Page 86 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

“Imogen,” I said, smiling at the blonde across from me. “This is Wesley Stone. Wes, this is Imogen. She danced Princess Aurora tonight.”

“Ah, yes, the new lover Ramón mentioned.” She smirked, extending her hand to Wesley.

He leaned forward a bit, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it.

I clenched my jaw, and my nostrils flared. Seeing his lips touch her skin stoked that little fire inside me, flashing green in front of my eyes.

Which was so unlike me. To be jealous like that. And embarrassing, considering how much crap I’d given Wesley earlier about him being jealous.

Wesley chuckled when he sat back in his chair as if he could sense me stewing next to him. He rubbed my shoulder a bit as his arm settled back on the chair and leaned into me to kiss my temple. “Now who is jealous?”

“I’m not,” I insisted, trying to keep the pout off my face.

“Good, because green isn’t really your color either,” he teased, then gave me another peck on my cheek before turning towards the others at our table.

“So, what did you think of the ballet, Mr. Stone?” Imogen asked, lifting her champagne glass to her bright red lips.

“I enjoyed it thoroughly,” he said, crossing his ankle over his knee. “Although, I will admit, I don’t know much about ballet.”

“Well,” she said, smacking her lips, “it takes extensive training at the best schools from a very young age to truly make it in this world.”

I held in my eye roll. There it was. The subtle dig at my training—or lack of, in her eyes.

Wesley cocked his head to the side, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. “Is that so?”

“It’s mostly accurate,” Ramón said, his eyes also landing on me. “However, sometimes raw talent can be found in unexpected places.”

“Well, of course,” Imogen said, fidgeting with her diamond earrings. “But Miss Wainwright here is the exception, not the rule.”

“Kenway,” Wesley said, a deep frown marring his handsome face, his hand behind me gripping the back of my chair. “Her last name is Kenway,” he repeated.

That petty part of me that had been jealous only minutes before became subdued and peaceful after hearing him defend me and my name. I couldn’t remember telling him I preferred Kenway even though my name had been changed, but somehow he knew. He knew me, sometimes even better than I knew myself.

I reached over and placed my hand on his thigh under the table, rubbing it just a little. “It’s okay,” I whispered.

His eyes moved down to my hand on his leg, and then he slowly blew out a breath, his eyes closing, and I imagined him counting to ten in his mind. Then his hand on the back of my chair moved to the top of my spine and started moving down to the top of my dress and back up.

“Sorry,” he grimaced, looking back at Imogen, his fingers still tracing my spine. “I just know she prefers Kenway. Her birth name.”

“I… did not know that,” Imogen said slowly, looking between Wes and me.

There was a lingering silence at the table after that, but luckily, the servers came around just then, bringing out the petite desserts—various tarts, mousses, and cakes in miniature form—and more champagne, which I declined.

Wes removed his arm from my chair and my back and moved forward to eat his dessert, starting with the lemon tart with whipped cream. I had a flashback to our dinner date, where I had so brazenly licked whipped cream off of his thumb.

I didn’t know what possessed me to be so bold because that was definitely NOT my norm, and I was definitely not that type of girl. But I couldn’t deny the little thrill that ran through me at teasing him like that.

“So, what ballet will you be performing next?” Wesley asked, bringing my attention back to the present.

“The Nutcracker will be next,” I told him, and he brightened.

“Really?” I nodded. “Will you be dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy?”

I shook my head at him with a smile on my lips.

“That’s a principal’s role,” Imogen snapped from her seat. “Haven is dancing Snow Queen this year.”

“Oh,” Wesley said, not bothering to hide his disappointment. “I just know that’s Haven’s favorite ballet, the one that inspired her to start dancing. It would be something to see her in that role,” he explained.

---