Chapter 14 #2
Eventually, she turns back to Billy. “Well,” she says kindly, “this probably isn’t going to work very well then, is it? Considering I’m an artist.”
Billy glances around the room awkwardly, unsure whether she’s teasing him or dismissing him. But when she doesn’t say anything else, he clears his throat and stands. “Ah, yes, well… I hope you like the flowers.”
Mari puts them to her nose again and inhales before passing them to her mother. Mrs. Gardener puts them on a side table that’s already overflowing with a pile of gifts.
“Yes, thank you.”
Heath shows him out one door and then goes to the other to welcome the next Alpha in.
This one brings imported chocolates and talks mostly about his love of personal fitness.
He owns two gyms on Sabine. He only lasts ten minutes before he’s ushered out of the room and another is brought in.
This one keeps referring to Omegas as “naturally nurturing” in a tone that has my skin crawling, even going as far as calling Mari a “female” which even makes Heath visibly recoil.
Through all of it, I stand beside the coffee table pouring lemonade, refilling glasses, and trying not to lose my mind while Alpha after Alpha attempts to charm her. Most of them do such a pitiful job it can’t even be called failure.
Mari rebuffs them all and does it with a smile.
It isn’t until Heath brings in an Alpha with tan skin and molten brown eyes that the entire atmosphere shifts.
“This is Luca Moreau,” Heath says, offering him the seat so many guys have sat in before him.
Luca isn’t the most handsome Alpha who’s come through the house today, though he’s definitely attractive. Dark hair curls at the collar of his charcoal suit, and there’s something easy about the way he carries himself that immediately separates him from the others.
Most of the Alphas today have looked at Mari like they were evaluating an investment. Luca looks at her like he actually wants to know her, and the difference makes my chest squeeze.
“Miss Marigold Gardener,” he says with an easy smile. “I’ve been trying to meet you since the Ackerman ball.”
“And you finally succeeded,” she replies, sounding amused for the first time all afternoon.
I pour him lemonade, and surprisingly, he accepts it with a nod of acknowledgment in my direction.
“I heard that you had a firm hand in designing the event of the Season last year at the Ashford estate. Something about changing the ceiling decorations an hour before the party started because you hated the lighting?” he says.
Mari immediately perks up. “Who told you about that?”
“A deeply traumatized decorator.”
She laughs—really laughs this time—and something sharp drives straight through my chest.
“Oh, it was terrible,” she says, leaning forward now. “It completely washed everyone out as it was. I wanted a romantic garden feel. Not to make everyone look sick.”
“So you staged a coup?”
“I prefer artistic intervention.”
Luca grins. “Dangerous.”
“And yet you agree it was the most memorable ball of last summer, so I guess it was the right choice.”
“Oh, absolutely.”
Mrs. Gardener looks pleased with the interaction so far. Heath looks relieved. And I stand there holding the lemonade pitcher while an oppressive heaviness sinks deeper into me with every passing second.
“Which reminds me!” Luca says suddenly, reaching into his pocket.
He pulls out a slender metal case and passes it to Mari.
She opens it to reveal five black charcoal pencils.
“I know it’s not as flashy as some of the other things you’ve gotten today, but since you like drawing so much, these were my favorite brand of pencils and I thought you might like them, too. ”
She stares at them, stunned. “You… You like to draw?”
“Yes. Well, I used to draw when I was younger. Cartoons mostly. I wanted to illustrate graphic novels actually. That was the dream,” he says but there’s a small frown that follows. “I don’t do it as much now.”
“Oh? Why not?” Mari asks.
“I’m a software developer,” he says. “It’s the kind of field that sucks the creativity out of you.”
Mari closes the pencil box and reaches across to touch Luca’s hand. “You shouldn’t let anything take away from your passion. Especially if it brings you happiness.”
“Thank you. Maybe I will get back to it.” Luca smiles, white teeth flashing, but I can’t rip my gaze away from their touching hands. Neither can Heath, who’s grinning broadly.
Because Mari likes him. Actually likes him.
There’s nothing fake or stilted about her reactions.
The conversation continues and flows naturally, jumping from art to music to travel without stalling. At one point she laughs hard enough she nearly spills her drink, and Luca looks absurdly pleased with himself for being the reason why.
I keep telling myself this is what’s supposed to happen.
Mari is supposed to find a handsome Alpha with the right background, someone who shares her interests and can give her a good, happy life.
That’s the entire point of the Season. The dances, the masks, the endless introductions—all of it is meant to lead here.
And Luca fits.
He fits inside this house, inside her family, inside the future everyone clearly wants for her.
But watching it happen right in front of me hurts more than I ever imagined it could. It feels like something inside me is being slowly torn apart while I’m expected to stand perfectly still, smiling politely with a lemonade pitcher in my hands.
Mari’s getting everything she deserves.
And somehow, that part hurts the most.