Alphas on the Prowl (16 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

Hailey surveyed herself in the full-length mirror screwed to the back of her bedroom door. Little black dress, check. Stiletto heels, check. She’d spent two hours hot-rolling her hair and another forty-five minutes on makeup. She hardly ever wore makeup. Maybe that was why it seemed as though a stranger stared out of the mirror at her.

A lovely, haunted stranger. Not her.

Hailey kicked off her stiletto heels and sat on the edge of her bed so she could massage the ball of her left foot. Damn, she hated heels. Maybe she ought to take this as an omen. She should call Ryan and cancel the date. Stay home, make some popcorn, and watch a movie.

Halfway to her dresser where her phone and purse lay, she realized she didn’t know his number. She snorted laughter through her nose. For God’s sake. One dinner. All she had to do was charm him, make him think she’d forgiven him. Make him want more. Then she could ignore him and walk away. As he’d done to her five years ago.

Only he’d been wearing sensible shoes at the time, and she could picture herself turning to stride off into the sunset and falling on her ass instead. Not such a grand exit.

She picked up the stilettos and tossed them into the back of her closet. She chose a pair of cherry-red pumps instead. They would add a pop of color, and she wouldn’t wobble. Win/win.

Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths to steady her nerves. God, the dress smothered her, so tight it was almost painted on. She peeked to check her cleavage. No, she hadn’t spilled out. Dressing up sucked.

Struck by the idea of the cherry pumps, she opened her jewelry box and extracted her ruby necklace. Mom and Dad had scrimped and saved to buy her birthstone for her graduation present. The gem sparkled with such brilliant fire Hailey could stare at it all night. However, if she did, she’d be late.

She fastened the necklace, liking the way the ruby nestled into the hollow of her throat.
Ryan Campbell, eat your damn heart out.

After stuffing her keys, wallet, and lipstick into an evening clutch, she cast one more look in the mirror at herself. At the stranger, she amended. Still didn’t look much like her. If she had time, she’d wash all the stupid makeup off, but she didn’t.

Sighing, she switched off the light and walked down the hall to the front door. Here went nothing.

***

Ryan looked in the mirror and swore. Damn tie was crooked. God, he hated ties. Why had he suggested a restaurant that demanded ties and jackets? Good luck trying to impress Hailey, the woman who sneered at his car and his house. Too late now to suggest his favorite pizza place. Anyway, pizza on a first date? That wouldn’t send her the right message either.

He struggled with the tie, cursing. She was due any second, and while he didn’t think she’d be early, he couldn’t count on her arriving more than five or ten minutes late. She was trying to send him a message too, he suspected.

Messages. What bullshit. Why couldn’t they simply talk?

The doorbell rang, and he nearly strangled himself. Gagging, he gave his tie one last malevolent tug and bolted for the stairs.

When the hell had he last been this nervous? His job interview with Emerson? The night of the school play? When he’d finally screwed up his courage five years ago and asked Hailey out on a real date? Bingo.

He unlocked the door and swung it open. One look at the little black dress hugging her luscious curves, showcasing lithe legs that went on forever, and his brain died a little. At least the part that could form coherent thought.

He looked at her face, expecting to see her sneering at him, but instead her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open. The flecks of glitter in her smoky eye shadow shimmered under the porch light.

Brain cells sputtered and died the more he stared at her. Jesus. She was freaking unbelievably beautiful. He’d always thought her one of the prettiest women he’d ever known, but tonight she glowed with an ethereal loveliness that made his throat ache.

She closed her mouth with an audible snap and said, “Your tie’s crooked, Campbell.”

The teasing sarcasm in her tone cleared the fog in his head. “You never miss a thing, do you, Green?”

She grinned at him and reached to straighten his tie. He held still, the scent of her perfume dizzying his senses. Something light with wood tones, like taking a walk in the forest. Her fingers trembled, then steadied. She stood so close he could see the spray of freckles across her nose, and each time she blinked, thick lashes swept her cheeks.

He wanted to bury his face in her hair and pull her into his arms, but he didn’t. Good thing too – she had her fingers on his tie, and if he’d made a move like that she probably would have choked him.

She stepped back so he could see the jump of the pulse in her throat.

“Better?” he asked before he did something inane, like kiss her.

She took a deep breath, and the ruby around her throat winked in the light. “Much.”

Ryan fished keys out of his pocket and stepped onto the porch. “Your chariot awaits, madam.” He gestured to the BMW parked in the driveway.

Laughing softly, she allowed him to the lead the way. She gave him a look from beneath her lashes when he opened the door for her. He wasn’t sure how to interpret it.

Flash of exquisite thigh when she sat. He figured she must have seen him staring at her by the way she grabbed the door handle and pulled the door shut before he could do it. My God, she was blushing!

Grinning, Ryan crossed in front of the car and all but levitated behind the wheel. This was shaping up into an awesome night.

***

Ryan in a suit.
Oh, my!
Hailey monitored her mouth constantly to make sure it remained closed unless she was chewing or talking. Drooling would be mortifying – especially since she’d come here to charm him, make him think he had a chance, and then drop him flat.

Only every moment she sat across from him at this impossibly upscale French restaurant, the less she wanted to walk away. Maybe she ought to give him a second chance. Was that madness to even contemplate? She summoned up the scene in Western Civ – his dark head bent over his notebook, pretending to study, when she could damn well hear his racing heart and see the tremors in his hand as he tapped his pen on the sheet of paper.

But tonight, try as she might to conjure the grief and humiliation of the memory of him freezing her out, all she could see was a gorgeous young man in a to-die-for blue suit and red tie pouring her more wine and smiling at her with such genuine affection it was if the past five years had gone a different direction and they’d never been separated.

She took a bite of her salmon, knowing she ought to appreciate how delicious it tasted, but she couldn’t stop staring at Ryan.

A look of surprise flashed across his face, jolting Hailey out of her strange, romantic reverie.

“What’s the matter?”

“Damn. My boss and his wife just came in. They saw us and are on their way here.” Ryan sounded so frustrated, Hailey did a double take. He didn’t want to say hello to his boss? He slouched in his chair as if he wanted to disappear beneath it, and it hit her. Of course. He didn’t want to be seen in public with a wolf shifter. Not by somebody important like his boss.

Hailey hung her head, all the magic of the night evaporating.
Just grit through it. Then leave.

“Hailey, look at me,” Ryan urged in a low voice. “What’s the matter?”

“They’ve seen us,” she whispered miserably. “It’s too late for me to leave.”

“Leave” Ryan gaped at her. “Who said you had to leave?”

Humiliation devastated her voice so that it came out in a hurt croak. “I get it. You don’t want to be seen in public with a wolf shifter. This was okay when we were anonymous, but your boss will know who I am. He was on my interview committee. Don’t tell me you didn’t know that. I saw your face when you knew he was coming over here.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “You think I knew that? You think I even give a shit? Damn, Hailey, what do I have to do to -- Ed, hello. Marlene, good to see you.” Ryan raised his voice in a cheerful, professional greeting as a silver-haired man and woman stopped in front of the table.

“Couldn’t help seeing you sitting here with the loveliest woman in the room,” said Ryan’s boss with an insincere grin.

A tic jumped in Ryan’s cheek, but he hung onto his polite smile. “She is, isn’t she? But you give her a run for her money, Marlene.” He turned his attention to the pretty gray-haired woman, who dimpled.

Hailey could tell by the way she patted her hair and adjusted the gold necklace around her throat she found Ryan attractive. Who wouldn’t?

“Ryan, what a nice surprise,” she said and stole a look at Hailey. Her blue eyes were frankly curious.

“I’d like you both to meet Hailey Green,” Ryan said. “Hailey, this is my manager, Ed Johnson, and his wife Marlene.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Johnson. Nice to see you again, Mr. Johnson,” Hailey managed to choke out.

Ed Johnson’s eyes narrowed as he obviously tried to place her. Damn. He didn’t recognize her under all this makeup and the formal dress. If she’d kept her big mouth shut, he never would have remembered her. Ryan must be fuming.

Hailey stole a look at him. He smoldered beneath a dangerous smile, and her heart sank.

“Nice to meet you, Hailey,” said Marlene, her gaze still calculating. She took in Hailey’s little black dress, the ruby pendant, and her hot-rolled hair, but Hailey couldn’t tell if the final tally added up in her favor or not.

“Green,” muttered Ed. He snapped his fingers, making Hailey jolt in her chair. “Got it! You’re the wolf shifter who works security in the garage. Must say, you dress up real pretty.” He cast her a condescendingly lewd look, and Ryan’s jaw jutted. Hailey felt like a prize heifer up for judging on the 4-H fairground. Bastard.

Marlene pretended not to notice her husband drooling over a woman half his age, but Hailey wasn’t fooled. The steel glint in her eyes gave her away. Marlene had never been going to like her; now she’d have all the reason in the world to hate her.

“You’re a wolf shifter? How interesting,” she drawled, adding the fact to her obvious mental score of Hailey’s worth. In the debit column, of course. Hailey wanted to melt into the expensive carpeting.

Ryan reached across the table and took one of Hailey’s hands. She gulped and tried to look nonchalant, even though her heart beat so hard it was a wonder it hadn’t burst through her chest and landed in her wine.

“Are you the one who caught that cat last night and saved Ryan’s butt?” Ed asked.

“Hailey risked her life to help me,” Ryan gritted. He squeezed Hailey’s hand so hard she winced.

“Bringing her out to dinner as a thank-you is a very thoughtful gesture,” said Marlene with such arch sweetness Hailey’s back teeth ached. She’d definitely ended up with more checks in the debit column. Great. So she wasn’t good enough for Ryan Campbell in these people’s eyes. No shit. They were humans and she was a shifter. Enough said. God, if there’d only been time to escape before these two had ruined the best dinner of her life.

“I’m bringing her out because I enjoy her company.” Ryan’s whole body stiffened, and his eyes turned dark. He gave her hand another squeeze – this time a gentle one, and hope jolted through her body. He was telling the truth, not just saying it. Her breath snagged in her throat.

Ryan said, “We knew each other in college. I let her slip away, and I’ve always regretted it. When we met again through circumstance, I decided I wasn’t going to waste my second chance. This isn’t a thank-you. It’s a date. The first of what I hope will be many, many of them.”

Ed cleared his throat and gave Hailey a lascivious smirk, obviously picturing Ryan and Hailey at the end of their date. In bed together. What a smarmy bastard.

Marlene Johnson narrowed her eyes to stare at them as if they were fascinating exhibits at an insect museum.

“Best of luck to you. Tell you what, dessert’s on me. The crème brulee is wonderful here. Marlene raves about it.” Ed gave them a beneficent smile. Hailey debated dumping what was left of the wine in her glass over his supercilious head but settled for an artificial smile.

“Thanks, Ed. Have a great dinner. See you Monday.” Ryan smiled through his teeth. He didn’t let go of her hand, not even when Ed steered Marlene toward a table across the room.

Hailey struggled to breathe. She stole a look at Ryan, expecting to see his face flaming with anger, but when he grinned at her, they both burst into laughter.

“Dessert’s on me,” Ryan mocked. Hailey smothered gales of laughter with her napkin, rocking in her chair. “Pompous asshole. I’m sorry. Now you know why I didn’t want them to see us. They’re douchebags. Especially him.” The laughter died from his eyes, replaced with sincerity. “I wasn’t ashamed to be seen with you. Tell me you believe that.”

She stared at him, slowly struck dumb by the realization he told her the truth. “You meant it.”

“Of course I did,” Ryan said.

“I’m talking about dating me. You actually want to date me.” Hailey bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling. Her senses kicked into overdrive, and she could smell the butter in the mashed potatoes two tables over and the waiter’s spicy cologne as he circulated the room. Color burst into kaleidoscope sharpness. People chewed and swallowed, snatches of their conversations rendered audibly clear as if she sat beside them.