Interesting.
She clears her throat. “I have a teeny, tiny, fear of thunder and lightning.”
As if the sky itself has heard her, lighting flashes above us. My heart surges at the sight of her flinching.
I want to comfort her, but Zachary stands up. “I think it’s time for my surprise.” He turns towards her. “Ready? We’ll only be gone for two hours.”
She nods and I move away for her to stand, accepting hishand, and they leave, my jacket placed over the back of her chair.
“What do you think he has planned?” Hunter muses.
“No idea. You’re on dish duty.” I toss the towel at him and leave the dining room to draft a memo about my new omega initiative to be sent out immediately.
Time to make some changes.
Chapter 17
Zachary
Ilead her towards the back of the house. When we reach the double doors, I step in front of her and instruct her to cover her eyes to add to the surprise, before opening the doors and flipping the light switch.
She allows me to guide her into the room.
“You can open now, sweetheart.”
She lets out an elatednoise at the sight of the small movie theater.
It’s not a new fancy one with the special seats. This is more of a classic style with red velvet and vintage gilded decor, the type of place modeled after old Hollywood. She takes a deep breath of the buttery popcorn smell that greets us. I’ll have to remember to buy a standing popcorn machine for my place the next time she comes over.
She looks at me curiously as we sit directly in the center after I scoop us some popcorn into little red-and-white striped bags. Armrests are up to ensure maximum cuddle space.
“The best seats in the house.” I wrap my arm around her asshe tries the popcorn. She’s going to love the movie, and I’m going to love this evening with her.
There is a crash of thunder and she jumps in her seat again but tries to play it off. “Sorry, I hate my silly fear of thunder and lightning.”
“Have you always had it?”
“Yeah, unfortunately.” She lowers her eyes. “Growing up, my mom’s alphas at the time had a closed-door policy. Once they went to bed, I was not allowed to knock for any reason unless it was an absolute emergency. Sadly for me, being scared did not qualify, no matter how young I was, so I laid outside their door till it passed. Got tripped over a few times and just got sent back to bed. I might be an adult now, but some things still linger.”
Vile fuckers, the whole lot of them.
She lets out a hollow laugh. “I’ve never told anyone that. What is it with you and your friends drawing out all these confessions from me?”
I want to tell her it’s because we are her scent matches, something deep inside of her knows she can trust us with all the parts of her she has kept hidden, but instead, I say, “That was an awful rule to have for a child.”
My heart breaks for her. Every new thing I learn about her past makes me want to cherish her even more.
She shrugs, passing over the pain. “It’s better as an adult. At least now I understand it’s an electrical buildup in the clouds and not the world ending like I believed at five.”
I doubt there is anything I can say to ease that ache but I try. “Well, I have a very accessible policy—if you need anything, my door will always be open to you. Anywhere in the world. No matter what.”
“Have I told you lately how sweet you are?”
I pretend to think about it. “Not today.”
“Well, you are.” She leans in for a quick salt-tinted kiss.
The screen lights up and she gasps, turning to stare at me. I’m ridiculously delighted at her reaction, it’s exactly what I had hoped for. I’ve taken her on lots of expensive dates throughout the city. Fantastic restaurants, exclusive events, even a few weekend getaways. But I know she can get that from any alpha lucky enough to be graced with her presence.
