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A myriad of emotions played through me as I stared at the phone. Disappointment hit first, but I was quick to bury it. I was the one who had said no, there was no reason to be disappointed that he’d accepted my response without argument.
I told myself I was relieved he hadn’t replied and tried to convince me to do what he wanted, but it plagued me throughout the day. I lost count of the number of times I checked my phone, going so far as to text Michael asking how Momma was doing just to be sure it was working. His message proved everything was fine.
I couldn’t help the spark of pain in my chest telling me I hadn’t been worth fighting for. If Leo thought about me as much as I did him, he would have tried harder to convince me to come see him.
And I might have given in.
The feeling of rejection lingered throughout the bus ride home. The only distraction from it was the brief period I spent eating an early dinner with my family before changing into something more appropriate for my shift at Frankie’s.
I’d never fully explained to Michael what I’d done to get the money to pay back what he owed the Galleons, and there were times when he gave me a look so full of sorrow it left guilt gnawing at my insides. My time with Leo hadn’t been bad, and I didn’t want Michael thinking something worse had happened, but I also couldn’t explain how I’d gotten him off the hook.
It was a reminder why I needed to keep my distance from Leo. We were too different.
It had already been over a month since the night of the auction, and I kept telling myself if I could only hold out a bit longer, surely the draw to him would fade. My instincts had latched onto him as one of the only alphas I’d ever spent any time with, and eventually I’d be able to forget him.
Right.
Sighing, I slipped into the front seat of my car. It took a moment of fumbling to get the belt buckled, and I paused to whisper a prayer before turning the key.
Wincing at the noise it made as it cranked, I bit my lip and put it in gear to head to the diner. I didn’t know much about cars, but I knew whatever was causing the sound was bad, I just had to hope it could hold on long enough for me to gather enough money to fix it.
While I technically spent more time at the insurance office each week, it felt like I practically lived at Frankie’s. It was the busier of the two, and far more draining, with no hope of a better future.
Pulling into my usual spot, I was thankful to have made it in one piece, but my shoulders still slumped as I looked through the window at the grungy diner. It was Friday, so the parking lot was already half full, and I could see Sharon talking to one table as she carried plates to another. I didn’t have time to wallow in my confused tangle of emotions anymore.
Burying the doubt and worry, I did my best to fake a cheery attitude as I hurried inside.
Another day, another dollar.
Fake it till you make it.
Whichever cliché you want to use for continuing on with your miserable life.
And getting another step closer to losing it all.
Chapter Two
Leo
Istill wasn’t sure how to feel about Cadence’s denial. She hadn’t even tried to come up with an excuse. Just a single, “No.”
Nobody told me no.
I had bided my time, waiting for her to settle back into the same old routine of working herself to exhaustion for next to nothing. My informant had kept tabs on her account, so I knew the extra money from the auction had disappeared within the first week, and she was still in debt.
A lot of it.
I’d waited until I knew she would be feeling the pinch again before giving in to the urge to contact her. The idea I’d been toying with would give us both what we wanted, but I hadn’t expected her to refuse to even hear me out.
She probably wouldn’t have liked the idea, but I’d been sure she would cave to reason once she gave me time to convince her.
Once she was back in my arms.
I was willing to offer as much as she wanted for her time, and that should be worth just about anything I asked her to do, even if she didn’t feel the connection we had.
I craved her. Like a junkie trying to quit the habit, but still visiting the same areas where he used to get high.
She’d become an obsession.
