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CHAPTER 18
“They sound like a lotof fun.” Adair laughed as he helped me get out of his car. On the car ride to the restaurant, I’d regaled him with stories from Christmas which included Tibby baking penis shaped sugar cookies with little santa hats, a game of charades that had ended with a noise complaint from the neighbors, and the announcement from Eloise that they were going to try and plan a vacation during the summer for everyone to go to. Overall, it had been a wonderful holiday, only made better by the fact that Poleman’s gave their employees a vacation that lasted from Christmas until the New Year, though that didn’t stop Chairwoman Bells from scheduling me for an appointment on the second of January. She wanted to get her Spring wardrobe put together, and something told me that it would be even harder to do than to dress her for the holidays.
I let Adair tuck my hand into the crook of his arm, like a gentleman, and we began to stroll down the brightly lit street. It was just after six in the evening, so the crowd was just starting to make their way to dinner and we had to fight against the current of tourists.
Our journey, however, was made easier by the hulking presence of the two bodyguards that had followed directly behind us. When he picked me up from my apartment earlier, he’d sheepishly explained that his campaign manager was insisting on security since they were going to be heading into the primaries after the first of the year.
I didn’t know much about how California elections worked, but Adair had explained during the car ride that the current Governor was from the same party as him, but wasn’t seeking reelection. So this was the perfect chance for someone who was as young as he was to try and run.
As we walked, people paused, and I could see the clear recognition on their faces when they saw Adair. It made sense, his face was on most of the city buses and I was pretty sure there was also a billboard or two hanging around San Francisco. It was probably the same in all of the other major cities of California. Thankfully, no one stopped us and we made it to the restaurant without so much as a hitch.
“Mr. Carter,” the host, an older man, greeted us with a friendly smile. “It’s good to see you. We have your private dining room ready.” He gestured for us to follow him, and we walked through one of the fanciest places that I had ever seen.
As we passed by tables full of nicely dressed patrons, I suddenly felt underdressed in my plain black sweater that was tucked into a pair of mauve paper bag pants.
“Should I have dressed up more?” I whispered as we weaved in between the tables of elegant diners. Adair was also dressed in a pair of dark pants that hugged his legs and a cream colored sweater, so I’d figured we weren’t going anywhere super fancy.
Adair threw a grin over his shoulder. “Nah, I only dress up when I have to. Besides, I know the owner.”
A younger man dressed in a white chef’s outfit stepped out of the swinging door with a grin. “Adair! I was wondering when you’d finally call in that favor!” The man said in a thick British accent, and the two men embraced, Adair heartily slapping the other man’s back.
“I was saving it for areallyspecial occasion, and that time has finally come.” He turned and looked at me and the chef’s eyes followed. The man stepped forward and held a hand out to me for a handshake.
“You’re the special occasion, I presume? I’m Cole.” He grinned at me, and I felt my face heat as I nodded.
“She’s gorgeous, Adair. So I take it that this means that Marcus has finally pulled his head out of his ass about betas?”
Adair frowned before shrugging. “Eh, it’s a work in progress.”
I had to force myself not to scoff, Marcus was decidedlynotworking on his issues, but I was making it my New Year’s resolution not to dwell so much on the things that I couldn’t change. Which described Marcus Whitlock to a T.
“Well, I suppose if anyone is pretty enough to change his mind, it’s this lovely creature.” Cole gave me a once-over and stepped in closer. Adair gently karate chopped the hand that was still holding mine.
“Back off, Brennan, she’s literally on a date right now.” He growled, and it was so deep and rumbly, that it made my blush deepen even further.
Cole released my hand and held his hands up. “Now, now Adair. Let’s not fight. We’re all adults here. Besides, the last time we got into a fight you broke my nose. Right now, it makes me ruggedly handsome, but any more and I’m afraid you’ll turn me ugly.”
Adair rolled his eyes and slid his fingers possessively through mine. I didn’t mind the possessiveness, in fact, it sent a little tingle through my body that remained even as we sat down in the small dining room. I could tell that both Rio and Adair enjoyed private dining. Almost every place that I’d gone to with Rio, he had known the owner or was able to get us into some kind of private eating space.
Our two silent bodyguards stationed themselves just outside of the door to the room and were busy looking menacing in case anyone got any funny ideas about messing with Adair as they eyeballed the staff coming in and out.
“So, can I surprise you with your meal tonight?” Cole asked as a waiter put down glasses of ice water and breadsticks.
“Sure, but I swear if you try to get me to eat squid again I am leaving a Yelp review from hell.” Adair joked before grimacing at whatever memory the word ‘squid’ conjured for him.
“It was squid ink pasta. There wasn’t any actual squid in it,” Cole replied. “But I will make sure it’s something you both will love. Be back in a bit!” With that he hurried out of the room, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he left.
“He’s got a lot of energy, doesn’t he?” I asked as we watched him go.
“Cole? Oh yeah, he’s a ball of energy. He’s always been that way. Actually, he was my roommate at the University of Oxford. He, Marcus, and I used to get into a ton of trouble.”
“Rio told me that’s where you and Marcus met. Why did you choose Oxford versus a U.S. school?” I was genuinely curious, I had gone to San Francisco state for design with a minor in business. The idea of going to a fancy university like Oxford was incredibly daunting.
“My dad wanted me to go—has Rio told you anything about my dad?” He asked and I shook my head. Truth be told, every time that Rio and I came together over the past week, there hadn’t been much time for talking. We’d been having sex every chance that we could get.
I could feel my cheeks heat at just the memory of what Rio and I had done in my tiny little shower this morning. Looking up at Adair, I knew that he probably had an idea of where my thoughts were at because his blue eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Right, well, I guess I can tell you now. My conception was definitely not normal. My mother was an omega living at the academy in the eighties, and my father was an alpha who serviced her heat.” Even though Adair’s face was friendly and relaxed, I could see how nervous he was when he grabbed one of the napkins and began tearing it into tiny little pieces. “I don’t know if you know this, but omegas take a strong birth control before their heats to avoid conception, it has something like a 99.99% effectiveness—though it’s probably better now.”
