Page 114 of Wanted Beta

Now, it’s easier to think it’s bullshit.

It would be pretty dumb to fall for the same trick twice.

“You’re talking about the lost and found quarter?” I laugh, trying to downplay how I’m feeling.

“If that was a coincidence, it was a pretty big one.”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “I lost a quarter, you found one. It might not have been the same quarter. We’re never really going to know.”

“That’s why you have to have a little trust in the universe.”

“The universe is a big place,” I remind him. “Not everything can or should be trusted.”

“Sure,” he says. “Life throws a lot of curveballs, but they aren’t what we should be focused on. Everyone has a destiny, and I think part of yours was to meet us.”

“You think Jack would see it that way?”

“I know he sees it that way,” he assures me.

“Even …”

“Curveball,” he cuts me off. “Don’t focus on that.”

Right. It feels weird to admit, but he’s right. I shouldn’t focus on Rourke.

He’s my past. I thought I’d left him in my dust. Even now that he’s here, he shouldn’t be what I’m thinking about. Not for one minute.

“So, my destiny was to meet you,” I start. “What for, exactly?”

I watch his face, and I can’t help but hold my breath.

I want him, but I shouldn’t.

A part of me wants him to claim that I’m his.

That he sees me as his destiny in a romantic way.

The rest of me wants to run away at the thought of that.

I wait and he gives me a reserved smile.

“I believe you’re here to help us fix what’s wrong.”

I exhale, a mixture of disappointment and relief washing over me in confusing unison.

This is all about the restaurant. It’s a job, plain and simple.

If he’s attracted to me, that’s all it is. A simple run-of-the-mill attraction.

I’m not his destiny. I’m no one’s destiny.

I’m just a Beta who likes to be brought food.

I smile back at him. “When do I get that tour you promised me?”

“I can walk you around now, if you want?”

I get up. “Sounds great.”

---