He reached out and touched her hand. “Then you make him meet you, lupoaică.” Using that word as an endearment seemed strange, but it suited her. His she-wolf.
She didn’t pull her hand away or even flinch. “What do you suggest?”
“Set a time and place, somewhere meaningful only to the two of you. Don’t ask him. Tell him you will be there whether or not he confirms.”
“And we’re supposed to disobey direct orders from our parents? They’re still Alphas.”
He shrugged. “I won’t tell if you won’t. But you must let me come. To protect you.”
“I—fine.” She puffed out a breath. “I think I know where we could meet. I can leave work a little earlier today.” Taking her phone in her hand, she typed out a quick message. When the device let out a soft zzzzoom sound, she put it down. She lifted her head to meet his gaze. “So, um, thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Tension hung in the air between them, and it was like both waited for something to give. Would she mention the kiss from last night? Or would she pretend like it hadn’t happened? Should he mention it?
“Good morning, sunshines,” Julianna greeted as she breezed into the kitchen. “Wow, you guys look so serious. Who died?”
Adrianna let out a forced chuckle. “No one.” She stood up and took a bite of the croissant, then a sip of the coffee. “I’m going to send out a couple more emails, then I’ll be ready to leave in fifteen minutes.” Her gaze met his briefly. “Thanks … for the breakfast.”
His eyes remained fixed on her, following her figure as she disappeared through the doorway.
“So, you made her breakfast, huh?” Julianna was leaning against the counter, munching on a Danish. “Are you going to make me breakfast too?”
“I simply poured her coffee and put some bread on the plate,” he explained. “If you’ll excuse me, I should get the car ready.”
She polished off the Danish in one bite. “You do that, Darius.”
Did Julianna suspect anything? He had made sure she didn’t see him last night. It didn’t matter. Adrianna seemed less unhappy after he offered his solution. His wolf preened that they were able to do something for her. And truth be told, he would crawl over glass to make her happy and give her what she wanted, damn all consequences to hell.
Chapter Eleven
Adrianna wasn’t sure why she was nervous. But as they pulled into their destination, her palms were sweaty and she couldn’t stop tapping her feet.
“He will be here,” came Darius’s reassuring voice.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that she was anxious about Lucas, Darius being thrown into the mix made her positively bananas.
He was attentive to the point of hovering around her like a nervous first-time parent. There was breakfast this morning, but then later, when they got to her office, he didn’t wait outside the building like he usually did. Instead he stood inside the waiting room, right outside her door like a guard at Buckingham Palace, making Giselle nervous. He had also brought her food from Muccino’s when she said she had to work through lunch so she could leave early. At five o’clock when she stepped out of her office, he dashed to the elevator to call it for her.
Frankly, she didn’t know if she preferred the cold indifferent Darius, or this … whatever this Darius was.
“Do you want me to wait here or inside?”
She was taken aback by his question as she never considered what he would be doing while she waited for Lucas. “Will you come inside with me? At least until he comes.” She told herself because she didn’t want to look like a loser, all by herself. But somehow, despite his buzzing around her, she found his presence oddly soothing.
“Of course.”
She didn’t wait for him to come around to open the door for her and let herself out. It was only five more minutes before six o’clock, the time she told Lucas to meet her. She told him in her message she would be here, whether or not he decided to come. He didn’t answer, but she knew she had to be here in case he decided to show up.
The sign outside was faded, but she could still make out the “Mike’s Diner” written in an old-fashioned font. When they walked inside, she was relieved to see their usual table—the third booth on the left—was empty. She immediately made a beeline for it, lest anyone grab it first, though that seemed unlikely. The place was half-empty, despite it being dinnertime. She slid into the booth on the side facing away from the door and Darius sat opposite her.
He picked up the laminated menu on the table. “What’s good here?”
“Nothing,” she answered. “Everything’s pretty gross. Though you can’t go wrong with the milkshakes.” He raised a brow at her and she laughed. “I know what you’re thinking. We own a successful chain of restaurants but we’re eating at a greasy spoon in the middle of nowhere. You did tell me to choose a place only he and I knew about, right? Well, trust me. No one else we know comes here.”
Mike’s Diner was just like any other diner off the New Jersey turnpike. It didn’t have any specialties nor had it been featured on any TV show, glossy magazines, or foodie blogs. But she and Lucas discovered this place the summer after got their drivers’ licenses and drove to the New Jersey house for their first time by themselves—albeit trailed discreetly by two members of the Lycan Security Team. It was the perfect stop, halfway between New York and Jersey, and since then, it had been their ritual to eat here whenever they went to Barnsville.
He glanced around. The crowd was mostly truckers and some questionable-looking patrons. “I believe that.”
“Adrianna?”
For a second, she doubted what her eyes saw. But he was really here, standing right beside her. “Lucas!” She couldn’t help herself and leapt up to embrace him. His arms
