As I walk home, I ponder what exactly Hester might be doing on a Thursday night, but then set those thoughts aside as I spy Thad dismounting from his bike.
Instead of calling out his name, I simply give a few big waves with my free arm as I jog toward my house, my other busy cradling the box of lace scraps clutched to my chest.
Thad turns and grins.“Hey. You ready to go?”
“One minute,”I sign, slipping through my front door to put away my gift and grab my jacket and purse.
Back outside, Thad gestures between his bike and my car, indicating he’s good with either. I hesitate, then straighten my spine and make a decision.
I point to his bike.
If I’m ever going to get over the fears carved into me by my ex, this is a good place to start.
Thad grins and hands me a helmet.
“Dinner at The Wild Rabbit still good?”he asks while we can still see each other’s hands.
I’m about to signyeswhen our phones vibrate simultaneously.
Thad quirks a brow, and when I slip mine out of my purse, I realize Courtney has texted on a group thread to both of us.
Courtney: You need to come to The Rabbit Hole.
Courtney: There is a once-in-a-lifetime view.
Courtney: THAD, BRING JULIET. No excuses!
We meet eyes, both of us puzzled.
“Do you want to go?” he asks, hesitation in his voice as he speaks the question. I know why.
The Rabbit Hole is the pack’s bar. The last place I’d normally choose to go.
But now that fact bothers me.
Thad would be there. So would Courtney.
I trust them.
As if sensing my wavering, Courtney texts again.
Courtney: Zoey is here. And I’ll buy your first five shots.
That has me choking on a laugh.
“I’m not drinking five shots.”I offer Thad a tentative smile.“Let’s go.”
He beams and helps me onto his bike.
There’s a strange, small part of me that feels guilty Thad’s bike is the one I’m climbing onto. That piece of me that has occasionally fantasized about slipping behind Roderick whenever I spy him astride his Harley.
But I give my brain a firm scolding. Roderick and I can never be a thing.
I was pissed that the alpha showed up at my work after I expressly forbid it. My past was full of times when Cory decided to bulldoze my boundaries, as if I wasn’t allowed anything not controlled by him.
Now my anger has faded, but not my certainty that we couldn’t work.
I never should have let myself kiss him.
