Chapter 81

Julian’s POV

I thought I arrived promptly at the restaurant, but perhaps I was early, since I didn’t see anyone else there yet. Well, anyone other than Chase.

He was looking at me like the devil himself just walked through the door, and I knew it didn’t have anything to do with the fact of my timing.

It meant Carla hadn’t told him that she invited me.

Good.

Concealing my inner joy at his being unprepared and flabbergasted under a stone-face, I walked toward him. “Thanks for the invite, Chase.”

Chase frowned even harder. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Carla told me you were taking the entire clinic out to celebrate your recent good news,” I told him.

“Carla…?”

“I’m sure everyone is on their way and will be here in a minute,” I added.

“Everyone…?” Chase echoed again, looking utterly lost.

The hostess cleared her throat. “Table for two, Sir?”

Glancing back at her, he returned back to him himself, if only a little. He cleared himself and told her, “No. Uh… I suppose there will be considerably more of us than I thought.”

He only requested a table for two? Did Carla mishear the invitation, or was Chase hoping that only Amber would actually arrive?

I did a quick count in my mind. “The number will be closer to twelve,” I told the hostess. “Oh, well, thirteen with Chase.”

“Thirteen is an unlucky number,” Chase grumbled.

“Did you want to sit this out?” I asked him. “I could pick up the tab instead if you just want to leave.”

“No,” he said quickly, fully composing himself now. His eyes were sharp again as he glared at me. To the hostess, he said, “Thirteen, please.”

The hostess nodded. She remained professional, but not quite as friendly, her brow twitching ever so slightly. “That will take a few minutes to prepare… Typically patrons call ahead when they are dining with so large a number…”

“Yes, well, it’s a bit of a surprise to me as well,” Chase said smoothly. He grinned at the hostess, and that seemed to smooth things over because she blushed. “Take all the time you need, love.”

“O-okay…” she said and hurried off.

Chase turned back around toward me. “It helps to have a pretty face, not that you would know.”

I glowered. This insult was entirely adolescent, very much Chase. He might have been young, but he was still in his early twenties. Instead, he cast insults like a middle-schooler.

When I didn’t engage with this nonsense, instead just glaring steadily back at him, his smile wavered slightly but he continued.

“This isn’t going to work, you know,” he said. “This morning Amber couldn’t get away from you fast enough. Now you believe by showing up here, she will somehow be impressed?”

I continued glaring, but didn’t say a word.

“Your presence here isn’t going to change anything,” Chase said. “I am the one who is going to win Amber’s heart.”

His persistence despite my staring confirmed for me that he was simply baiting me again. Maybe he wanted me to take another swing at him, so that he could go crying to Amber about his bruises.

I didn’t regret the punch from last time. Chase had certainly deserved it after the way he’d been talking about Amber, and his face was so… punchable.

But I was an Alpha. This was a restaurant, and Amber and all of her co-workers were about to arrive.

He likely wanted me to cause a scene for them all to witness, to see how much of an Alpha brute I was.

That wasn’t going to work a second time.

It wasn’t that I was emotionless. My jealousy still swelled up inside of me fiercely, and my wolf still growled in my mind. But this time, to cool myself, I thought of Amber herself. If she was here, if she could hear the way he talked about her… What would she say?

Chase would only be able to keep up the lies for so long. Amber would eventually start seeing through the cracks.

“You won’t win her because you lie to her,” I said. I knew personally how much secrets hurt her. “She will see through you.”

“Not with my charm,” Chase said.

I shook my head. “She might put up with you. She might even like you, as a friend. But she will never fall in love with you, not the way you expect. She’s going to be the one you can’t seduce.”

“Impossible,” Chase grumbled.

It took all of my willpower not to smirk. By turning the insults around and questioning Chase’s charm, I had successfully turned the tables and put him on the back foot.

He wasn’t used to being challenged like this, that much was clear, from the way he stumbled through his words, trying to dispute me.

“You don’t know what you are talking about,” Chase snapped, getting angry now, his perfectly cool and charismatic façade cracking down the middle. “Amber will pick me, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it but watch. I’m going to take what you love, Alpha, and I’m going to make it all mine.”

“You are going to try,” I countered. “But you aren’t going to succeed.”

Amber didn’t care about winning or losing. She had a big heart, she cared about people, and she would do what was best to protect her child.

Since Chase only wanted her for the game of it, he was in for a wake-up call.

I had to be confident that Amber was going to see through him. That she wasn’t going to tolerate his flitting presence in the life of her or our daughter.

If I started to doubt, then the jealousy would take over…

The bell on the door chimes, and Chase and I both look to see Carla and several other clinic employees enter the restaurant. Still there was no sign of Amber.

I wanted to see her, to mend things, but with Chase here, I’d almost be happier if she just stood him up.

“Julian! You made it!” Carla said, smiling wide. She’d really dolled herself up tonight, with a flashy cocktail dress and a lot of eye makeup. She batted her eyelashes at Chase. “Thank you so much for all of this, Chase. You are such a good guy.”

“Yes, well…” He was still angry for a moment, but after closing his eyes and reopening them, his true feelings were buried under a slathering of charm. “It’s my pleasure of course. Not only do we have cause to celebrate, but now I get to spend the evening with so many beautiful women.”

Carla blushed deep red. She and several other women of the party started to giggle. Even the men seemed impressed with his charms.

One of the men said, “He’s smooth as hell. Do you think I could pull of a line like that?”

One of the women helpfully told him, “Not a chance.”

As the group mingled, the murmur growing into a steady roar of chatter, the bell on the door chimed again.

This time, to my great dread, Olivia walked in.

Gods, what the hell was she doing here? Had she followed me?

“Oh, what a coincidence!” Olivia said brightly, she stepped closer. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Julian. I hope I’m not intruding.”

“Actually…” I started to say.

“A friend of Julian is a friend of ours!” Carla said. “I’m sure Chase won’t mind.” She looked at him.

I did too, when he didn’t immediately answer.

With Carla, he’d always turned on the charm. Even annoyed, he should have recovered already.

Yet looking at him, he seemed utterly lost for a moment...

He was staring at Olivia, confused.

Did they know each other?