Page 74 of Knot That Serious

The alpha slid smoothly into the booth across from her after eying her choice for only a split second. He scooted down the bench seat until he was seated sideways, back against the window, training his gaze out over the diner and its lunch rush patrons.

“So what’s your name?” Eli asked.

“Rajesh,” he answered. “My friends call me Raj. And you?”

“Eli,” she said, just as the waitress approached.

Two chipped white mugs were placed before them, and the waitress, a beta who glanced nosily between the two of them, filled the mugs before producing two laminated menus.

“Afternoon,” she stated in a lazy drawl. “I’ll be back for your orders in a minute.”

Eli pulled the sugar over and poured a not-so-healthy dose into her coffee.

“So I figure we should ease into what’s got you so upset,” Rajesh said, voice low and casual, one big hand curled around the mug despite its temperature. Eli stared, tracing the curl of dark hair that’d escaped the bun and rested over his shoulder.

“You don’t have to play therapist,” Eli said. “Buying me breakfast is more than enough.”

“What are you gonna get?” he asked, glimpsing idly down at the menu.

Eli turned her attention away from the alpha, studying her options. “The French toast,” she announced. “What about you?”

“Oh, I ate already,” he said.

Eli narrowed her gaze at him. “Thought you said you could go for breakfast?”

“It got you off the street, didn’t it?” he asked, eyes suddenly sharp. “How long have you been out of heat?”

Eli leaned away from the table, cheeks flaming. “I have no idea what—”

“You are perfuming leftover heat and, despite the alphas whose scents are all over you, distress.” The long line of his arm propped on the table flexed as he leaned his weight on it, dark eyes sparkling as his nostrils flared. “Not to mention the most decadent dessert I’ve ever scented.”

Eli sat up a little taller. “I had a fight with my business partner, so I’m sure it’s just the bakery you’re smelling—”

“Trust me,” he said, “it’s you.”

Their gazes met, clashing, and after a moment of silence he said, “So, a business partner? D’you need me to take care of him for you?”

Eli leaned back, unsure if this alpha was serious.

“Okay, I feel like you’re joking, but on the off chance that you’re not, no. There’s no murder required in this situation.”

“Boring,” the waitress said, reappearing. “What’s a date without a little murder?” she questioned, pulling out her pad without missing a beat. “What do you want to eat?”

Eli resisted the urge to assure her this wasn’t a date. Instead, she eloquently requested, “Uhh… the French toast. Please.”

“Sure, sure, and you, handsome?”

Eli bristled at the wink she sent the alpha, but he seemed unaffected. “No, thank you, just coffee for me.”

Even if they were on a date, like the waitress assumed, why would she flirt with this alpha when she suspected he was taken?

Eli sipped her coffee loudly until she walked away.

Raj lifted his mug too, catching her eye and—was he hiding a smile in the lip of his mug?!

Hmph.

“So, this bakery,” Raj said. “Which one?”

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