putting the car in park and going around to open his door.

He humphed. “You know you don’t have to do that just because I’m an omega. I’m still me.”

“And that’s the reason I’m doing it,” I countered with a pointed look. “Not because you’re an omega but because you’re you and you’re mine . Next time we go out, the two of us, if you want to do it for me then so be it, but you’re going to accept all the spoiling I have planned today without feeling guilty, okay?”

He pulled me to him then, tucking me under his chin. Even with his lither stature, Ollie was still taller than me, all of the guys were.

“I love being yours,” he said after a moment. “Just be prepared to be smothered in affection for the rest of the foreseeable future.”

I gave him a sweet kiss. “I’m pretty sure I can handle that.”

The two of us walked hand in hand into The Confectionary, the smells of buttery croissants and rich chocolate filling my lungs and making my mouth water.

Adrien gave me a nod from behind the counter, talking to one of his employees before coming to greet us.

“I’m so glad we could arrange this,” Adrien said. “I have a space for us set up in the back. Follow me.”

The alpha walked away without another word, the two of us following him back into the kitchen where one of his stainless steel workbenches was set up with bowls of chocolate and fillings, molds, and toppings galore.

“What?” Ollie asked, looking towards me.

Adrien chuckled. “Je désolé. I didn’t realize she didn’t tell you.”

“Surprise!” I said, with a wide grin. “We’re going to be making our own chocolate bars. As many as you want.”

“I want them all,” Ollie said happily. I bit back a laugh as he did a happy dance. Then again, who wouldn’t when presented with limitless chocolate combinations? “This is so freaking cool. Thank you both for doing this, I’m so excited.”

“I went ahead and tempered all the chocolate so it should be ready for you to use. Let me walk you through the logistics of making one and then I’ll let you two have some fun on your own.”

Ollie and I watched as Adrien filled a mold with liquid dark chocolate only to turn it back over into the bowl once the mold was coated. After he scraped it, he showed us where his blast chiller was and we set it inside while he went over all the fillings and toppings we could choose from.

By the time he was finished, the base of the bar was ready to go and he chose to fill it with a white chocolate peaches and cream ganache before coating it in white chocolate and adding a bit of pink himalayan salt overtop.

“The top layer will need to set again but that doesn’t take longer than a couple minutes in the chiller. Any questions?”

“How many is too many to make?” Ollie asked seriously.

Adrien smiled wide. “My omega and beta would say the limit does not exist. There’s a reason I brought out all the molds I have.”

“I knew I liked Claire and Riley,” Ollie said with a laugh. “You all should come by with Vance for the Winter Festival. We’d love to treat you to a few flights of our seasonal selection.”

Adrien nodded. “C’est bon, merci. I’ll be in the front, call me if you need anything.”

“Where do I start?” Ollie asked, more to himself than me. I grabbed the apron and handed his over, tying the back when he turned before he did the same to me.

“Anywhere,” I mused as I leaned in to study the toppings. He had a bit of everything but my eyes zeroed in on the coffee and cream mixture he’d made. It was a thick filling that smelled like heaven.

“I’m starting with coffee,” I sang out as I brought it closer and grabbed a mold. Adrien had made it look easy but the moment I tried to pour it evenly in the mold I was suddenly very thankful for the aprons he’d left us.

I threw the mold in the blast chiller so I could keep going, giving Ollie my attention again.

“Shit,” Ollie cursed and I burst out laughing as I watched him swipe at his cheek, streaking chocolate there. His mold was messier than mine but he was determined.

Leaning over, I swiped my tongue over the sweet milk chocolate, chuckling softly at his soft intake of breath.

“Good choice,” I teased as I retrieved my base again. “Don’t worry, we’ll be professionals by the time this is over.”

He gave me a look that told me he had doubts but I went back to drizzling my coffee filling before adding another thick layer of dark chocolate and putting it to cool.

Ollie was drizzling a bit of everything in his bar. Peanut butter, pretzel chunks, the works.

His tongue was stuck out as he focused on filling it evenly and pouring more chocolate on top.

“That’s a monstrosity,” I said but he looked so adorably proud of his crazy creation I couldn’t help but grin.

“I’m thinking s’mores next,” he said. “Make it with me?”

“Done,” I said, grabbing a bigger mold this time.

“You do the base,” he said as he casually slid it over like it wasn’t a way to avoid making a mess again. Brat.

I carefully filled it, doing a much better job this time. Ollie sprinkled graham cracker crumble in the bottom before I set it in the chiller so it could soak in a bit of the chocolate.

We worked side by side, our scents mixing and a happy calm spreading between us as we worked. I’d always thought of Dustin as my calming force, but being this close to Ollie, with all of our feelings out in the open showed me he was as well.

He was just as solid as his brothers, his force a more calming wave. His smile could chase away my bad moods and he was always able to read me easily. He would do anything for those he cared about, something the triplets shared, but when it came to me, Ollie was never quite as hidden with his attraction to me.

This man wore his heart on his sleeve and now I was a protector of it. I knew as I watched him pour chocolate that I’d do anything to keep him smiling our entire lives together. We wouldn’t be alone, we had a whole pack behind us, but Ollie truly was the heart of this group.

“Why are you staring at me, is there more chocolate?” he asked as he swiped at his flaming red cheeks.

“Nope,” I said, kissing his cheek and feeling the heat under my lips. “It’s just me being sappy over here.”

“You, sappy?” he snorted, but the pleased smile on his face was everything. “Grab the base, woman, we have chocolate to make.”

“On it,” I promised, grabbing the base and sliding it in front of him. He carefully plopped down a gob of marshmallow fluff and another layer of graham crackers. I squished it down so it flattened out before adding the top layer. It was a bit lumpier than my other bar, but I knew it would be delicious.

We continued like that, working side by side, until we’d filled every single mold Adrien had given us. I was just wiping up our mess and helping Ollie clean the dishes we used when our chocolatier came back. He grinned at the display of our creations.

“These look magnifique,” he praised as he folded a few boxes, delicately placing the bars in there like they were a true treasure, not a hot mess of our own creation.

Then again, Ollie looked at them the same way.

Mission accomplished.

“Tell me there’s food planned after this so I don’t have to feel bad when we devour these later,” Ollie whispered.

“Food is planned,” I promised.

“Have a good time, here are your chocolates,” Adrien said as he handed over the pretty box.

“Thank you again,” I said, giving him a bright smile. He’d definitely undercharged me for this date and I appreciated that he was so kind. It meant a lot to Ollie… and me.

“So, where to now?” Ollie asked as I put the box carefully in the back seat.

“Aww,” the excited squeak had both of us freezing and sharing a look before plastering smiles on our faces.

“Mrs. Smith,” I greeted the older woman. She had her hands clasped in front of her and her gray hair piled high on top of her head. She was wearing an ugly holiday sweater that she certainly didn’t find gaudy in the least.

“It’s so good to see you finally together. We all knew it was only a matter of time,” she gushed, clapping her wrinkled hands in delight. Her green eyes were full of sappy emotions and I wanted to be anywhere but here.

“We are,” I confirmed, wrapping my fingers around Ollie’s. “We’re off to dinner now. It’s date night.”

“Oh, how cute!” she gushed. “A little bird told me that you went into Adrien’s shop and I just had to flutter on down here and see for myself.”

Because she was a shameless gossip… but I kept that thought to myself. Which was a feat as she kept going on about us as kids, rehashing all the awkward moments this town witnessed.

Holiday Hollow was home. It was amazing and sweet and the residents were some of my favorite people in the world.

It also had its downfalls. Like listening to old ladies stop you from getting food for their own entertainment.

Okay, maybe I was getting hangry.

“As much as we’d love to stay and chat, we can’t miss our reservations. It was so nice to see you, Mrs. Smith. Tell Hector hi for us!” I said in a rush, grabbing his hand and pulling him along with me.

“Where are we going?” Ollie hissed.

“You know that empty building around the corner? Claire told me that there’s a pop up restaurant there for the next few weeks. We all thought it was just under construction and it was all hush hush. Well, she said they were looking for people for an exclusive dining experience. I got us in.”

“What?!” he gasped, eyes widening with excitement and shock.

“Come on,” I said, turning the corner in question. It didn’t look like anything on the outside but when I pushed open the door the inside was amazing.

The exposed brick walls were covered in copper decorations. The tables were dark wood and copper, giving it an almost steampunk vibe, especially with the gears hanging above the tables with Edison bulbs swinging below.

“Welcome, welcome. Name?” a man asked as he swept toward the door. He had his red hair slicked back and a fully tailored suit on. His smile was wide and welcoming.

“Drake,” I offered with a smile.

“Ah, guests of honor,” he said as he turned. “Follow me.”

“‘Guests of honor?’” Ollie asked, but I was just as baffled as he was.

“My friend Claire told me to treat you like royalty, you’re our VIPs tonight,” he said as he led us to a small, two-person table in the corner. It was set away from the others and had partition walls with ivy hanging down separating us.

“Thank you,” I said, too shocked to offer a more eloquent response.

“You are more than welcome,” he promised. “Now, in your reservation you said chef’s choice. Be prepared for perfection.”

He was teasing but the confidence in his tone was reassuring.

After taking our drink order he was gone again and Ollie was blinking at me.

“All this for me?”

“Of course,” I said as I took his hands in mine. There was a slight tremble to them and I frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“It just feels like too much,” he said but I wasn’t having it.

“Hey, I said no guilt, remember?” I said gently. “This is just enough. Plus, I’m going to be spoiled too. Did you hear him talk? That man knows fine dining. This is a fun, new experience. We’ll have plenty more together.”

“I’m so lucky,” he said as he blinked away tears.

“I am too,” I promised, kissing his hand and making him blush again. It was quickly becoming one of my favorite things.

The next hour was a whirlwind of amazing gourmet dishes and enough food that by the time I was walking him out of the door we were both borderline miserable.

“I don’t think I can eat our dessert,” I said as we ambled down the sidewalk toward my car. “Good thing we’re walking part of the way.”

“Agreed,” he said with a happy sigh. “No regrets. This was my favorite day with you.”

“Mine too,” I agreed.

“I kind of don’t want it to end,” Ollie confessed.

I smiled wide. “Then it won’t. There’s one more thing we have to do.”

“What?”

“Go seduce our alpha together, of course.”