Chapter 147

I was dreaming about dancing with Victor when something began to tickle my nose. Then my whole body began to shake until my head flopped around like a rag doll.

“Victor, what’s happening?” I asked him in my dream. “Why is everything shaking?”

I heard a feminine giggle. “I’m not Victor. Wake up, goofy.”

My eyes flew open, and I realized I had been dreaming when I saw Amy sitting on my bed next to me.

Was this a dream too?

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “Amy, what are you doing here?” I asked. “What time is it?”

“It’s nine o’clock, and I need to talk to you,” she replied. “After your butler let me in, your dad said I could come up to your room and wake you up.”

I stretched and yawned. “I tried to call you last night when I found your messages, but you didn’t answer your phone.”

“Yeah, I fell asleep and found the missed calls from you when I got up this morning,” she said.

Amy seemed normal, but I could tell something was on her mind.

She always tries to hide it when she is upset. But I could tell she needed to talk about something important because she kept biting her lip.

I sat on the edge of the bed next to her. “What’s up?” I asked as Jennifer entered the room with fresh towels for my bathroom.

“Can we talk somewhere alone?” Amy asked.

I hadn’t eaten much at the ball last night and was starving. “Let’s have breakfast together,” I suggested. “Our cook makes delicious omelets.”

“That sounds great, but can we go somewhere to eat by ourselves?” Amy asked. “I don’t want to be around people right now.”

I walked to the balcony doors and looked outside. It was a beautiful late morning. The sun was shining, and the air was warming up quickly.

“Let’s eat outside,” I suggested. “I know a beautiful place where we can sit to eat our breakfast and talk.”

Amy nodded while biting her lip again. “That would be nice.”

After making the arrangements for our alfresco breakfast, I brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

“Come on, our breakfast should be ready soon,” I said and led the way downstairs.

Benson handed me the basket our cook packed for us, and Amy and I walked out a side door.

“Where are we going?” Amy asked.

“You’ll see,” I replied. “I want to show you some of my favorite places on the grounds.”

I don’t know why I didn’t think of sharing the pagoda with her before now. Amy wouldn’t be able to shift for a few more months, but when she turned eighteen, I wanted her to come here and run with me.

We walked to the ballroom patio and entered the rose garden.

“This is where I usually shift,” I said as we passed the fragrant blossoms. It gives me some privacy.”

Next, I showed her the topiary garden, and then we came upon the pond pagoda.

I motioned for her to follow me across the bridge into the pagoda. “There are benches and a small table inside the pagoda, where we can sit and eat for breakfast.”

Amy’s eyes were huge as she took in everything around her.

“This place is fantastic!” she exclaimed. “I’d love to come here with Justin.”

“Then you two haven’t broken up or anything?” I put the basket on the table and sat down.

She shook her head before sitting across from me. “Not yet. But I’m tired of waiting to find out. The signs are there that he wants to break up, but maybe he doesn’t know how to tell me.”

I dug into the basket and pulled out a container of juice and two plastic cups. “Is that what you wanted to talk about last night?”

She accepted a cup of juice and sighed. “Yeah, he didn’t call or text me back last night, and I was losing it.”

I pulled two foil-covered plates from the basket and placed them on the table.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you last night,” I said.

“I forgot you had your charity ball, or I wouldn’t have messaged you.” Amy wiped away a tear. “I’m sorry I’m crying, but I feel like I’m losing Justin …and you.”

I understood what she meant about Justin, but what made her think we wouldn’t be friends anymore?

“You’re both drifting away from me. Soon you’ll both be gone from my life. I know it.” Tears flowed down her cheeks. The pain in her eyes made me want to cry too.

I came around the table and put my arm around her. “I’m not going anywhere, Amy. I am sorry if I made you feel that way. You are my best friend, and you always will be.”

“Nothing and nobody stays the same,” Amy argued. “Our lives are totally different now. We can’t pretend you’re not a wealthy Alpha, and I’m not just a poor Beta. Things won’t stay the same between us forever.”

Her situation with Justin set this off. His silence was slow torture for poor Amy. I should tell her the truth.

“It isn’t your place to say anything,” Diana said. “She needs to hear Justin’s secret from him.”

“But not knowing is hurting her,” I argued. “I should tell her.”

“Knowing and being unable to talk to him about it will hurt her a lot more,” Diana insisted.

“You’re worrying about something that could happen someday,” I told Amy. “I’m here now, and we’re about to have a lovely breakfast together in this beautiful place.”

“I’m probably being silly.”Amy wiped her eyes. “But Dad was working all evening, and I got lonely. All I could think about was Justin and how you and me never hang out with each other anymore.”

“Well, I’ve got all day to hang with you today, girlfriend,” I said. “After our picnic breakfast, what do you want to do?”

I took the foil off the plates and revealed two delicious-looking ham and cheese omelets with triangles of golden toast.

Amy shrugged and picked up the fork laid across her plate. “We could hit the bookstore and then go to a movie. The new Wolf Wars movie is playing in the theaters.”

“That sounds great,” I said before taking my first bite of the omelet. “After the movie, we’ll have supper out too.”

Amy gave me a weak smile. “It feels like we haven’t done anything like this together in ages.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been so busy.”

“You’re going to do a lot of good for a lot of Betas and Omegas,” she said.

Amy tried her omelet and smiled. “I don’t mean to whine, but I need to know what’s happening with Justin. It’s so hard not knowing if he still loves me or not.”

“I understand,” I said. “But what if it’s something you don’t want to hear?”

“What do you mean?” Amy asked.

“What are you doing?” Diana wanted to know.

“Please, be silent, Diana,” I said silently and continued speaking to Amy.

“I know an Alpha girl whose boyfriend was hiding a secret,”

I began. “It was something that he knew she would hate about him, so he had a hard time telling her.”

Amy sat forward, listening closely. “What happened?”

“He finally told her his secret, and she was angry at first, but she thought about it and understood why he didn’t tell her, and everything was great between them again.”

“What was the secret?” Amy asked.

“I don’t know the whole story, but I guess he wasn’t who she thought he was,” I replied. “What would you do if you found out Justin isn’t who you think he is?”

Amy’s face turned pale. “It would depend on what that means. A good relationship means honesty. You don’t hide anything important from somebody you love.”

She put down her fork and stood up. “You know what, I don’t feel real great. I’m going home.” She started across the pagoda bridge.

I stood and followed her. “Amy, wait. Please come back. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

When she came to the end of the bridge, she turned toward me. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. “I can’t take not knowing what’s going on with Justin much longer.”

“It’s not your fault Daisy,” she added. “But I just don’t feel like hanging out anymore. We’ll do it another day.”

“Okay,” I said and walked her around to the front of a mansion. “Call me later.”

“I will,” she said as she climbed into her father’s old Chevy pickup.

Watching the truck go down the driveway, I sent Justin a text and told him he had twenty-four hours to make Amy feel better, or I would tell her the truth.