Page 19 of A Baby for the Beast
A growl rumbles in our chest, but we're far enough away from everyone else that only a few people look over. They look away when they realize there's nothing for me to be upset about. I tamp down Remus's reactions and settle into the booth we're sitting in.
It's going to be a few hours before Hayley heads home, and we plan to be here until then. It would be our luck that we'd leave right before trouble was caused.
Better if we stay. Better if we watch.
I nod along to what Remus is saying. Right or wrong, we're going to be here if and when our omega needs us. And something tells me she's going to need us soon.
8
Hayley
"Your stalker is back," Steven teases me when Lucas comes sulking inside as though none of us have noticed him the last two weeks he's been coming to the bar.
I should go over and tell him to stop bothering me, but just like I haven't said anything about him being parked outside my apartment complex or about him watching from his car while I was working, I'm not about to say anything to him about coming into the bar to sit quietly at one of the tables, drink a few beers over the course of my entire shift and tip whoever's working the tables an exorbitant amount of money.
"Don't call him a stalker," I chide, not liking the term being used for Lucas of all people. He's a sweetheart, and based on hisinsistence on following me around, I'm starting to think he was telling the truth about being scent matched to me.
I've thought about texting him to let him know that I'm starting to maybe come around. The thing that stops me is that I'm still not fully certain that he's not just interested in me to get at Kyle. Sure, I'm leaning more toward him actually scent matching me now, but that doesn't mean it's true. He hasn't pushed things, at least, he doesn't think he's pushing things.
As far as he's aware, I have no idea he's been following me and keeping an eye on me. I'm going to let it stay that way as long as possible while I try to figure out what I want for me, my daughter, and our future.
Steven doesn't say anything to me other than giving me a sardonic look before he heads out from behind the bar to ask Lucas what he'll have. It'll be the same local wheat beer he drinks every time he comes in. I start pouring it so it's ready before Steven gets back over here. I don't know why he's teasing me when he already knows he's in for a great time just by Lucas coming in. He's an easy customer and a guaranteed nice tip.
"Are you going to put that poor boy out of his misery any time soon?" Dale, one of our regulars, asks me. His partner in crime, Paul, nods along as though it's any of their business when I do or do not tell Lucas that I know he's been following me around.
The two alphas have been coming to the bar every weekday night for as long as I can remember. They met in a widowers' group after their mates passed away, and now they spend their time watching sports, drinking cheap beer, and telling everyone who will listen about what their kids are up to nowadays. They also enjoy being nosy gossips about what's going on with all the bartenders.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I sniff and tilt my head away from them, looking at their annoyed expressions from the corner of my eye.
"I'm surprised he hasn't noticed you know he's here already, you perfume enough to let everyone know," Paul says, causing a flush to cover my cheeks. I give up the ruse of not looking at them to glare at him. "What? It's true."
"He doesn't want to know that she knows, so he's probably ignoring it or thinking this is just what she normally smells like," Dale adds on as if this isn't a mortifying conversation to have right in front of me.
"I am not perfuming," I snap at the two, my face must be bright red with how I can feel the heat radiating from it. "Take it back."
"You are, babe," Chloe, the other bartender working behind the bar with me tonight, tells me. "It's been great for tips."
"Was no one going to tell me?" I ask, throwing my hands up.
I don't know if I look distressed or if maybe Lucas is picking up on the vibes shifting over here because for a moment I swear I can feel his heavy gaze on me, and not in the sexy way it's been on me the other times he's been watching me. No, this feels almost assessing, like he's trying to figure out if Remus is going to get to come out and blow their cover for good.
"Stop or he's going to let his beast out," I whisper at the group teasing me. "None of us will be able to pretend we don't notice him if Remus comes out."
"Remus?" Dale says, his brows tugging together. "Why does that name sound familiar?"
I groan and toss my head back, forgetting for all of half a second that I haven't been giving any of these vultures any information because once they have a nugget, they can make a whole feast with it. I give them the name Remus, and they're going to have his entire background figured out in less than a week, and then everyone else at the bar is going to know too.
"I don't know," I say, feigning ignorance.
I turn away from the group and head to the other end of the bar so I can grab a drink order for a couple of alphas who just came in. Lucas's eyes are still on me, at least based on the way I can feel someone staring at my ass and most of the alphas in here lose interest once they see the belly.
"What can I–"
"Are you Hayley?" one of the alphas asks me, his phone held up like he's recording me.
I stop moving toward them, still a couple of feet from the bar top, and my brows furrow. "Do I know you?"
"Dude, it's so her." The first alpha's friend slaps him on the shoulder. "You're the chick Kyle knocked up."
