Page 111 of Dubious Match
Unable to hold back, I snicker. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll have some prototypes made and you can tell me what you think.”
“Wait, I can’t tell if you’re serious or not. There’s too much laughter and amusement in your mind,” she wheezes, still laughing.
I love that she’s checking. Now that we’re bonded, I want her to project the fuck out of her thoughts and feelings. Call me a simp, but I love the closeness, especially when she’s so good at hiding herself when she’s unsure of things.
Like the fact that something at work or with Cian is bothering her.
“I’m serious,” I say, grinning. “Prepare to compare and contrast my knot to a toy in the near future. You know, for science.”
I love her laughter, and enjoy it all the way to the Civic center for the party. Her cheeks are flushed from our conversation, her eyes are sparkling with mirth, helping me decide that this was a good idea.
Hollis’ job and the company she keeps lends to her having to deal with heavy shit. I will happily distract her if it means she looks like this.
While there’s valet parking, I choose to park in the lot, and hop out to open Hollis’ door. I’m wearing a tux, with a black coat thrown over it to stay warm. Snow is falling down as I rush around, and I worry that I made a mistake in not having valet park my car.
Will the snow fuck with her hair?
Hollis surprises me by pulling a hood over her hair as I open the door, and I realize that it’s part of her coat. Thank goodness. I help her out and pull her hand over my arm so she can hold onto me as we walk across the parking lot. She’s wearing high heels, and the last thing I want is for her to fall on her ass.
The door man takes our coats once we’re inside, and we walk into the main ballroom. It’s been transformed with a small band playing softly and people are standing around and chatting.
“Champagne?” I ask. “Or whiskey, Baby Girl?”
“Whiskey,” she says immediately.
“Damn, you really are perfect,” I murmur, walking her to the bar.
I keep a steady stream of conversation as we wait, my eyes moving over the room to see who is here. A rustle of blue silk makes my lip curl as I see Emilia. While invitations were circulated to large organizations, I didn’t think she’d actually come.
“A toast,” I murmur, picking up my drink as I glance over at Hollis. Confused, she follows my lead, her eyes on me. “To avoiding anyone in a blue silk dress.”
“What?” she asks, though she taps her glass against mine and takes a sip of her whiskey with a happy hum.
“Emilia is here,” I say, making sure she’s swallowed before speaking.
“Wonderful,” she sighs. “I hope she’s still dealing with the massive trauma of losing so much of her organization’s emails and calendar appointments.”
Hiding a smile, I nod gravely. This woman is a fucking goddess.
“Very sad,” I murmur, walking away from the bar with her on my arm.
I’m drawn into conversation with a few people as we walk the room, making sure to introduce everyone to Hollis. I don’t care if she knows them or not, it’s the gentlemanly thing to do.
“Hello, Hollis,” the mayor says with a warm smile. We recently had an election, and I think I like this mayor more than the last one. His omega stands beside him, and I’m sure his pack is wandering around the room. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Remy at one of these things without his pack before.”
“My pack stayed home,” I smirk. “I decided to take my omega out for the night.”
“Tomas is digging,” Celia says, shaking her head. Her blonde curls shift over her shoulders, and she appears amused at her alpha. “He likes to be the first to know when people are mated or begin dating. It’s a game he plays with himself.”
“Is your wife trying to say that you’re a shameless gossip?” Hollis teases.
“Is it gossip if I keep it to myself?” Tomas chuckles. “These things can get boring if I don’t do something to occupy myself.”
“This is true,” I admit. Ugh, I should have chosen a different approach to dating Hollis, but I really wanted to make a statement that she’s mine.
“Is this new?” Tomas asks. Hollis once told me that it was important to know as much as possible about people. Not in a malicious way, but because knowledge about them helps you to interact and understand them.
“It is,” I say. “Hollis invited my pack to a dating mixer, but our eyes were always on her.”
