Page 16 of Wrong Number, Right Gray Wolf

I’d honestly seriously considered caving on the phone thing after what happened in the library, but quickly realized it wouldn’t have changed that situation. And it opened up a whole bunch of other potential issues. It was best for her to wait. Probably. I still wasn't sure.

My wolf would go back and forth between listening to the conversation and pushing me to mark the omega already. Had we been home, I couldn’t have guaranteed my ability to keep him at bay. And that was part of the reason why I thought a public space would be better than home. My wolf knew better than to expose us in human places, and that gave me an edge.

Did Stephen’s fox feel the same as my beast? The man was so hard to read.

A couple of times, our feet or our hands had brushed together when shifting in the seat or grabbing a napkin. And I was guilty of allowing it to linger longer than necessary. He froze as I did.

I couldn’t help myself, wanting to believe that maybe he’d felt the pull as deeply as I did, too. Obviously, attraction and a potential mating bond weren’t the same. I wasn’t that foolish. But there was definitely attraction there on both sides. That was a good sign.

As much as I wished that I had the time to talk with Stephen about who we might be to each other, spending time with Posy like this was better. It would make things easier when I had the discussion with her.

She liked him. There was no denying that. She regaled him with stories, asked about his favorite books, mentioned how cool she thought his button collection was, and explained why math was better than handwriting class. This meal had been set up because Posy wanted to thank him, and she got that opportunity.

When the waitress came to collect our dishes, she asked us if we wanted pie. None of us did. Did she not see all the sugar she put in front of us already?

“I’m too full to move, Daddy.”

“I can carry your backpack for you,” Stephen offered. And to my surprise, she let him. She loved to be independent and normally would’ve demanded that she do it herself. But with Stephen, she was happy to hand it over.

I watched as they walked side by side with me behind them toward the door. They looked like they belonged together, like they were family, and that caught me off guard. I was going too fast, even if it was only in my head.

Outside, Posy threw her arms around Stephen and thanked him again. It took him a second for him to reciprocate the hug. He hadn’t been expecting it. And then he helped her get her backpack on. Help she didn’t need, but once again...

“Don’t forget the picture,” she said with her sternest little voice.

“I promise I won’t. Thanks for eating with me.”

“Thank you for saving me.”

We lingered there for a few minutes longer than we probably should’ve. I’d like to think it was because none of us wanted to say goodbye and I wasn’t the only one with that affliction.

I clicked the fob, unlocking the car door. “Get inside, Posy. Don’t forget to buckle your seat belt.”

“Bye, Stephen.” Posy climbed in the car.

“Clyde, is it okay if I call you?”

“It’s a thousand times okay.” So much for holding back my feelings.

Stephen smiled at that and said he would talk to me soon. He started to walk away, and I wanted soon to be already. It was ridiculous. I was like a teen with their first crush.

I climbed in the car before I did something stupid like calling after him.

“That was so good, Daddy. We should go out again.”

“I think so, too.”

“Do you like him, Daddy?” She had always been blunt.

“Of course I do. He’s a nice guy.”

“Is that why you were staring at him?” Really blunt.

“I wasn’t staring at him.”

“You were. You were staring at him like they do in the movies right before they kiss. Were you going to kiss him, Daddy?” This was so not the conversation I wanted to be having with her.

“Posy, don’t make fun of Daddy.”