Chapter 3 #2
I smiled at poor Jeffrey. “It’s quite all right. I had to fill in for some of my staff this evening.” I placed another appetizer on the table.
Then it was time to become part of the room again and not someone who socialized with the guests.
I was grateful they were enjoying the meal.
As I moved away from the table and on to another to finish delivering what was on my tray, I remained silent, but watched as some of the staff floated to their tables.
So far, everything was running effortlessly. Thank goodness.
I turned and walked back to the kitchen, waited until I was through the swinging door, then let out a loud breath before walking to the table where the trays were lined up.
I would have to start plating more, but right now, I needed to get back to business.
“I need more appetizers.” Like anyone was paying attention to me, I added, “Everyone seems happy with the salmon.”
“Of course, they’re happy with it.” Adam grinned and loaded my tray for me. “You’re the badass bitch behind it all. The woman behind the salmon. And the beef rolls, the lava cake… it’s all you, girl.” He snapped his fingers and winked at me.
I loved Adam. I could always depend on his unfiltered commentary to lift my spirits. His words propelled me forward.
Adam came to work in a fantastic mood, and when I was busy doing other things, he kept the flow in sync. “Tell me, boss lady, are you feeling the pull… the ting of desire in your chest? Is your fated mate sitting in the dining room waiting for you and his filet mignon?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid, Adam.
I don’t believe that I’m someone’s fated mate any more than I believe I’m queen of the seven kingdoms and destined to marry Jon Snow.
” I loaded up my tray with more appetizers.
“There’s no scientific data to back up the theory of this…
” I lowered my voice to little more than a stage whisper. “Bullshit.”
Adam shook his head and laughed. “You mean you haven’t read the Harvard studies?
” His tone held such a note of scandal, I couldn’t tell if he was serious.
“Liza, there is a world of evidence—real science shit—that suggests fated mates exist. You just have to open your mind and look beyond the surface.”
“Adam, the only surface I want to look beyond is the one that ends this evening with enough success that I don’t have to worry about booking future jobs.” Once again, I rolled my eyes. “All of this fated-mate malarkey is just what it is. I apologize if Harvard finds that offensive.”
He laughed. “Yeah, your invitation to audit their results is gonna be rescinded with an attitude like that.” He continued plating appetizers and shrugged a shoulder.
“All I’m saying is, don’t let fear keep you from finding true love.
” He hadn’t really said that at all, but I appreciated the sentiment.
“Ah, true love. Another fairy tale we can debate later.” I turned away and grabbed my tray. “And I very much appreciate your worldly advice, Adam. But right now, I’m focused on making sure everyone is happy with their meals tonight. That’s all that matters to me at this moment.”
“Got it, boss.” He made to drag his gloved hand across the front of his mouth but stopped and looked back at the plate he hadn’t quite finished yet.
He didn’t need me to tell him his job. He did it and could’ve probably done it while he match-made me with half the guests on the list. But he also knew how to read a room, and this wasn’t the time for such conversation when I was as stressed as I’d ever been.
“All right, here we go.” I carefully balanced the large tray on my left shoulder and moved into the dining hall. I’d done this a thousand times before. Carried trays. Walked. Nothing about it was abnormal.
As soon as the door swung closed behind me and I walked into the room, something shifted in the air.
There was an electric charge I hadn’t noticed before.
It was a wave, or like a cable that reached from one side of the room to the other that I couldn’t see.
I stumbled forward, almost tripping, and I barely caught my tray before it crashed to the floor.
There was a gasp. It might’ve been mine or that of the room from the tables around me. When I looked up, a few guests were staring at me with wide eyes. I was either going to recover gracefully or make a fool of myself. At this point, it could go either way. I wasn’t sure what to do.
So, I took a deep breath, shuffled my feet forward, and was struck again by that invisible wire.
Then the wire shifted, and there was a pull in my chest so fierce it was impossible to ignore.
My breath caught somewhere between my lungs and my throat, and I stood, frozen in place, as my head spun, and I struggled to stand upright.
Sabrina appeared at my side—I had no idea where she’d come from—and wrapped her arm around my waist. Oh God.
This was a scene. The kind that ended careers.
The kind that had every eye in the room pointed at me.
Murmurs of worry, whispers of confusion passed from table to table, and I could see it like it was in slow motion.
Then a few more gasps filled the air, and Sabrina covered her mouth with her free hand. “No fucking way.”
I had no clue what was happening, but the pull became stronger, leaving me no choice but to turn around and face the source of the energy.
A man stood a few feet away. The man. I couldn’t explain how I knew who he was, but there was no doubt in my mind that this was none other than Ty Keller, the future alpha.
Holy fuck.
He was everything Brina had said. Everything she had described. He stood there staring at me with wide eyes. His chest visibly heaved as his gaze raked over every inch of my body.
As hard as I tried, I couldn’t stop looking at him.
He was the kind of man who drew the eye.
Well, mine, anyway. Because everything I’d ever heard about Ty was a hundred percent true.
He was tall, dark, and so fucking gorgeous I could hardly breathe.
And the pants definitely had a nice fit—nice was the most intensely grave understatement in the history of words.
The pull between us was almost visible, like an actual cord tugging me toward him.
I tried to make sense of it and even looked down to make sure we weren’t somehow tethered.
When nothing was revealed, I was aware of what was happening between us.
I just couldn’t fucking believe it. For a moment, time seemed to stand still as we stared at each other.
The room faded away, and it was just us.
Suddenly, the spell was broken. Persephone appeared beside her son, her eyes wide with what seemed like horror as she glanced between the two of us.
“No.” I could’ve done without the abject horror in her tone.
The disbelief. It was disheartening. Moderately insulting.
More so when she wrapped her arm around Ty’s shoulders.
“Come. Now.” My mind went full bawdy, and I shared the sentiment, if not the meaning behind it.
She tugged his shoulders, and when he didn’t move, she pulled at his arm. It would’ve been comical if I could’ve seen past him. She had both hands around his arm, and she was pulling, feet apart, ass sticking out. There was a desperation to this woman’s moves.
To his credit, Ty didn’t budge. His gaze remained locked with mine as if he were trying to send me a silent message I just couldn’t get because I was mesmerized.
Persephone muttered something at Ty, but my mind was too clogged to make out her words. I could hear his every breath. I could hear my heartbeat. And his. Whatever she was saying to her son, he couldn’t hear it, either.
Before anyone moved or said anything else, Dominic Keller, Ty’s father, arrived. His face was a ghostly shade of white, and he looked at me as if I had two heads.
He leaned in to whisper to Ty, and after a few seconds, Ty nodded his head as if he understood, but his eyes continued to burn a hole into my soul.
I had no idea what was happening, but I couldn’t move, and I certainly couldn’t process the murmurs around me. But I didn’t care about that. All I cared about was staying suspended in this moment.
Sabrina was still at my side, and someone must’ve taken my tray because I wasn’t holding it any longer. My body gave an involuntary sway, and fainting in front of the entire dining hall became a very real possibility.
The gaze broke as Ty and his parents walked away slowly, his father still whispering in his ear. He’d only taken a few steps when he turned to watch me over his shoulder. I wanted to go to him.
Whispers spread like wildfire from table to table, but I ignored them even as I looked around.
People were staring and pointing at me. I had just done the one thing, the only thing I’d set out not to do at the beginning of this event.
I’d ruined my chances of being hired as a caterer by these rich sons of bitches.
Before I could fathom exactly what was happening, Sabrina pulled me into the kitchen. She gently pushed me into a chair and began pacing back and forth between our portable steam table and the refrigerator.
“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.” She muttered the words over and over again. This was, indeed, a holy shit situation, and apparently, Sabrina had nothing else to say. I certainly couldn’t form any words, so I didn’t fault her for her repetition.
I sat there in a daze, trying to regain control over my breathing. My heart was throbbing, as if it was trying to beat a path out of my chest. The massive rush of adrenaline had left me shaky and weak. I needed food.
As I pushed my hands against the seat because I needed to stand, Sabrina blocked my way. “Oh, no. You’re not going anywhere.”
“What do you need, boss?” Adam asked. He was still plating food. With Sabrina and me both in the kitchen, we were falling behind. Although I supposed it didn’t matter so much now since this was the last job I would ever cater, anyway.
“I don’t know.” I wasn’t sure I needed anything. I’d just been a part of this spectacle, so the only thing I really needed was a time machine to go back and fix this mess before it ever started. I squeezed the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes, wishing the room to stop spinning.
“Here.” Adam shoved a plate of food into my hands.
I looked up at him and smiled. This was a guy who was always good to me. A friend. Why, oh why, couldn’t he have been my soulmate? My bond buddy. My whatever-this-was-called. And if that sounded dramatic, I was only getting started. Plus, I had Sabrina nearby to keep me centered in my misery.
“Do you realize what just happened?” Sabrina knelt in front of me and gripped my knees. “Do you have a fucking clue?”
I had a clue. A pull, a tug. These were things I’d heard spoken about in the abstract. So, I was aware that some mating thing kind of happened. I shoved a bread roll into my mouth and sighed. My brain was fuzzy, and my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
All I could see was in my mind—all I wanted to see—was Ty’s expression, the shock, the disbelief, and then behind that, the passion, the desire. It had been other-worldly, and I wanted to see it again. Closer. When there wasn’t two hundred other people staring at us.
I was in a daze, mystified by what had just happened, but there was no mistaking it.
I’d just met my fated mate.