Page 50 of Knot My Only Fan

I won’t respond to the way he is looking at my mouth, or the way his gaze drifts upward and stares into my eyes. It’s slow, deliberate, and the way he looks over my features is strange.

His gaze meets mine again.

He hasn’t reached the table yet but alphas scents are powerful. I turn away and inhale lightly, not wanting him to notice.

There’s one smell that overpowers all others and it’s beautiful, but I still want to forget about scents. Especially as the last time I smelled someone so delicious he left me broken-hearted and...

“We thought...” Harlow interrupts my musing. “We thought it’s time for you to have a little fun. You know before...”

Fun?

“I don’t need any fun. My life is fine as it is.”

“Grace, please listen to me,” Harlow begs. “I don’t want to go to the stuffy charity gala dinner by myself.” She turns to look at her boyfriend. “Colton will be expected to network for most of the evening. You know, shaking hands, talking to the right people and having his picture taken. All you have to do is turn up on Stanton’s arm and smile. It’s just for the cameras. He doesn’t have a plus one and Colton thought you and him... Anyway, he will do his thing with the team for the rest of the evening, and we can have some fun and have a dance.”

“You brought me to New York under false pretenses.”

Harlow smiles, then nods. “What harm is there in a couple of nights in the best suite in a fancy hotel, nice food, a handsome date, and none of it costs you a cent? Or would you prefer to ask for some overtime in the café you can’t afford to buy?”

My heart drops, and I can’t stop my lips from doing the same. I love that café. Harlow doesn’t understand how much it hurts that I’ll never be able to afford it. Why would she when she’s an alpha and alphas in this world seem to get anything they want?

Not sure, she’ll get that in her personal life. I don’t believe she and Colton will be a forever couple. Two alphas together. No way.

“And Carver is taking Bardot, so you’ll have people to talk to there if he turns into an ogre.”

“Wow. I thought Colton and Carver had fallen out forever,” I say.

Harlow rolls her eyes to the ceiling, and I choose not to go further into the conversation even though I want to bring up the car accident that hurt her and nearly ruined his brother’s future.

There’s no point because Harlow always protects her boyfriend and never thinks about herself.

“They’re trying. Carver is lovely to me, but then he always was, and it’ll be fabulous if they become the best of friends again. Hopefully Bardot will soften his hard heart.”

I chuckle. “I think they fell out well before the car accident.”

Her eyes turn to Colton, who closes in on the table with Stanton by his side. “Shush. Don’t mention the accident around Colton.”

I salute her.

“Grace...” I spin when I hear my name. “This is Stanton. He’s the...”

As Stanton pulls out the seat next to me and slides himself onto the chair, I interrupt. “Captain of the New York Bears hockey team.” Then smile sweetly at my sister before holding out my hand to Stanton.

“I am.” He takes my hand, holding the fingers gently as he lifts and presses a tender kiss on the top. His eyes don’t leave mine the whole time. “You look like a Grace,” he muses.

“Well, that’s a good thing,” I say with a chuckle in my tone.

There’s something about him.

I don’t know what it is.

I inhale again, wondering if he’ll smell different close up. His alpha scent is stronger this time. And it’s gorgeous. He smells fruity but sweet, maybe a hint of chocolate with an undercurrent of something else that I can’t quite put my finger on.

Pregnancy has affected my omega senses. They don’t seem to work at identifying scents correctly at the moment.

One side of his mouth quirks up as though he expected my omega checking if he’s her mate.

“So Grace,” Colton waits for my attention. I turn my head until my eyes are on his. “Are you going to give Stanton a date for this evening? He’s desperate.”

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