Page 27 of Sparks Flying

Instead, I got on my bike and drove off as I rode all over town like a madman trying to find her.

Where the hell could she have gone?

I tried to think of a casual way to ask at her motel if she was still there. There was simply no way without issuing a full notice to the Congress that I was looking for the little wolf in town. I knew that would just draw questions and speculation, but I had to find her.

Parking the bike, I sat there in frustration. As much as I wanted to find her, I equally didn’t want to field a bunch of questions as to why, so asking around was out of the question.

It dawned on me that was lunch time. Maybe she’d gone to get something to eat. There were only a few places in town, but I headed straight to my sister’s diner. I knew Ryan had taken them there to eat when they first arrived, so she would likely be familiar with it.

Feeling optimistic, I made the drive there, parked my bike, and walked inside.

I knew immediately that she wasn’t there.

“Hey man. Take a seat wherever you want,” David said.

“I’m not staying,” I told him.

“Oh. Did you call in an order? Maybe I missed it. Gia, do you have an order for Dean?” he hollered into the back.

I glared at him and shook my head.

This was the kind of attention I was trying to avoid.

“Yup. Send him back.”

I groaned, knowing damn well an order hadn’t been placed for me. But it would look even worse if I turned and ran now.

David shot me a curious look, and I just shrugged.

As soon as I walked back into the kitchen, Gia grabbed me and pulled me into her office.

“Eli called and said you were acting weird. They think you found your mate. Is that true?”

“Jesus, Gia. Not you too. This is ridiculous. I have not found my mate.”

“They said you were acting weird.”

She eyed me suspiciously as she seemed to check me over for any signs to agree or disagree with our brothers.

“It’s nothing. Stop making a big deal out of it. I just had an incident this morning and I’m trying to find the girl to check on her. They’re just making it out to be way more than it is.”

“Someone had an accident? I didn’t hear about that. Why didn’t I hear anything?”

“I don’t know. I get this is gossip central, but maybe everything doesn’t filter through your diner.”

She laughed and waved it off.

“Of course it does. Now who was hurt?”

“The girl here from Westin Force. I dropped her off at the clinic earlier and was just following up to see if she was okay.”

It sounded plausible. Why hadn’t I thought of this line before? It wasn’t even a lie. Bailey had been hurt, and I was trying to find her to make sure she was alright. It really was that simple.

So why was I making it out to be a bigger deal than it needed to be?

I shoved that thought aside.

“So, have you seen her come through here for lunch?”

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