“Nice of you to finally show up,” I snap out.
He raises an eyebrow, clearly debating whether to turn right back around and leave. “We’re just having lunch, Fielding. It’s not a big deal.”
“Do you really think I don’t have better things to do than sit around and wait for you?” When he smirks and opens his mouth, I realize I just gave him the perfect opening. I point a finger at him. “Don’t answer that.”
“Look, we could have done this over the phone,” he says, sliding into the seat opposite me. “Everything’s cool. Dante bailed and left town. Wynn’s getting over it. My dad is happy, or as close to it as he gets. It’s all fine.”
“Oh. Cool. That’s good.” Lying bloodsuckers totally slipped my mind. But I have a feeling this is the only reason he agreed to meet, to settle this.
He glances down at the menu, then pushes it away. “So, are we done?”
“No,” I say, pushing the menu right back to him. “We’re here, so we might as well have lunch.”
“Why?” He’s not even being a jerk. It’s a serious question. “We don’t get along. We have nothing to talk about.”
“Sure we do.”
He’s wrong. The mates bombshell gives us plenty to talk about, but he’s right about us not getting along. And then there’s what happened to my bike when we were teenagers. It’s hard to share the mates news.
The shifter across from me just raises an eyebrow, a silent prompt for me to take the lead and dive into all the topics we could discuss. We sit in awkward silence for a moment.
“Have you, uh, tried the pasta here?” I venture, desperate for some kind of conversation.
“Can’t say I have,” Bane replies. “Why? Is it any good?”
“I don’t know… Just making small talk.”
“Right.” He smirks, his gaze flicking up to meet mine. “Small talk. How’s the weather?”
“Really?” I roll my eyes. “That’s the best you’ve got?”
“Hey, you started it with the pasta.”
Oh my god. This is a terrible idea. Maybe I should just drop the mate bomb on him. That would wipe the smug grin off his face.
The waitress comes to take our order, which gives us a temporary reprieve from the awkward silence.
“You sure know how to show a guy a good time, Josh,” he tells me sarcastically with a wink as she leaves.
Ugh. Bane and I are failing epically at having lunch together. I didn’t even know it waspossibleto fail at having lunch until this moment. Confessing the truth… it’s not an option. What if he brushes me off or doesn’t believe me? What if Elias worries I’m another unscrupulous lowlife after the deep pockets of the Blackwood family?
The only surefire way to convince Bane we’re destined is for him to see the truth with his own eyes. If we spend time together and get to know each other, he’ll Recognize me too. We need to connect. Clearly it’s possible or we wouldn’t be intended mates.
Unless fate was drunk when it matched us up.
Is that possible? Can fate get drunk?
A hand waving in my face gets my attention. “Hey, puppy.”
Startled out of my thoughts, I glare at him. “You’re the puppy.”
“Whatever, pup.” He nods to the bottle on my side of the table. “Will you pass the ketchup already?”
Oh. Our food has arrived, and I’ve completely zoned out. I hand him the bottle, steeling my nerves. If I can’t tell him the truth yet, I need another reason to see him. A reason to spend more time together.
I have an idea… but it’s not exactly pleasant. I have a feeling Bane will be insufferable about it.
“Look, there’s something else I want to talk about,” I venture, trying not to squirm in my seat. “I need your help. This probably won’t surprise you, but I’m not the largest wolf or the most skilled in a fight.”
