Page 52 of Talk About… Rivalry

“The date’s at seven,” Sidney said. “I’ll be waiting out front at six-thirty so I can get here a little earlier than they do. I want to make sure his seats are reserved next to our table.”

His smile was bright again and he nodded once.

“In the meantime, I’ll be planning our actual date,” he said, making her cheeks glow. A pang in my chest had me rubbing at it absently.

She blew out a breath at his promise. “I’ll try not to freak out on both counts.”

She stood suddenly to grab a to-go box from the stand, packing up her food before walking off to her car.

He didn’t stop her this time and she’d already put her money down for a meal.

Now that she was gone, I walked over to join Taylor. I caught myself breathing in as if I were trying to scent her, but only the familiar scent of food and Taylor remained.

“You sure about her, man?” I asked one final time. If I was going to give it my all, I needed to know he was well and truly invested.

“More than anything,” he said instantly, not a hint of hesitation in him.

I nodded once. “Then I’m sorry for pissing off your omega.”

“What is it about her that you hate so much? I just can’t understand. So what she got better grades and you had a mutual rivalry.”

“It’s complicated and I’m working on it, I promise,” I rushed out, not wanting to give him the full detailed breakdown. Instead, I flashed a grin. “I have a date to go get ready for.”

His eyes narrowed and flashed with warning. I had no doubt that when it came to Sidney, he’d kick my ass.

“If you make her cry at this dinner, I promise I will cut your dick off with a blunt kitchen knife.”

“You say such nice things to me,” I shot back. “Don’t worry, your omega will be safe with me.”

“I might have believed that this morning,” he said pointedly. I winced, knowing damn well he had every reason not to trust me now.

“Trust me,” was all I could offer before heading to the parking lot. Sidney’s car was already gone but I swept my eyes around just in case.

When I climbed into my own car, my phone was already in my hand as I called my mom.

She answered on the second ring, fairly breathless.

“Hey, Leo, how’s it going? Did you get it?”

I realized that I hadn’t called my mom since everything was said and done with the sales.

“I did. Both the house and the shop are mine. We’ve already started some of the renovations.”

“Oh, honey, I’m so happy for you,” she said in that warm way my mom always spoke.

“Thanks. Actually, I have kind of a random question for you.

“Shoot,” she said. I could hear her clanking around. Even though I had her attention, my mom was never the type to be still. She was pure ADHD personified, always doing five things at once.

“You remember that girl I went to school with? Sidney? You were friends with her mom at the time.”

“Oh.” Her voice was a little harder than usual. “You mean Megan? Gosh that was a time.” The laugh that followed was hollow and more than a little judgmental. Coming from a woman like my mom I was stunned. Now I needed answers more than ever.

“What happened, exactly? I remember her calling you and crying all the time.”

“We were such good friends before everything. She hid her pain well I guess, I always thought she was happy.”

That reminded me of Sidney today. She tried to hide it the best she could.

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