Page 18 of Wrong Number, Right Gray Wolf

“Oh.” Much as I adored his daughter, one-on-one time sent my pulse racing.

“Unless you prefer that I bring her along.”

“No, I wouldn’t want to spoil her fun. Sleepovers are the perfect opportunity to stay up late, play hide-and-seek in the dark, and tell ghost stories.” Maybe I was showing my age when young kids today probably spent all their time on their tablets.

“Nah, wouldn’t want to do that.” I could hear that smirk again through the phone.

This was a dinner date, well, not a date date but two people getting together to enjoy good food and conversation. That was his intention I guessed, whereas if I was honest, I wanted to walk in and say, “You’re my mate,” wait for his response, and if he agreed, I’d take him home and we’d have sex.

But this meal would be us eating and me staring into his eyes and inhaling his scent, and my fox would be pestering me about marking. We had cleared one hurdle and he didn’t have an omega mate, though I tried not to think about how that came about.

Remy was sitting on the edge of his desk, looking up the name of the restaurant I’d repeated.

“Nice,” he mouthed before I could say my goodbyes to Clyde. He added, “I’m so excited,” when I ended the call.

“You’re not coming on the date with me.” I shuffled papers on the desk, pretending I was working when I was running my mind over what I would wear.

“Oh, so it is a date.” His eyes gleamed, and I rolled mine. His reaction was so over the top, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he hid in the bushes outside the restaurant and eavesdropped.

I shrugged a response and didn’t discuss it for the rest of the day.

But the next night when I was getting ready. My belly was doing cartwheels and somersaults, and I leaned against the front door, wondering if I was doing the right thing.

Yes, you are. Get out the door and meet your mate.

Except he might not be mine. He’d given no indication he was ready for another relationship or that fate had told him who I was. So was it better to be friends and yearn for something I couldn’t have or have him dislike me? Him suggesting we get together didn’t sound like he’d soured on me.

I arrived first because I was done playing games. Besides, my legs wouldn’t support me, and I rested my hand on the back of each chair I passed as the host showed me to the table. I put the napkin on my lap, then refolded it and put it back on the table. I studied my glass of water as if it held secrets and inspected the cutlery to make sure they were clean.

“Hi.” I hadn’t scented him as I was so absorbed in what I was doing, so he’d snuck up on me.

That voice. He could make millions doing voiceovers and dubbing, though he had a face to match, so why wasn’t he on screen?

“Hey.”

“You’re here.” I almost smacked my head because what was that? It was something you said when you had nothing to say.

“Mmmm.” He unfolded the napkin by flicking his wrist. It was so dramatic, reminding me of a character in a famous spy movie. I did the same but my napkin just collapsed.

We ordered drinks while I racked my brains trying to think of something to say.

“I know who you are.”

I almost leaped over the table and planted a kiss on his lips. But reality intruded when I ran my mind over his words. He hadn’t said I was his fated mate, but he recognized in me that he was mine. If he’d met me tonight to tell me we could never be mates and to forget about him, my life wouldn’t be any different than it had been since the night of the phone call.

I gripped the edge of the table and downed my drink.

“How does that make you feel?” Shoot, now I sounded like his therapist.

Holding his drink, he twisted his wrist so the contents of his glass whirlpooled. “Interesting way to describe a fated mate.”

My heart raced and my thoughts tangled because who was whose fated mate? I didn’t dare hope… nah, I was hoping that he was talking about… oh damn, I was getting confused. Was I his fated mate? That was what I had to get out of him.

The napkin finally came in useful in place of a fan, and I flapped it hard, the noise mimicking a bird’s wings.

“Ummm, can you spell that out for me?”

“M-A-T-E and F-A-T-E-D.”