Wolves at the Door - Lidiya Foxglove Page 0,57

twice.

But when I walked in, the hostess said, “Back again!” She looked at Jake and Jasper like she was wondering just how many handsome guys I knew. Too many, I thought.

“Graham already took you here?” Jasper said.

“Yes, but…”

“Sorry,” Jake told the young woman, and turned right back around to leave.

“We didn’t have to leave!” I said. “Not many other good restaurants in this town.”

“We’re not that far from Baton Rouge or even New Orleans,” Jake said. “We could take a drive. Be tourists for a night.”

“Or we could just go to the carnival,” Jasper said. “Kinda reminds me of the one back home.”

“I bet Hel won’t be impressed by that,” Jake said.

“I don’t need to be impressed all the time! I’m not really a Baroness. I’m not prissy at all! I hope you don’t see me that way.”

“Well…” Jake glowered. “I just have this feeling you expect more from a date than bowling or…funnel cake and a carnival game. If you think I can forget where you come from… Or maybe I just don’t believe you can really forget where you come from. I’ve never met a girl like you, Hel. But you seem to like Graham better even though he’s useless.”

“That’s not true!”

“Yeah, he’s probably useful for something,” Jasper said wryly. “And that’s why she likes him.”

“No, that isn’t what I meant!” I snapped. “Do you think I look down on you?”

“I don’t know. Fuck, I didn’t mean to argue about it,” Jake said. “I’m trying not to get possessive of you, but…I don’t want to let you slip out of my fingers. And when we’re working together I wonder why you even look twice at anyone else. But…maybe I’m not good enough for you. I don’t mean that as an insult. Just a fact.” He suddenly stalked back to the van and Jasper looked at me apologetically.

“He has a temper,” Jasper said.

“I noticed. I didn’t mean to set him off. I’m not trying to make anyone jealous! I genuinely like all of you a lot and I don’t know what I’m doing. I must seem like I’m just leading you all on.”

“Do you want a bond-marriage? Like your brother?” Jasper basically just got on the elephant in the room and rode it around.

“I wasn’t even…thinking about marriage, but…”

“You’re not as opposed to it as you thought?”

“I guess I see the appeal now. Just a little?” I looked at him sheepishly. “But it doesn’t seem like a fair thing to suggest.”

“Let’s see how it all goes. One date at a time, huh?” He held out a hand.

Was he trying to tell me that he wasn’t entirely opposed? At the least, he was giving me space to figure it out. “I think the carnival could be fun. I’ve only seen carnivals in movies,” I said. “If Jake isn’t too pissed off.”

Jasper nodded and said to me in an undertone, “The one advantage I have being the sensible brother is that he listens to me, most of time. Hey, Jake!” he said. “We’re going to hit the fair. Hel’s never been to one before.”

“Never?”

“Do you think my parents ever packed up seven kids and took us to a carnival for fried food and creaky thrill rides? Nooo. I was actually a very deprived child, Jake. I hope I don’t look down on anyone anymore.”

“I don’t usually lose my temper,” Jake said, holding eye contact with me a little longer than he ever had. “It’s just what you do to me. I want you to look at me like you’ve forgotten every other man exists.”

Jake and Jasper had started out as my colleagues. So I got what he meant. I treated them more like family. But when he looked at me like that…

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jake

I’m such a fucking idiot.

I didn’t mean to show my hand so much with this girl. I wanted to play it cool, like if she preferred Graham or Byron, or Graham and Byron, we would just walk away into the sunset and find someone better.

With every passing day, I was convinced that there was no one better. It wasn’t because Hel was cute, although she was, or smelled good, although she did, or that I wanted to feel her skin against mine and put my hands on her, taste her, fall asleep beside her. Although, I definitely did.

But I’d felt that way with women before. There were cute girls in the greater Boston wolf community.

I had never wanted to have a girl around me when I was working. When