“You don’t know that,” she said. But her mother was right about the other parts. William Blakely was wealthy and didn’t say one wrong thing throughout the whole night. His dark hair had a touch of silver at the temples, but he was only eleven years older than her.
And she’d dated enough to know when a man was interested in her, and William Blakely definitely was. Unlike certain other men who turned hot one moment and cold the next.
Don’t think about him. It had been her mantra the whole day.
“Anyway, he’s not the only eligible Alpha these days,” Frankie said. “There’s Baltimore, even Rome. Alesso’s especially charming, and only a year younger than you.”
“And you say you’re not pimping me out.”
“Mimma.” Frankie placed a hand on her arm. “I’m just saying, think about it.”
“How would it work, anyway? If I married another Alpha, I couldn’t just leave to be with my husband nor could he leave his territory to come here. You and Papa were lucky you were right next to each other.”
“If you’re with the right person, you’ll figure it out. Though, you do make a good point. Maybe I should find some younger brothers and cousins of Alphas?”
She groaned. “So you are looking—”
“Ladies.” William had returned and took his seat. “Apologies. I had to take care of some business back home. But I’ve settled it, and there should be no more interruptions.” He glanced at the tiramisu on the plate in front of him. “This looks delicious. Dessert was always my favorite part of any meal.”
The look he sent Adrianna was probably meant to be seductive, but it merely made her skin crawl. Hopefully, the Alpha didn’t feel her inner wolf cringe with disgust. “Er, I’m actually full,” she said, pushing her tiramisu away.
Thankfully the rest of the dinner didn’t last too long. Frankie seemed pleased that William was open to talking about the mages, and they made plans to strengthen relations between their territories.
“Your dad’s not going to like that I’m out so late,” Frankie said as they walked out the front door. “William, would you mind dropping off Adrianna? I hate to put you out …”
Adrianna shot her mother a dirty look. “Mama, I’m sure you could—”
“Not a problem.” He offered his arm to her. “Shall we?”
She hesitated but realized she could insult him by refusing. “You’re too kind.” Wrapping her arm around his, she let him lead her to his vehicle.
Frankie waved goodbye as she got into her town car and if she wasn’t her mother, Adrianna would probably have sent her a rude gesture. “Thank you,” she said when William opened the door to his Mercedes.
“You’re welcome.” He walked over to the driver’s side and slipped inside.
The drive back to the house wasn’t too long and soon William pulled up to the front. Adrianna couldn’t help but glance around, searching for a particular gray Dodge Charger. Her heart sank when she saw no sign of it.
“Adrianna?”
She had been so distracted that she didn’t realize William was outside and had opened the door for her, his arm stretched out to assist her.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, but took his hand anyway. “It’s just a couple feet to the house.”
“I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I didn’t walk to your door.” They climbed the porch steps and headed toward the front door.
“So …” Well this was awkward. William was standing there, an expectant look on his face. “Um, so it must be a long drive back for you.”
“It is, but it’s worth it,” he said. “Your mother has welcomed me here anytime, especially now that it’s crucial we all work together to stop the mages.”
“That’s nice. So—” His hand clamped around her arm when she tried to turn away. “Yes?”
“Adrianna,” he began. “I was wondering if I could call you another time? Maybe have dinner? That is, so we talk more about how we can strengthen our alliance?”
Madre de dio. Could this possibly get any more uncomfortable? “Um, why don’t you call my office?” She reached into her purse and grabbed her card, then handed it to him.
He seemed taken aback, but took it anyway. “I’ll be sure to give you a call first thing.”
“Well, good night then!” She quickly grabbed the door knob and scampered inside. As soon as she heard the sound of William’s car pulling away, she breathed a sigh of relief.
God, she could wring her mother’s neck! It was bad enough she was stuck out here in Jersey, but for Frankie to meddle in her personal affairs … what was she thinking? It was out of line.
“You are back.”
Her heart fluttered in her chest and her knees went weak when she heard Darius’s accented baritone. She wanted to scream at her stupid body for reacting the way it did.
When she turned to face him, she groaned inwardly. He was standing in the hallway, his hair damp from a shower, and wearing sweatpants and a white shirt that was so tight she could see the outline of his abs. “Of course. Where else would I be? Speaking of which, I thought you said you had some errands?”
“I finished them.”
“Where’s your car then?”
“I parked it in the garage since there was space. I hope that’s acceptable, Miss Anderson?”
Her nails dug into her palms. “That’s fine.” She breezed past him, intending to head up the stairs, but his hand on her arm stopped her. Damn him! Why did William’s same gesture do nothing for her, but when Darius did it, she wanted to just melt against him?
“What’s bothering you?”
Your preference for buying shirts two sizes too small is bothering me! Since she couldn’t say that out loud, she stayed silent but attempted to yank her arm away. “Let go!”
His eyes grew stormy, and he lifted her hand to his nose. “I can smell
