Page 78 of Curvy Dirty Omega

But his question clashed with his demeanor and it was giving me some serious whiplash.

“No, that’s not why I’m upset, but you can’t do anything to her without hurting what might be Gideon’s child.”

“Gideon’s child?” The weight of his presence and aura eased ever so slightly as he considered that. “I suppose anything is possible.”

“It’s definitely a child of Valor.” I raised an eyebrow up at him, wondering how long we were going to stand behind such a fancy restaurant like this, acting all suspicious. “What are we even doing here?”

Reason filled his eyes once more, but the vicious gleam in them didn’t go anywhere, if anything it only got sharper. “It’s time for dinner and you need to eat. Plus, you like finger foods, don’t you?”

It was impossible to hide my surprise, but he was right and I hadn’t expected that. I liked everything bite-sized if possible because it was easier to eat when I was working, otherwise I’d never eat anything at all.

But had he ever seen me eat anything other than the Chinese food we had last night? I didn’t think so.

Liam didn’t give me time to ask him about that. He just pulled me toward the back door to the restaurant, and the person he’d shut the door on was still patiently and politely waiting for us on the other side. She looked like she could be a hostess, but she wasn’t holding any menus and her hands were clasped in front of her.

“The private room you requested is ready, Mr. Valor,” she said in a soft voice that was still easy to hear despite the dull roar from the restaurant.

I was surprised by how much I liked the atmosphere and the quiet way the staff went about their jobs. Some of the irritation from dealing with Melinda and the anxiety burning in my chest started to ease.

When Liam set his hand on my lower back to lead me toward the private room, even more of that awful feeling dissipated until it no longer felt like acid reflux burning my throat.

I really hadn’t thought I could stomach eating, but the smell of food wasn’t overwhelming.

Everything was perfect, including the room the hostess led us to which was the epitome of luxury.

One wall was just glass to use the sparkling lights of the city as a focal piece. It added to the urban ambiance too, meshing with the colored LED lights that lined the room, and the shelves displaying interesting art pieces that looked like something out of a sci-fi show.

Where there weren’t strange glowing art nouveau pieces, there were plants. The smell of the room told me they were real too with their vines crawling all over the walls.

What this decor had to do with their theme of bite-sized food, I wasn’t sure, but it was definitely different. I could see how something like this would be perfect for a party or gathering of some kind.

The table was large enough to fit six to twelve people, but only two chairs were on one side to take advantage of the view.

So, no one would be joining us.

I felt a pang of guilt by how relieved I was. I’m sure Frankie and Cassius would have liked to eat here too. Well, maybe we could arrange something after the case was closed.

“The glass wall has a one-way film,” the hostess assured me as two waiters set wine glasses down, presenting a few options to Liam, who ignored them. “Is there anything I can do to ensure your experience is perfect?”

“No alcohol,” Liam responded as he took my purse from me to hang it on a little hook behind the chair. “And I’d like a menu that includes all the ingredients for each dish.”

“Of course.” The hostess bowed her head slightly and the two waiters disappeared before returning with a pitcher of crystal-clear water. “The weather is clear enough tonight, but it is supposed to rain again. Would you like me to adjust the setting on the glass?”

“Lucy likes the rain, so leave it as it is.” Liam still didn’t look at the hostess or the waiters who disappeared again after filling our glasses with chilled water instead of wine.

Her training had to be something else, because the hostess murmured some polite nonsense and disappeared only to return a moment later with the menus. She was unobtrusive and professional while Liam treated her like she didn’t exist.

Why did he keep fucking staring at me though? It was distracting enough I wasn’t fixating on the fact this alpha cared enough to remember how much I liked the rain.

I definitely didn’t want to know how much a private room like this cost either no matter how curious I was. It would just make it impossible for me to enjoy the food and the way Liam pulled out my chair told me there’d be no arguing with him.

This was where we were going to eat and that was that.

Normally, that kind of attitude would piss me the fuck off, but this alpha had picked the perfect place to make sure he got his way. There was nothing about this restaurant that made me uncomfortable other than the price.

It wasn’t the first time I wondered how he knew me so well.

“Do you like this place, Lucy?”

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