Page 73 of Knot That Serious

Which meant sucking it up, and—

Oh, she was crying again. Great.

Eli dashed the tears from her eyes with little success because more only replaced them. So distracted by her own woes, she didn’t see anyone coming until—

“Oof—” she squeaked, bouncing off a—

Her eyes widened as her gaze trailed from a very broad chest to even broader shoulders, up a strong neck to a bearded jaw and eyes as dark as her favorite ganache.

He should’ve been scary, probably, this tall, handsome, huge alpha. He could probably carry her under one arm.

Instead he lifted a hand, stopping it just from touching her shoulder, and held up the other in an innocent gesture.

“Sorry about that—you okay there, miss?” he asked.

His scent hit her like a truck.

Eli resisted the urge to literally sway into his arms. “Uh—I wasn’t watching where I was going, sorry,” she said, shaking her head.

He lowered his arms and shrugged. “No worries. You alright?”

“Clearly,” she said, and was thankful her tears had stopped, at least for the moment.

“Uh-huh.” He did not sound convinced.

Eli didn’t move, captivated by him. His dark hair was gathered in a bun, so she didn’t know how long it was, but suddenly her fingers itched to find out. The sun cast a golden glow against his warm copper skin and a short, tidy beard covered his cheeks and sharp jawline. His scent was familiar, citrusy in the way only her favorite oranges could be, paired with something more... Yes. Rosemary.

Eli was still staring when he said, “Are you… hungry? I could go for some breakfast.” His voice was impossibly deep.

“Uh—” She blinked up at him, brow furrowing in confusion.

“There’s a diner just down the street,” he said, hiking a thumb over his shoulder. “You look like you could use some bitter, shitty coffee. What do you say?”

Eli weighed the options in her mind. She could turn away this attractive, safe-smelling alpha and continue on to the coffee shop she had in mind, sit alone in the cafe and watch people pass on the street as she wallowed. Or she could accept his offer.

She was fresh out of a heat, so it gave her pause. Was she thinking clearly?

If she had enough sense to question it, surely she was fine. They were in public, the diner itself was public. This alpha was respecting her space and he smelled so good and Eli suddenly realized she wanted to go with him.

She’d slept with her best friend and the implosion of her life was impending, so what did she have to lose, anyway?

“Okay, yeah, why not,” she answered, but let the space exist between them as she turned in the correct direction.

“It’s just around the corner. You probably know it,” he told her.

The walk was quiet, side by side. He knew not to walk behind her, and Eli appreciated the lengths he was going to not seem creepy.

And indeed, she did recognize the faded sign of the diner that might appear to some as if it was standing on its last leg.

However, locals knew exactly how delicious this place was, if you caught them at the right time.

He held the door for her, so tall that Eli didn’t even have to duck under his arm as she entered.

The bell jingled, much like the one in the bakery, and a bored, tired waitress waved at them from behind the counter.

“Pick a seat,” she said, taking them in with curiosity.

Eli imagined she was quite a sight, and resisted the urge to check her reflection. The alpha waved an arm out for her to choose, and Eli made her way to the back of the diner, taking the seat against the wall so she could see the rest of the room.

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