Page 40 of Knot Like Other Girls

Braxley curls his lip in disgust. "Eugh."

As they bicker good-naturedly, I find myself relaxing. But I can't help but feel the absence of the white-haired alpha who kept watch over me all night. "Shouldn't we get Cole?" I ask hesitantly. "It doesn't feel right to start eating without him."

Savva shakes his head, closing his laptop. "I'll go. Cole can be... aloof around people he doesn't know well."

"And people he does know," Troy adds with a smirk.

Savva ignores him, heading for the elevator. He returns a few minutes later, a slight frown on his face. "He wasn't up there."

Troy looks surprised. "Really? Huh. That's weird."

A tendril of worry curls in my stomach. "Is he okay? Should we look for him?"

Roman shakes his head. "Cole can take care of himself. He probably just went for a walk or something." He hesitates before adding, "To be honest, there's no chance of him joining us at the table."

"Why?" I ask.

All I get in response is uncomfortable silence.

Braxley can't read a room, so he chimes in, of course. "Is it because of his mouth?" he asks, gesturing to his own face. "It's pretty screwed up on one side."

Roman grimaces. "… Yes. But don't say that in front of him." His eyes harden. "I fucking mean it, kid. Don't be a dick."

But I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong, and it's not just that. It's pretty clear the others expected him to be on the rooftop. Did I do something to offend him? Is that why he's avoiding us?

The thought bothers me more than it should, considering I don't know any of these alphas, and Cole and I obviously got off on the wrong foot for reasons I still can't figure out.

As we sit down to eat, I can't help but notice the empty chair where Cole should be. Braxley, of course, is too busy complaining about the stink of "plebeian" food and scrolling through his phone to notice.

"Oh my god," he exclaims suddenly. "My engagement announcement post got over a million likes! Can you believe it, baby? We're trending!"

I force a smile, but my heart isn't in it. I'm too preoccupied with thoughts of Cole, wondering where he is and why he leftwithout saying anything. When I realize they're waiting for me to eat, I take a bite even though I'm suddenly not that hungry.

"Delicious," I say sincerely, smiling up at Liam. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," he replies with a bright smile that lights up those gunmetal gray eyes.

The others—except for Braxley, who's now making as much noise as he possibly can as he makes his usual green smoothie—start eating and chatting about security stuff that goes over my head, seemingly unconcerned.

But as I push the food around on my plate, my appetite is vanishing with each passing moment. The pancakes are amazing, and so are the butterfly, perfectly fluffed eggs. Any other day, I'd be devouring them.

Right now, though, all I can think about is Cole.

I catch Savva watching me, his sharp green eyes missing nothing. He raises an eyebrow, a silent question.

I look down at my plate, embarrassed to be so transparent. But when I glance back up, Savva's still watching me. He gives me a small nod and mouths, "He's fine," holding up his phone screen. There's a little blip on the GPS that shows someone moving through LA.

I give him a tight but grateful smile in return.

"So, Bella," Troy says, his mouth full of pancake. "What's your story? How'd you end up with..." He trails off, gesturing vaguely in Braxley's direction.

I freeze, my fork halfway to my mouth. Braxley's head snaps up from his phone, his eyes narrowing. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demands.

Troy shrugs, the picture of innocence. "Just making conversation, man. Getting to know our clients better. That's part of the job, right?"

Roman shoots Troy a warning look, but I can see the curiosity in his eyes too. They all want to know. And honestly, I'm not sure I have an answer that makes any sense.

"Oh, it's not that interesting," I say, trying to deflect. "We met at a charity gala. Braxley was... charming." The lie tastes bitter on my tongue.

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