“I’ll walk with you to Pot of Gold, but I can’t stay,” he said. “I have some things to take care of at the steakhouse today.” He co-owned the very popular restaurant with Vinnie. She’d eaten there a few times—the food was damn good.
“You need to tell the chef to put profiteroles back on the dessert menu,” she said.
“Didn’t you once throw one of those at Moira’s head?”
“Me waste a profiterole? No.” She drank the last of her coffee. “That was Elle.”
“I should’ve guessed,” he mumbled.
Watching him closely, she asked, “You still sure you want to try ‘more’ on for size?”
His brow creased. “Why wouldn’t I be sure?”
“You’ve never had a relationship before, and you’re not used to letting women into your life. It might not be as easy as you think.” And it had occurred to Bree that the thought of her leaving the pride might have spurred him into making such a decision when he wasn’t ready for it.
He shrugged. “That doesn’t mean I can’t do it. I didn’t want to before now. Like I’ve already said, I loathe you much less than I do others. You don’t make me want to throw things at you.”
She couldn’t help but smile. This wasn’t a man who’d hug her much, flatter her, and shower her with romantic gestures. But, in his own way, he’d never let her doubt him. “Well, I’d totally hold in my farts for you.”
Amusement lit his eyes. “That says everything.”
“It does, doesn’t it? Such a strong foundation we have.”
“Exactly, so I’d say we’ve got a chance of making this work. It’s a chance we’re going to take. Now stop asking me stupid questions and let’s go.”
Later that day, as Alex headed to the elevator of his complex, he checked the time on his phone. He needed to hurry if he wanted to catch Bree before she left Pot of Gold. His plan was to escort her home and spend yet another evening with her.
Stepping into the elevator, he pressed the button for the first floor. Deep inside him, his beast paced, eager to get to her. The animal had been in a foul mood ever since Alex parted from her that morning.
He’d first escorted her inside the store and given her a quick kiss. No one had commented, but his mother had given him a nod of approval. Elle and his father seemed pleased as well.
The Cages, particularly Bernadette, wouldn’t be so accepting of the relationship, but Alex had no plans to hide it. They’d likely dismiss it as a meaningless fling. They wouldn’t be worried that Bree would be “stolen” from Paxton. But they would still see it as a betrayal on Alex’s part. And when they realized it was more than a fling, they’d be royally pissed.
Personally, he couldn’t give a rat’s ass. But he would lose all patience with them if they vented their anger on Bree.
The elevator came to a stop two floors below his own. When the doors slid open, he silently cursed. Because standing a few feet in front of him was Drina. His beast rumbled a sound of sheer annoyance.
She blinked. “Hi.”
He didn’t return the greeting.
Drina cautiously stepped into the elevator and turned to face forward. As the metal doors slid closed, she gave him a sideways glance. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday. I was drunk. But that’s no excuse,” she hurried to add.
She was right. There was no excuse for hammering her fists on his front door while yelling his name at the top of her lungs. He hadn’t even been home. He’d been having dinner with Bree when his neighbor called and gave him the lowdown. Apparently, Drina’s mother had come and taken her home.
“It won’t happen again,” she said.
Alex didn’t respond. He just watched the digital number on the elevator screen go lower and lower and lower. He’d already spoken to Vinnie about her behavior. The Alpha intended to have a long talk with her. This shit wasn’t acceptable, and she clearly needed help that she wasn’t getting.
“Look, I know my head’s a mess right now, and I know I need to sort my shit out,” she said. “I will. I swear. And I’ll stop coming to you for … company. But I could really use a friend right now. Not a friend with benefits. Just a friend. One who’s not also Giles’ friend. There aren’t many of them in the pride.”
“Told you, Drina—you want to talk to someone, go to one of the omegas.”
The elevator came to a smooth stop on the first floor. Without a word to the female beside him, Alex stalked out and made a beeline for the exit.
Drina hurried after him. “I don’t want to talk about personal things to someone I barely know. I want to talk to someone I trust.” She paused. “You never asked me why Giles and I didn’t fully imprint.”
“It’s not my business.”
“He had a theory.”
Uninterested, Alex didn’t ask her to expand. He just pushed open the main door and walked out.
She dashed around him and planted herself in his path. “Just listen to me for a sec. Please.”
“Drina, I do not have time for this shit.”
“Giles blamed me when we didn’t imprint on each other. He accused me of caring for you; he said that it was getting in the way of the bond. What if he was right, Alex? What if I couldn’t bond with him for the same reason that you’ve never bonded with other women—what if it’s because we care for each other?”
The fuck? “I’ve told you before, I don’t care for you.”
She jutted out her chin. “I don’t believe that.”
That didn’t surprise him. She seemed determined to believe only what she wanted to believe.
“I love you, Alex.”
Now that got his back up, because … “You don’t even fucking know me.”
She frowned. “That’s not true. We were together for over a month—”
“We were fucking for over a month,” he corrected. “That’s it. You don’t know me at all.” He’d say that very few people outside his immediately family did. Bree was one of them. “You don’t love me, Drina. And I don’t love you. You need to accept that; need to move on with your life. Now we’re done here.” Alex skirted around her and stalked away.
He glanced at his phone again to check the time. Shit. Bree had usually already left the jewelry store by now. It was possible that she was already gone. Cursing beneath his breath, he quickened his pace.
She’d never been followed before. It was super weird.
At first, Bree had thought her instincts were off and that her pacing feline was just being paranoid. Because, seriously, who stalked a pallas cat while surrounded by dozens of her pride mates?
Now yeah, okay, the enforcers were being somewhat discreet in patrolling the streets, easily blending in with the public, but it was really a no-brainer that there’d be some hanging around, right?
Her tail was at least ten feet behind her in the middle of the street. She’d caught a brief glimpse of him when twisting to apologize to a stranger for, just to give her an excuse to turn, accidentally-on-purpose bumping into them. He was tall. Kind of podgy. Clean-shaven. Average facial features that her cat would like to claw off.