Page 27 of Mating With My Grumpy Alphas
“I think,” she said carefully, “that Hollis might not be entirely wrong.”
We found a booth by the window and had just ordered when I noticed Kit Lennox approaching our table with a warm smile. Charlie was trailing behind her, carrying what looked like a coloring book.
“Excuse me,” Kit said, stopping beside our booth. “You must be Willa. I’m Kit, and this is Charlie. I work part-time at the community center.”
“Nice to meet you,” Willa said, looking curious.
“Hey, Kit,” I said with a nod. “How’s it going?”
“Good, thanks.” Kit turned back to Willa with an apologetic expression. “I actually wanted to find you to apologize for Mrs. Vaughn’s behavior earlier this week. She can be… overly enthusiastic about getting new omegas involved in community activities.”
Willa’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Oh, that. It’s fine, really.”
“No, it’s not,” Kit said firmly. “She had no right to make assumptions about your interests or push you into anything. We’re not all like that, I promise.”
“I appreciate that,” Willa said, and I could hear genuine relief in her voice.
“Actually,” Kit continued, “if you’re ever interested in meeting some of the other omegas in town in a much more low-pressure setting, we have an arts night on Thursdays at the community center. Very casual, no expectations. Just a chance to meet people if you want to.”
Willa looked interested but cautious. “That sounds nice.”
“No pressure at all,” Kit said quickly. “But if you’d like more information, here’s my number. You can text me if you have any questions.”
They exchanged contact information while Charlie chattered about the drawing she was working on. I watched Willa carefully, noting how she seemed drawn to Kit’s warmth while still maintaining her usual careful distance.
“We should let you get back to your lunch,” Kit said finally. “It was lovely meeting you, Willa.”
After they left, Willa was quiet for a moment, playing with her napkin.
“She seems nice,” she said finally.
“Kit’s good people,” I agreed. “Charlie’s her stepdaughter, but you’d never know it from how close they are.”
“The arts night sounds interesting,” Willa said, though I could hear the uncertainty in her voice.
“You thinking about going?”
“Maybe.” She looked up at me. “It’s been a while since I’ve done anything creative with other people.”
I wanted to ask why, wanted to know what had made her so careful about creative spaces, but I could see she was already sharing more than usual. Instead, I picked up the romance novel Hollis had sent over.
“Well,” I said, “at least we know what Hollis thinks about creative partnerships.”
Willa laughed, reaching across the table to turn the book so she could see the cover again. “I have to admit, Duke Ravencrest does have excellent bone structure.”
“Should I be jealous of a fictional duke?”
“Definitely,” Willa said solemnly. “He’s very dashing. And he has a tragic past that makes him brood attractively.”
“I can brood,” I protested. “I brood all the time.”
“True,” Willa agreed, her eyes sparkling. “But do you brood attractively?”
She’s flirting with me,I realized with a jolt of something that felt dangerously like hope.She’s actually flirting with me.
“I guess you’ll have to stick around long enough to find out,” I said.
The words came out more serious than I’d intended, and I watched something shift in Willa’s expression. Not retreating, exactly, but acknowledging that we’d crossed into territory that felt more significant than casual banter.
