Page 20 of The Billionaire Alpha's Surprise Baby

It wasn’t a coincidence, running into Ava here, of all places. The two of us are meant to be — I just have to make her see it.

My mind is set by the time I burst back through the doors of the café. I whip my head around to find my mate, but she’s nowhere in sight. A young blond woman is making the lattes, and her eyes grow wide when she sees me.

“Where is she?” I growl. My wolf is desperate to be with Ava, and he’s ready to tear this place apart to get to her.

The blond doesn’t speak. She just points a shaky finger toward the back, and I shove my way behind the counter into the “employees only” area.

Ava is sitting by herself in the dark store room, slumped on a bag of coffee beans. She looks up the moment I walk into the back room, and her brow scrunches in confusion. Silent tears are streaming down her cheeks, and the sight of her crying because of me feels like a knife to the gut.

“What are you —”

“I’m not walking away,” I blurt. “From you or our baby.”

This time, I can’t help myself. I haul Ava to her feet and crush her against my chest. Her dark hair smells like vanilla and sunshine, and I inhale deeply to drink it in.

My mate.

“But —” Ava pulls back to look at me, those emerald eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Tiny beads of water cling to every perfect dark lash, and for one gut-wrenching moment, I think she’s going to send me away. “How can you even want to be with me after . . . after what I did?”

“What you did?” I whisper, bringing a shaky hand up to her face and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m the one who fucked everything up.”

I drag in a long shuddering breath, and for the first time it hits me that Ava is here. After all the searching, all the PIs, all the dead ends, my mate is right in front of me.

“I should never have slept with you that night,” I murmur.

Ava’s face falls, and I realize how that must have sounded.

“I mean, I wanted to — obviously.” I flash a lascivious grin and cup her soft cheeks with my hands. “But I should have taken things slower with you.”

Ava lets out a shaky breath, chuckling darkly to herself. “I figured you just forgot about me,” she whispers.

But behind her little laugh, I detect a well of pain and lots of lonely sleepless nights. She really thought she meant nothing to me?

“What? No!” I shake my head, desperate for her to understand without coming out and telling her what I am. I lick my lips, searching for the right words — any words that could even come close to explaining what she means to me. “You’re . . . everything I’ve been looking for,” I finish finally.

Ava lifts her eyebrows in a hopeful expression.

“I went to the coffee shop to look for you after,” I add. “For weeks, actually. It was a little creepy.”

My mate giggles, and I see a spark of real happiness in her eyes that lights a fire in my soul.

Standing here with her, it feels so right, but I know there’s still a lot we need to work out. Ava felt our connection — I know she did — but that doesn’t mean that she loves me or that she trusts me to take care of her and our unborn child.

I need to do this right.

“Have dinner with me,” I say in a rush. “Tonight.”

Ava shakes her head, and disappointment sinks into my stomach like a brick. “I have to work.”

“So quit,” I say, taking her hands. “Fuck — work. I’m gonna take care of you, Ava — you and the baby. You don’t have to worry about anything ever again.”

My mate cocks her head to the side, giving me an adorable look that says she thinks I’m full of shit. Maybe she didn’t Google my family. Maybe she has no idea that I’m loaded.

“I’m not going to quit.”

“Fine. Tomorrow night?”

Her pause tells me there isn’t any good reason for her to say no, but she’s hesitant nonetheless.

---