Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
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He’s infuriating, charming, and ridiculous.
She still hasn’t forgiven him for using his Influence to have dinner with her, but it’s hard to stay mad as she marvels at Elmwood.
If it weren’t for Cole, she wouldn’t have come here based on Darlene’s warning about the murders.
She wouldn’t be walking into a restaurant styled like a luxury cabin, with beautiful polished wood on the outside and floor to ceiling windows on the inside. Soft chandelier lights barely illuminate the small tables and add to the intimacy of the place. White tablecloths adorn each sitting area, along with tea light candles in glass holders.
It’s the loveliest restaurant she’s ever been in, and it's obvious Cole intended for this to be a date.
She wants to hate him for his deception, but she can’t.
She’s too dazzled by her surroundings and the ambience of the restaurant .
It’s romantic, intimate, and far out of her price range.
She’s also underdressed. Her sweater is appropriate, but she’s sure the faded jeans are against their dress code.
“Mister Cross, welcome back,” the hostess smiles at him. She’s a pretty Beta woman, and Bree doesn’t miss the way her eyes look Cole up and down.
She’s not jealous. If the hostess knew how intense he was, she wouldn’t want anything to do with him.
She’s not jealous at all.
“Thank you,” Cole says evenly.
“Two tonight?” the hostess asks, shooting a glance at Bree. She catches the hostess’ expression, a quick look of disappointment on her face.
This is ridiculous. Bree isn’t jealous.
This isn’t even a real date, at least not one she agreed to.
She was coerced into this dinner, so she should be thankful that Cole may want the attention of someone else and will finally leave her alone after this.
But that doesn’t stop the aching feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“That’s correct,” Cole replies, giving the hostess a bland smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.
He’s never smiled like that at her, she realizes.
She wonders how often he uses a fake smile with people and that dull, polite tone—she knows she does it far more often than she should.
It’s hard for her to be herself around people.
They’re led to a private corner booth next to one of the massive windows, giving her a beautiful view of the woods.
For a moment, she imagines what it would be like to quit her job and stay in Green Woods. She would be friends with Darlene and get a job at the café with her.
Maybe she’d even get a cat, orange and fat, like Oscar.
“You’re lost in thought,” Cole murmurs, and she jolts back to reality, meeting his piercing eyes. He sits across from her, the low light illuminating the shadows of his face. “Anything on your mind you’d like to share?”
She bites back a retort and decides to be honest with him. She’s tired of arguing, and there’s no point in ruining a nice dinner, especially if he’s her ride back.
“It’s beautiful here,” she says. “And I’m thinking I’m grateful to be here. I wouldn’t have gone to Elmwood if you hadn’t taken me. Because of…you know.”
It’s her way of saying thanks.
He drums his long, pale fingers on the table, and she tries not to imagine them inside her. Her inner Omega longs for him, no matter how hard she tries to fight it.
“Because of the murders,” he finishes for her, holding her gaze.
She nods, ignoring the feeling of uncertainty as he continues to stare at her.
“What do you know about them?” he asks her.
Her anxiety grows. Why does it feel like he’s testing her?
“Just that it was two men, and they were found in barrels,” she says slowly.
He shrugs. “Green Woods just had a prisoner escape, and he killed a guard. Yet you’re still there on your own.”
“I—” They’re interrupted as the hostess brings them their menus, and she shoots another look at Bree. She gives the hostess one back, looking at her in disbelief as she huffs and walks away.
What the hell?
“Everything okay?” Cole asks, looking at her curiously.
“She likes you,” Bree blurts out like a child. “I think she’s mad that I’m here.”
“Who? The hostess?”
She nods. “Yes. It’s obvious. Do you not see how she’s been looking at you? ”
Cole blinks, then bursts out laughing. It’s a genuine sound of delight, and Bree finds that she likes it far too much. It makes him look younger and lights up his eyes.
“I honestly didn’t notice. But it’s flattering that you’re jealous.”
She balks at him.
The nerve this man has.
“No more jealous than you are after fake boyfriends and husbands,” she snaps back, emboldened. “And for absolutely no reason.”
“My reasoning is that you’d rather lie about a fictitious partner than be honest with me,” he quips, narrowing his eyes.
“Do I owe you honesty, though?” she asks. “We’re strangers. We’ve known each other for two days, at most. You already said I owe you a dinner. Now I owe you every detail about my life?”
His scent darkens, the citrus mixing with a rich spice.
He’s growing angry, and it’s mouthwatering .
His jaw clenches, but he remains silent, so she continues.
“You want to talk about honesty? How about you tell me exactly what you were doing at the prison that morning. You know why I was there. I was researching. I was trying to figure out what could have possibly happened between the killer and the social worker. That’s what I do .” She doesn’t know why her hands are trembling.
Just then, their server arrive with water and a breadbasket. He smiles at both of them, and Bree thinly returns it back, while Cole just glares until he makes himself sparse.
So much for being polite.
And so much for keeping her composure. Her emotions from the last few days are pouring through her all at once, despite doing her best to keep them contained.
“Just tell me why you were there,” she implores. “Please. Give me some context, or some logical explanation why you found me in that basement.”
There’s a tense moment where he just stares at her, searching her gaze for something.
She holds her breath. There’s something he’s not telling her.
She has a feeling there’s a lot of things he hasn’t bothered to tell her.
“I scented you,” he admits quietly. “And it was impossible to ignore you after that.”
She exhales.
“I thought you were in danger at first,” he says. “I couldn’t figure out why an Omega would be there, in the first place. The front doors were ajar and I just…followed your scent. And here we are.”
Bree can’t look at him anymore. She reaches for a piece of the fluffy warm bread, busying herself with buttering it.
She’s so, so foolish.
Her purse isn’t even on her, which means her phone isn’t, either.
Cole is her only way out of Elmwood. Darlene doesn’t even know where she is right now.
“You can’t just follow people because you want to,” she bites out, dropping the knife. It clatters against the tablecloth and her hand shakes as she struggles to pick it back up.
She’s about to have a panic attack at the table. He really had no reason to be there except that he scented her.
That’s not normal.
It’s…borderline stalking.
“And you can’t trespass on private property just because you want to, but you did anyway,” he says, his voice gentle. She can’t stand the way he looks at her, his eyes soft and his expression open. She hates that one genuine smile from him makes her heart flutter and has her reconsidering her life choices. “You’re lucky I found you, and not someone else. You came here alone. Anything could have happened to you.”
“You happened to me,” she whispers.
He nods. “I did.”
She nibbles at her bread, but even the savory, creamy taste of the butter can’t distract her from the anxiety that churns in her gut.
“But don’t think it’s one sided, Breana,” Cole continues. “ You happened to me as well. I didn’t ask for this.”
She stares at him, dumbfounded. “Ask for what ?”
“For you to come and turn my world upset down.”
He’s delusional. He’s completely out of his mind, and it’s time for her to leave.
The hostess can have him.
She’s nobody. She doesn’t have the power to alter anyone’s world, especially not the Alpha in front of her, looking at her like she lights up the night sky.
“You don’t even know me,” she tries. “We’ve barely talked, you know a little about what I do for work?—”
“I know you’re stubborn enough to do what you want, even if other people think you shouldn’t. I know you’re passionate enough to get to the bottom of stories you think are important. I know you’re smart, resourceful, and clever. And that for some reason, you want other people to not know how lonely you are.”
The last sentence is like a punch to her gut.
She is lonely. She’s so lonely it makes her blood run cold and turns her heart to ice. Her life consists of the work and sleeping.
Her friends from college are long gone, and her relationship with her mother is non-existent.
Her father, her best friend, died when she was fourteen.
She’s devastatingly lonely.
But Cole can’t know that .
She swallows. “I’m not lonely.”
He narrows his eyes. “And I also know you’re a terrible liar.”
She shakes her head and tosses the piece of bread on her plate, tears filling her eyes. “Please, stop this?—”
“I know what it’s like to be that lonely Breana, because I’m the exact same fucking way.” His admission is barely above a whisper, but it terrifies her.
She won’t go down this road with him.
Whatever issues he has, whatever problems plague him— she is not the solution to them.
She can’t even solve her own problems, and she’s not about to open her heart to a man that she’s never going to see after this week.
“Don’t do that,” he murmurs.
“Don’t do what?”
“Shut down on me. I can feel it.”
He’s reading her like he’s known her for ages, not hours.
He’s seeing right through her, leaving her vulnerable and exposed, laid bare over a breadbasket.
But before she can retort, the server comes back to check on them, and she realizes with a start she hasn’t even bothered to look at the menu.
Cole orders for them. She can’t even listen to what he says as the blood rushes to her ears and panic consumes her.
She hates how right he is. No one has understood her this quickly or been able to match her attitude or wit.
When she argues, he argues right back, but does so with a charm and nuance that has her blushing and stammering in frustration.
If she wasn’t leaving, would she want his company, then?
The answer is a resounding yes , which makes this even more difficult.
“What’s Maryland like?” she asks, hoping to change the subject and prove her point that this could never work between them.
He’s taken aback for a moment, then the smile returns to his face. “Researching me after you blocked me?”
Her face flames. “It takes a quick internet search to locate your area code.”
“I wouldn’t know what Maryland is like, as I haven’t been there in years. It’s an old number.”
“Where are you now, then?” she asks.
“All over the place. I travel for work.”
She relaxes a bit, grateful that they’re back on easier topics. She can get through this dinner without breaking down as long as they don’t talk about her shortcomings again.
She doesn’t need to be reminded of the mess she’s become.
“Okay. So, what is work?”
He takes a sip of his ice water, and she watches his pale throat bob as he swallows. “Law.”
“Ah. That makes sense, now.” Bree relaxes in the booth a bit and takes a bite of bread.
“Oh, it does?” he asks, amused. “How so?”
“You run your mouth a lot and you’re good at reading people. Typical lawyer. It also explains the fancy clothes.”
He chuckles. “It’s normal work attire.”
“That suit is fitted to you perfectly ,” she argues. “That’s not normal.”
“I didn’t realize you were ogling me so much,” he murmurs. “I’m flattered, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart.
That damn word, that term of endearment that sends a shiver down her spine, is enough to make her want .
She squirms in the booth, torn between her attraction to him and her own uncertainty .
She laughs weakly as she blushes. “I’m not ogling. It’s just observing.”
But she’s been caught, and he takes another sip of his water as he regards her. “Of course. Just like I observe you.”
She’s not going to take the bait, though.
“So, what kind of law work do you do?” She sits up straighter, determined to not let him see how much he affects her.
She’s sure her scent is blooming in the air, though. She can’t fight the Omega pheromones, unfortunately, but she can at least pretend they’re not as strong as they are.
He grins, and it makes her breath catch. The sight is disarming, and it makes her forget for a second how strange their encounters have been.
Cole is breathtaking.
“It’s obvious you’re changing the subject, Breana,” he says, interrupting her train of thought.
“Bree.”
“Hmm?”
“My friends call me Bree,” she explains. “Breana is only when I’m in trouble,” she jokes. He raises a sculpted eyebrow. “With my parents, I mean,” she adds quickly. “I prefer Bree.”
She didn’t stop herself in time. She should have just said her mother. Mentioning both parents opens up a conversation she doesn’t want to have, and she knows Cole will want to inquire more about her personal life.
But the waiter arrives with their food, placing her plate in front of her.
It’s a completely vegetarian dish, to her surprise and delight--gnocchi with a creamy lemon sauce.
It shouldn’t be a big deal; it’s just pasta. But as she takes a bite, the flavors burst in her mouth, and she closes her eyes in delight.
When she opens them, she sees Cole watching her .
“This is insane,” she says, a smile crossing her lips, and the Alpha mimics it. “I had a recipe just like this saved in my phone.”
“What are the chances?” he murmurs.
She takes another bite, her anxiety from earlier all but forgotten.
“How did you know I was a vegetarian?” she asks him. He still hasn’t touched his own dish; he’s too busy watching her enjoy her meal. “More deductive reasoning?”
“Something like that,” he admits.
“Okay, well, you have to at least stop staring at me,” she says.
“I’m observing, as you said earlier.”
“Alright, well, observe what you want to eat.”
“I am.”
The smirk on his lips is positively sinful.
She bites her lip to keep from laughing and shakes her head. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re beautiful,” he replies. “And just as impossible.”
She can almost taste his scent on her tongue, his Alpha essence calling to her. He’s mouthwatering, breathtaking, and just as disturbing as he is enticing.
“Thank you,” she breathes.
Maybe tonight won’t be as bad as she thought it would be.