Chapter 210
William’s POV
I hope I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure Daisy will choose Victor. Even though I denied it to myself, I’ve always thought they had an intense chemistry between them.
You can see it whenever they are together. There’s a spark that burns brighter when they are close to each other.
Yet, neither would ever admit it. Daisy always insisted they were just good friends. But a guy doesn’t do the things that Victor has done for Daisy unless he cares a great deal for her.
“You have a good chance to be her mate,” my wolf told me. “She has been more physical lately, touching you and letting you kiss her.”
“Yeah, I thought we were getting close. I thought I was going to be her mate. She’s changed so much since the days she spent staring at me in werewolf history class.”
“You should call her,” Mark insisted. “You need to talk to her before it’s too late.”
“She wants time alone to think,” I said. “She may get mad if I call her.”
“It’s only a phone call,” Mark argued. “If she doesn’t want to talk to you, she won’t answer the phone.”
“I can’t call her, Mark,” I said.
“You know you want to. Do you want Victor to win? His car was still in the driveway when we left Alex’s mansion, but he was nowhere around. He was probably somewhere with her.”
“I saw her go upstairs to her bedroom,” I said. “There’s no way he followed her to her bedroom. Even Victor isn’t that bold.”
“Victor knows how to get what he wants,” Adam insisted. “Don’t let him get ahead of you with Daisy. Call her, and let her know you are concerned for her. Ask her if she is okay.”
“I guess that wouldn’t hurt anything,” I admitted and grabbed my phone.
I dialed her number and waited for her to pick up.
“Hello, William,” Daisy said on the fifth ring. She sounded weary.
“Daisy, I was thinking of you and hoping you are okay,” I said. “You’ve had a rough time lately, and if you need to talk, I’m here for you.”
“Thanks, William,” she said. “That’s nice of you, but I don’t want to talk right now. See you in school.” And she hung up.
“Why did she hang up so quickly?” I wondered. “I hope you’re wrong, Mark, about Victor being with her.”
“I think it’s possible,” Mark said. “As I said, he knows how to get what he wants.”
“Then there is nothing I can do to help Daisy choose me. I should …”
My phone rang, and I grabbed it from the coffee table to check the caller ID. “Maybe Daisy is calling me back.”
But the name on my phone screen was Victor Klein.
“Why is he calling me?” Was he with Daisy when I called her?
“Answer the call and find out,” Mark advised. “But the timing is strange.”
I braced myself for the worst before I touched my phone screen and accepted the call.
“Hello, Victor,” I said into my phone.
“William, I want to speak to you about Daisy,” Victor said.
“Sure,” I agreed. “What about her? Are you with her now?”
“I spoke to her briefly when I went for a quick run before leaving Alex’s,” he replied. “I thought she went to her room, but I ran into her near the pond.”
“Isn’t that a coincidence?” Mark said in my mind.
“How is she?” I asked. “She was upset before she went upstairs.”
“That’s what I want to talk about,” Victor said. “Daisy needs time to think. This decision is tearing her apart, and both of us pursuing her will make it more difficult for her.”
“What are you saying?” Did he want me to back off?
I’m saying I plan on leaving her alone for a while,” Victor replied. “We shouldn’t be pressuring her. I intend to give her space. When I must see her, I’m not mentioning her decision again.”
“And you want me to do the same?”
“You do whatever you think is right,” he answered. “I’m just telling you what I observed. Daisy doesn’t need any more pressure put on her.”
“Victor, I see her at school every day. Do you want me to ignore her?”
“Not at all,” Victor said. “I don’t plan on ignoring her. I’m merely going to give her the time and space she needs to make her decision.”
“I wanted to ask her to our prom,” I said. “Or are you taking her?”
“Before I spoke to her this evening, I planned a special invitation. But now I’d like you to deliver the promposal and be her escort if you wish.”
“Why are you helping me to be Daisy’s escort to the prom?” There had to be a catch.
“It is your senior prom,” he said. “I went to mine, and now it’s your turn. It’s fine if you don’t want to use my invitation idea.”
“Tell me about it, and I’ll decide if I want to use it,” I said. But I still didn’t understand why he would want to help me with Daisy.
“Okay, I was going to combine three things Daisy loves into the promposal,” Victor said.
He continued outlining his plans, and I was impressed. He knew Daisy very well. She would enjoy it.
“I’d like to use your ideas to ask her,” I said. “Thanks, Victor.”
“You’re welcome, William. Just try not to put any pressure on her. Keep things with her light and casual for now.”
We hung up, and I smiled. “What did you think, Mark?”
“I think we are going to the prom.”
I made a few calls to prepare for the invitation. I wanted to ask Daisy to the prom the next day. Using Victor’s fantastic ideas, she was bound to say yes.
I had everything ready before lunchtime. I missed some of my morning classes to put everything together in time, but it was worth it.
After werewolf history class, I followed Daisy into the hall and took her hand.
“I have a surprise for you,” I told her. “Come with me.”
She was reluctant at first. “William, I’m leaving school early today. This is my first afternoon at my office since …” She sighed. “Where are you taking me?”
“Trust me,” I said. “You're going to like this.”
I led her to the gymnasium. It was dark until we walked a few feet inside the door. Then soft lights began to glow in the center of the gigantic room, and music began to play.
“That’s a tango,” Daisy said. “What’s going on?”
I swung her into my arms and said, “Dance with me, Daisy.”
She nodded, but I could tell she didn’t understand yet.
I hadn’t anticipated the crowd that was gathering at the entrances to the gym as we moved across the floor.
I should have anticipated the intrusion into what I wanted to be private moments. Our audience was quiet, but I could feel their eyes on us. Daisy did too.
We danced until the music wound to an end. Then brighter lights came on, and I led Daisy to a small table at one end of the gym.
It was set with a linen tablecloth, crystal glasses, and fine china. But in the center was a platter of tacos that spelled out the message in tomatoes, “Be my prom date.”
Daisy froze in my arms. She stared at the table, and I felt her body trembling.
“I can’t believe you did all this for me,” she whispered.
“I hope you still like tacos,” I said. It was a silly thing to say at that moment, but Daisy’s near silence was making me nervous.
Maybe I should have gone with the food Victor planned on using: steak tartare. And I should have made the invitation somewhere more private. More faces were staring at us from the doorways.
“Have a seat,” I said. Ignoring the looky-loos, I held a chair for her.
She silently sat down, and I took my place across the table.
“Are you angry with me for doing this?” I asked.
She shook her head and stared at the platter of tacos.
“Daisy, please say something,” I said.
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out at first.
