CHAPTER TEN

“This is not a date,” Leah repeated to herself for the thirty-seventh time.

Yes. She had counted exactly how many times she’d lied to herself since she allowed herself to think about what Christophe had said earlier that morning.

Just because Colin was going to pick her up at seven did not imply that they were going on a date.

And she had not changed six different outfits because she was nervous about going out on what was clearly not a date.

What was that? Thirty-nine?

The butterflies in her stomach were definitely not an indication of excitement.

She was only seeing them again on a personal level because she was being forced to do so.

Forty-one.

Leah worried her bottom lip as she glanced over at the clock.

She had twenty minutes before Colin was supposed to be here. She grabbed her purse and shoes and stalked from her room anxiously, heading down the stairs into the kitchen.

She needed to get her nerves under control in order to deal with the Bridgeway brothers. And with her feeling like she was about to crawl out of her skin, this was not the state she was gonna be able to do that.

She threw her purse and shoes onto a chair and headed to her fridge, pulling from the fridge door, an unopened bottle of wine. Before coming to Bridgeway, Leah hadn’t been one for alcohol. Particularly wine. It had been an acquired taste that she simply hadn’t acquired. She still didn’t particularly like the taste of it, but on some particularly stressful evenings, a glass or two had sufficiently soothed her frayed nerves.

She down the first glass without really tasting it but enjoyed the warmth that quickly spread throughout her body almost instantly.

Leah was on her second glass when her doorbell rang.

She almost dropped the glass with a start and frowned at the cock on the wall. She still had ten minutes before Colin was to arrive.

Leah went to answer the door, acknowledging that she felt a little calmer than she had only a few minutes ago…except, the moment she opened the door and saw Colin Bridgeway’s smile, the effects of the wine seemed to evaporate.

Is this how I’ll feel when I look at him ten years from now?

The thought flittered through her mind so easily, it took a while before she even realized what that meant. She visibly shook her head to dispel such foolishness.

“You’re early.”

“You’re beautiful.”

She blinked up at him in surprise, uncertain how to respond.

When she remained silent, he smiled, abashed at the slip, scratched the back of his neck, and cleared his throat.

“I mean… Hi.”

Leah couldn’t help the giggle that slipped out. It was wholly unfair of the universe to design a man that could be so sinfully gorgeous and cute all at once.

"Christophe said seven. I haven't finished getting dressed," Leah said, staring down at her bare feet.

Colin's eyes followed her gaze, a smile tugging at his lips at the sight of her wiggling toes.

That he’d been waiting a few blocks away in his car for the better part of an hour was not information he felt she needed to know.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to seem too eager. He just didn’t want to scare her.

If he could get through tonight without letting it slip just how far gone he was about this woman in such a short time, then just maybe she wouldn’t run for the hills.

He acknowledged somewhere in the back of his mind that if he’d been a better man, he’d stop here. They all would.

The things they wanted from a partner were far too much for any, one woman to take. The fact that she was human, made it even worse.

But he wasn’t a better man.

He wasn’t even a good one.

“I’ll get my shoes, and then I’ll be ready,” Leah announced before she turned and ran to the kitchen.

She quickly shoved her feet into the wine-red, heeled sandal, grabbed her purse, and ran back to the front door, turning light switches off as she went along.

Colin had remained at the entrance, his eyes wandering curiously around her living room. Leah supposed she should have invited him inside, but she didn’t want to think about any of that just then.

“Ready.”

“Great.”

As they made their way down the driveway, Colin suddenly took her hand in his. Leah almost tripped over her own feet at the unexpected move.

Colin chuckled deeply as she steadied her. “Are you okay?”

“Hmmm.”

“Is this too much?” he asked more seriously, holding up their joined hands between them.

There was a warmth spreading through her that didn’t have anything to do with the wine she’d had.

“I—like it,” she admitted hesitantly, staring at their entwined fingers before raising her eyes to his.

Her admittance caused a smile to curve his lips, and Leah thought he almost seemed shy at that moment.

Which was a most ridiculous thought if she’d ever had one.

“You have interesting neighbors,” Colin commented as they again started towards his car at the end of the driveway.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m pretty sure at least five curtains are shifted right now. I guess they’re very curious.”

Leah’s gaze darted here and there, glancing from one house to another, and though she didn’t notice anything, she didn’t doubt that Colin was telling the truth.

Nosy didn’t even begin to describe the wolves that lived in her neighborhood.

“Of course you have a truck,” Leah joked when they got to the car.

“Is that judgment I hear?”

“It just...makes sense. It suits you.”

Colin had to help her into the truck, it was that high.

Pretty soon, they were heading down the road towards the center of town.

“How was your day?” Colin asked after a while.

“My day?”

Leah’s mind immediately went back to this morning, the image of Christophe hovering over her in bed, his hands…

“Did you have fun with my brother?”

“Um...he...makes a mean pancake.”

Colin chuckled and glanced at her flushed face.

“Little brother is definitely wasting his talents in security. He should have gone to culinary school.”

“What about you? Are you a good cook?”

“Hmmm. I think my talents lie...elsewhere.”

“Like what?” Leah asked, genuinely curious.

“Do you want to guess?”

Leah thought for a moment. The middle Bridgeway brother was known for being the most affable, but he was also a bit of a hothead.

“Fighting?”

“Fighting? I’m not sure I’m liking your image of me, love.”

He sounded highly amused.

“So, not fighting? What then?”

He paused for a moment, then said, Music.”

“Like...you play instruments?”

He laughed at the skepticism in her voice.

“A few. And signing.”

“You sing?”

“I’m really going to start getting offended at you sounding so shocked,” Colin teased.

“I’m sorry. Maybe I am being a bit judgy,” she allowed, hesitating before she continued, “Maybe...I could... I’d like to hear you sing...sometime.”

“Stick around long enough and you’ll probably get sick of hearing my voice.”

She doubted she’d ever tire of hearing Colin’s voice, but she wasn’t touching that comment with a ten-foot pole.

“Where are we going?” she asked when she noticed they were on an unfamiliar road.

“To our house.”

A ripple of shock binged through her, “The pack house?”

She didn’t know how she would respond if he said yes. Or if he said no.

“The intention is to spend some time alone with you, so no. Not the packhouse.

My brothers and I share a residence outside the packhouse.”

Relief.

That’s what she felt. She shouldn’t though. She should have been hoping and praying she was finally going to get access to the packhouse. But, instead, she was happy she wouldn’t have to worry about it just yet.

“Are you disappointed?”

“Of course not,” she answered honestly. “I mean...I guess it would be interesting to see where you guys spend most of your time, but, I don’t think your pack would be too happy having a human in their space.”

He thought about her response before responding, sounding much more grave than Leah would have liked.

“The pack will have to get used to seeing you around eventually Leah.”

He was saying a lot of things tonight that Leah didn’t know how to respond to.

Leah laughed nervously, “why?”

“Should you decide to become ours, it will be your home too won’t it?”