Chapter Text
Luka slowly opened his eyes. As usual, the birds chirping outside the window woke him right on time. He spent a few minutes staring up at the ceiling, then reached down and gripped his right knee, gently drawing his leg up and rotating it in circles to loosen the joint. His knee was always very stiff in the morning.
During this early part of the day, Luka thought about nothing. There was not a ripple in his mind, and often he felt tired at the thought that sooner or later he would have to pick up his phone. He wanted to enjoy this feeling for as long as possible. Once he had stretched his right leg, he would stretch the left. The left did not need as much time as the other one.
He sat up sluggishly. Had he stayed up a little too late last night? But it had been a good movie, and Luka did not need to get up early. His shift ran from two in the afternoon until eight in the evening. He limped into the kitchen with his phone in hand. It would take a while for his legs to find their rhythm again.
Throwing the window wide open to let in the morning sunlight, Luka began checking his phone. There was not much besides a few voice messages from his mother, sent both directly to Luka and to the family group chat. His precious little sister had messaged him asking him to buy something and send it home.
“I make honey burek this morning. The one you like, you know? Since it’s Friday, I thought I’d make a little extra for everyone to eat over the weekend.”
“Ana isn’t listening to me anymore. I keep telling her she has to tidy her room, but she just ignores me. You walk in there and her things are everywhere.”
“Are you going anywhere this weekend?”
He listened to all the messages his mother had left while boiling water for a pot of tea, then sat down beside the window and looked out at the street. Ana was messy? At her age, Luka had probably been the same. The only difference was that back then, his mother had not had as much free time as she did now.
“I’ll probably stay home and study.”
After thinking for a moment, Luka replied to the message about the burek: Send me a picture.
After finishing his tea, Luka returned to his room, opened his laptop, and began studying. He was taking a remote course in administrative management. Once he earned the certificate, he would be qualified to handle management work for small and medium-sized businesses. He was not particularly gifted at studying, but he thought quickly and had a great deal of patience, which was a strength in its own right.
Around eleven, Luka ate lunch, spent a little while on his phone, then headed to the gym. Marija had used her connections to rent Luka an apartment only a fifteen-minute walk from the flower shop, and the gym was right beside it, so he could go straight to work after his workout. Luka especially liked this gym because they had invested heavily in the omega-only area. After doing his heavier exercises, Luka usually swam for half an hour, then went to the quiet room to warm himself in the sun. As someone who always needed familiar, repeating routines, Luka went to the gym every day before work. Physical activity kept him calm. And although his leg did not allow him to train it too heavily, by that time of day his knee joint was no longer so stiff, and he could still exercise lightly.
Can you come a little earlier? Luka read Lucia’s message just after his shower, while drying his hair by the lockers. I have something to do today and want to leave early, she wrote.
It was not as though he was far away. Luka reacted to the message with a heart, then pulled his T-shirt over his head. He quickly packed his things into his bag and left.
“Hello.” He spoke as he entered the shop to the jingle of the bell. Lucia was on her phone behind the register and looked up.
“Very good. So obedient. Ten out of ten.” The girl sprang to her feet, took off her apron, then slipped into the staff room at the back to collect her things.
“What’s happening today?” Luka asked.
“Nothing. I just want to meet my friends a little earlier.” Lucia called from the back, then came out briskly, her bag already over her shoulder and her coat in her hands. “There are two orders that need to be sent out at three this afternoon. New flowers are arriving tomorrow morning, don’t forget.”
“All right.” He nodded to reassure her. Lucia was the youngest daughter of Marija, the shop owner. Marija had been an old neighbor of Luka’s family many years ago. She had moved to Spain with her family, but she and his mother had never lost touch, and ever since learning that Luka was coming to Madrid, Marija had always checked in on him and helped him as though he were one of her own.
Luka put his things away, tied on his apron, and began his working day. In the mornings, Marija and Lucia usually check the new flowers, sorted them, and made bouquets. They also prepared the morning orders. When Luka came in, his job was to check everything again and make notes on which flowers needed to be reordered. New flowers were delivered twice a week. On those days, Luka had to wake very early to receive them, though afterward he could go home and sleep again.
He turned on the radio for some music. He read the note Lucia had left about the two bouquets and moved around the shop, looking for suitable flowers. One birthday bouquet and one bouquet for a baby’s one-month celebration. They had not asked for much. A birthday? Pink garden roses, burgundy ranunculus, cream lisianthus, deep-purple scabiosa, and a few stems of eucalyptus. The one-month bouquet was for a baby girl. White lisianthus, cream spray roses, blue tweedia, small chamomile flowers, and white waxflower. Each bouquet took about half an hour, and Luka was in no hurry. Today did not seem like it would be a busy day.
When he was finished, he called the delivery driver, then changed the radio station to the news. His Spanish had improved considerably, partly because Luka diligently listened to the radio whenever he worked. He also tried to speak with customers as much as possible, though he was not someone who liked to talk. Fortunately, the shop’s customers were always cheerful and enthusiastic. Nearly half of them were elderly women, and they especially liked Luka.
He was checking the order list for the following week when the shop phone suddenly rang.
“Hello, Flores Marija. How can I help you?”
“I need to order a birthday bouquet.” The voice on the other end was deep and steady, making it difficult to guess the speaker’s mood.
“Ah, yes. May I ask when you need it?”
“Tonight, at six.”
Luka glanced at the clock. It was already past five in the afternoon. There was not enough time. A bouquet like that would take more than half an hour to prepare, and there was no way to have it delivered in time unless the customer was right next door.
“That won’t be possible. Our delivery driver has already finished for the day. We usually deliver from the morning until four in the afternoon.”
There was the sound of a distant conversation on the other end of the line before the person replied, “What if we come and pick it up?”
Luka thought for two seconds. “Then there’s probably enough time. May I ask what your budget is for the bouquet?”
“Around five hundred is fine. The budget isn’t an issue.”
His eyes widened slightly. “We don’t have flowers that expensive. Even our largest bouquets are only around two hundred.”
“Then two hundred.”
“May I ask what main color you’d like?”
“Someone will come to collect it now.”
“The earliest it will be ready is five forty-five.”
“As soon as possible.” With that, the person on the other end hung up.
They had given him no other information. Luka thought for a moment, trying to come up with a neutral bouquet suitable for a birthday he knew nothing about. Perhaps cream lisianthus, rosemary... Then his train of thought was cut short when the doorbell rang and a customer pushed open the shop door.
“I honestly don’t know what I pay you people for when I have to do everything myself.” The man spoke into his phone in an irritated voice. He was an alpha, tall and broad, radiating an expensive air of authority at first glance. He looked slightly thuggish too, his arms covered in tattoos.
“Hello,” Luka said, still searching for suitable flowers for the order.
“Hello.” The man lowered the phone from his ear. “I’m here to collect the flower order for six.”
“I said on the phone that I needed time. Please wait a moment.” Luka had the feeling this man and the person on the phone were two different people. “By the way, can you tell me what kind of bouquet you want?”
“It’s for my older brother. Make it something minimal. He doesn’t like anything too colorful.”
“You can sit down.”
“I’m in a hurry.” The man frowned. “I don’t have time to sit.”
“Then you can go somewhere and come back in thirty minutes.”
He looked at Luka as though he could not believe what he had just heard. Then he made a show of accepting it, drew a deep breath and let it out before going over to sit in the customer chair.
“What color does your brother like?” Luka asked. He already had an idea for the bouquet in mind, but he still wanted to make sure everything turned out well.
“I don’t know.”
“Is there anything that might help me choose a nice bouquet for him?”
“He likes going to the beach, playing golf, and smoking cigars.” The man gave a mocking laugh, though he seemed to be laughing at himself as well.
“All right.”
Luka prepared the flowers with practiced ease. He took a few olive branches and tied them together with blue-gray thistle, then placed a burgundy anemone among the cream lisianthus. He knew the customer was in a hurry, but he still could not do a careless job.
After sitting for a while, the alpha answered his phone again. “Yes, it’s me. I’m picking up the flowers now, Mom, you don’t need to worry. It’s on the way anyway, so I’ll be home a little after six.”
Luka did not want to be curious. Ever since the man had walked in, although the shop was filled with the scent of flowers, floral water, and cold air, Luka could still feel the warmth of his amber-like alpha scent. It sent a small electric shock down Luka’s spine. The omega in him really, really, really liked this alpha.
“Not bad.” The alpha spoke and stepped closer when the bouquet was nearly finished. As he bent down to look at it, his scent passed through the rosemary and the freshly cut olive branches—warm, dry wood, leather, and a trace of cigarette smoke still clinging to his collar. The rest was a very natural alpha scent, difficult to name.
Luka tightened his grip on the scissors. “Please stand on the other side of the counter. It’s almost done.”
“You’re not from here, are you?” the alpha made small talk with Luka.
“No, but I live here now.”
“This red flower is nice. Add more of them.”
“If I add more, the bouquet will be too beautiful,” Luka replied.
“Doesn’t my bouquet need to be beautiful?” The alpha looked surprised.
“It needs to be suitable. You just said he likes minimal things and doesn’t like anything colorful.”
The alpha nodded thoughtfully, then his phone vibrated again. A busy man.
“I’m coming. I’m right outside the gate now,” he said just as Luka finished tying the ribbon.
“Yours is ready.”
“How much is it?”
“One seventy-five.”
The alpha took money from his wallet and handed it to Luka as he accepted the bouquet. “Thank you.” He turned and hurried outside.
“Wait...” Luka called after him, but the alpha only turned back and winked before the door slammed shut.
Looking down at the money in his hand, Luka saw that the man had given him two two-hundred bills. They did not get an order this large every day, and customers did not always leave such generous tips.
The alpha’s scent lingered in the shop for a while, then slowly thinned beneath the flowers and the cold air. Luka stood still for a moment before beginning to close out the day and clean up. He entered the wrong number while printing the final receipt and had to correct it himself. It was not as though he had never met large, powerful alphas before. He did not know what had distracted him this time.
Just as he was almost finished cleaning, Marija called and invited him over for dinner, so Luka quickly closed the shop, quietly pleased that he would not have to eat alone tonight.