Chapter 157

“I mean it, Daisy,” Amy said. “Why don’t you like Justin? You’ve never even met him!”

“Yes. I don’t know him, Amy, but ….” I began.

I had to explain how I discovered he was an Alpha and how Victor and I went to his apartment and demanded he tell Amy the truth.

She also needed to know that the result of that meeting was him leaving for the other coast.

She would be furious with us both, but I think more so with me. I should have told her the truth from the beginning.

“If you don’t know him, how can you not like him?” Amy fumed.

“Amy, I'm sorry,” I began again. “It’s not that I don’t like Justin. I don’t know him well enough to say that. But I’m afraid he’s going to hurt you …he has been hurting you, and ….”

A loud knock at my door made us both jump.

“Come in,” I called, glad for a reprieve. I needed time to think of gentle words to break the news to her and not just blurt out whatever came to my mind.

William popped his head into the room, followed by the rest of his fine self.

“Hello, ladies,” he said. “Victor told me he couldn’t be here today, so I thought I’d stop in and see if you needed anything.”

“I think we’re good,” I replied.

“Do you have a ride home?” William asked.

“I was going to call Alex’s chauffeur to pick us up,” I replied.

“I can take you if you like,” William offered.

Amy checked the time. “He can take me to the restaurant, or I can take a cab. I have to work this evening.”

She still seemed angry with me, but I didn’t want to discuss it in front of William. I needed to wait until we were alone.

“I guess I can call it a day,” I said. “William, will you take

Amy to her dad’s restaurant and me home?”

William gave us a warm smile. “I’d be glad to.”

We walked to the elevator and went down to parking level two, where William had left the Mustang.

He opened the passenger side door for us and pushed the back of the front seat forward so Amy could get into the backseat easier.

“I’ve never ridden in an Alphas hot rod before,” Amy said as she settled into the seat.

It was an odd thing to say, but William ignored it. He closed the door after I climbed into the car in front of Amy.

The ride to Gray’s restaurant was tense and silent. William tried to start a conversation with Amy once, but she gave one-word answers and continued to sulk in the backseat.

William found a parking space a block from the restaurant, and we exited the car.

“I’m hungry,” William said. “Do you want to eat dinner here with me, Daisy?

It might give me a chance to try to get Amy alone so we could talk. I could go into the kitchen to speak to her. It was t the time to tell her about Justin, but I didn’t like leaving things hanging like this between us.

“Sure,” I agreed. I turned to ask Amy if she thought we could get a table, but she hadn’t waited on us and was already at the restaurant’s front door.

“What’s going on with you two?” William asked as we walked up the sidewalk together.

“It’s kind of a long story,” I answered.

“Tell me over dinner,” he suggested and opened the restaurant’s front door.

“Okay,” I sighed. “But try not to judge me. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time.”

We were seated at a table against the far wall where I could see the entire restaurant. I would be able to see if Amy came out of the kitchen.

After we got our sparkling fruit juices and ordered our meals, I told William the entire story about Amy and Justin.

William wasn’t shocked. “I thought something like this was going on from things you asked me about Justin.”

“Is he going to hurt her worse than he already has?” I asked.

“Justin isn’t a player or anything. He must care about Amy, but he discovered how she feels about Alphas and the class system. I don’t approve of lying, but I understand why he did it.”

I sipped my juice. “I feel terrible that I didn’t tell her when I first found out.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t say anything,” William said.

“Why not?” I was surprised he felt that way.

“Daisy, Justin is a decent guy who made a mistake,” he argued. “I know he feels like you and I do about the poor treatment of the Beta community.”

“But he lied to my friend,” I said.

“People do strange things for love,” William said. “They make mistakes, and they say and do the wrong things.”

“Do you think he’s telling the truth about wanting to tell his family first?”

William nodded. “I do. I’m not surprised he went to his grandmother for her support before he said anything to his parents. His grandmother is a strong, fair Luna.”

“Then I’ll be quiet a while longer and give him a chance to fix his mess,” I said. “But I need to apologize to Amy before we leave. I’ll be right back.”

I got up and crossed the room to the kitchen door. Inside, I found Amy at the prep table.

“I don’t have time to talk about it now,” she said as she chopped vegetables for salad.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” I said. “Please tell Justin I’m sorry if I was rude. It won’t happen again.”

I turned to leave, but Amy’s voice stopped me. “Thanks. I’ll tell him. Daisy, I know you’re worried about me getting hurt. So am I. But Justin is worth the risk.”

“If you love him, I think he’s worth it, too,” I agreed. After a quick hug, I rejoined William at our table.

We enjoyed Mr. Gray’s delicious steaks and chocolate soufflés while discussing the lake picnic and next week’s football game.

“I can’t believe it’s the playoffs of my senior year,” William said. “Coach told me some college recruiters have their eye on me. They called and asked him questions about my plans for the future.”

“That’s exciting,” I said. “Do you think they will be at the game?”

“I think so, but I’m not focusing on it,” he replied. “I need to keep my head in the game.”

“I’ll be there to cheer you on,” I promised.

After we finished our desserts, William excused himself to go to the bathroom. I waited at the table and emptied my juice glass.

I was happy it turned out to be a good evening. Amy wasn’t mad at me, and I had a delicious dinner with William. I wondered how Victor’s day went.

“I’ll call him when I get home,” I told myself a second before I thought I heard his laugh.

I scanned the room, and my blood froze in my veins when I spotted him.

He sat at an eight-top near the door. A beautiful woman in a dangerously low-cut dress had her hand on his arm as they talked.

My face flushed, and my heartbeat pounded in my ears when I saw her push back a lock of his ebony hair and laugh into his eyes.

“That unbelievable jerk!” I spat.

“Victor warned me about making him look like a fool to the press, yet there he was flirting with some gorgeous woman in a crowded restaurant.”

Unable to control myself, I rose from my seat and stalked across the room to his side.

The Alpha playboy was at it again. He had a lot of nerve lecturing me about being discreet!