Page 38 of Wolf's Forbidden Curse

“It’s just—it’s complicated.” She shifted awkwardly on her side of the table and looked anywhere but back at me. I could tell my questions were starting to make her uncomfortable, so I pulled back from the pre-Solara Bay stuff.

“How do you like working for Al?”

This made her visibly relax. She smiled. “He’s a great boss. Not too demanding, and so far, he’s let me take home everything in the tip jar at the end of the night. I’m sure that won’t be a permanent feature of the job, but I appreciate the gesture nonetheless. Plus, he gave me a place to stay for free. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that generous in my life.”

“Yeah, he’s alright.”

“More than alright,” she insisted. “What happened between you two anyway? Why is there bad blood?”

“No bad blood,” I said, thinking back to the one time Al had to throw me out of his bar. In truth, it was my fault. Some guy was bothering Nic, and I threw a punch. To be fair, the only reason I took a swing at the guy was because I was worried Nic might accidentally shift right there in the middle of the crowded bar. She and Cornelius were not always great at controlling their emotions, and both of them had come close to exposing our pack on more than one occasion. I figured if I brought the guy’s attention onto me, things could be resolved without anyone going into wolf form. I was right, but there was still a price to be paid.

Ever since then, Al saw me as a troublemaker, and I never got a discount on drinks ever again.

“He just hasn’t always seen me at my best,” I added.

One corner of her mouth curled up. “What does that mean exactly?”

I smirked. “Maybe I’ll save that story for our second date.”

“What makes you so sure there will be a second date? Who said I’m even calling this little lunch a first date?”

“A gut feeling. Why? Am I wrong?”

She sipped her coffee coyly, and when she brought the mug back down to the counter, I noticed her cheeks were a little flushed. “No,” she said in a low, seductive voice that made me want to leap over the table and tear her clothes off right then and there. “You’re not wrong.”

Giddy.

That was the only word with which I could accurately describe how I felt after leaving the cafe that afternoon. I was like a kid in a fucking candy shop. Not only had Katrina kissed me goodbye, but she said I could swing by her apartment tonight if I wanted to. There were sexual undertones to the suggestion, obviously, but little did Katrina know I had plans to actually romance her tonight instead of just ravaging her.

Clearly, the excitement was noticeable on my face because when I arrived back at the house a little while later, Nic frowned at me immediately. “Why are you grinning like that? Are you high?”

“No,” I said. “Er—well. Kinda. High on life, I suppose.”

She scoffed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

She was sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through the local paper. I grabbed a couple of sodas out of the fridge, sat down next to her, and slid her one of the cans.

“Life!” I said again. “Isn’t it grand?”

“Okay, so you are high. Do you have any good stuff left over for me?”

“I’m not high.” I laughed. “I’m just in a good mood. A really good mood.”

“I’m afraid to ask why…”

“Don’t be! It’s a good story.” I cracked open my soda. “You know that new bartender at Smart Choice? Katrina?”

Nic looked back down at the paper as if she was suddenly not interested in what I had to say. “Is that her name?”

“Yes, it is. Katrina O’Mally. I finally learned her name, among other things.”

“What does she have to do with your good mood?”

“She and I just spent an amazing day together. She came to find me at the pool and–”

“Wait, you were at the pool?” Nic’s head snapped up. “You didn’t tell me you were going to swim laps today. When did you get there?”

“Uh—after you already left. I decided I needed to work off some of the massive breakfast I had with Matt, so I went to swim for a little bit.” I tried to think back to what I’d told Nic on the phone earlier and whether or not this new explanation fit with the old one, but I was honestly too distracted by everything that happened with Katrina earlier to think straight.

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