Chapter 53

William and I met at the gate after school. I followed him to where his car was parked, and he held the door for me as I climbed into the passenger seat.

I waited until William got into the driver's seat before I told him Victor wasn’t coming. “I’m sorry, but Victor texted me this afternoon and said he can’t make it.”

“That’s too bad,” William said. “I was looking forward to seeing him.”

Before William started the car, my stomach let out a loud growl that made me cringe.

I was embarrassed until William chuckled. “I’m hungry, too. Lunch in the cafeteria today was lousy. We have time. Why don’t we go out for a bite?”

“Sure,” I replied. “That sounds great.”

“How about we stop in at Gilded,” William said.

Gilded was the first five-star restaurant that Victor took me to on the day the reporters broke my glasses, and then William joined us. It felt like that evening was a long time ago, but it had been only a few weeks.

“Sure. Gilded sounds fine.” I had been there several times since then, and I was confident I wouldn’t make a fool of myself.

William was surprised when Gilded’s hostess remembered my name, along with his, as she seated us. She inquired about Victor before she slipped our menus onto the table.

“This must be a favorite place of yours and Victor’s,” William said.

“We come here sometimes,” I told him. “I love their recipe for steak tartare.”

“It is pretty tasty,” William agreed. “Are you looking forward to watching the movie?”

“Very much,” I replied and sipped the iced tea a waiter brought to our table. “ I heard it has great reviews.”

The waiter asked if we were ready to order yet.

William nodded at me. “Ladies first,“ he said.

“I … I’d like the steak tartare, please,” I told the waiter.

“I’ll have the same,” William said with a grin. “I guess we didn’t need the menus. I knew what I wanted when you mentioned the steak tartare.”

“Well, as you said, it is tasty.” I pushed thoughts of the first time I tried it with Victor from my mind and concentrated on William.

“It’s amazing how quickly your speech has improved,” William said. “You should be proud of yourself. Now everybody knows how smart and sophisticated you are.”

“Thank you,” I said, blushing just a little. William must not have caught on to the fact that I had no idea what I was doing the last time I was here. “Victor arranged for a speech therapist for me.”

The thoughts of Victor made me smile. He’s still a wealthy alpha, but he is a much better person than I gave him credit for. He’s done so much for me that he didn’t have to do.

“You have such a nice smile,” William said. “What are you thinking about?”

“Um, let’s see.” I couldn’t tell him I was thinking about Victor. Instead, I mentioned the other things that were happening in my life.

“There’s my ball, my new dress shifting for the first time. There’s so much stuff going on right now that I never thought would happen for me,” I replied.

“This is an exciting time for you,” William said. “You should try to enjoy every second of it. Are you saving me a dance at your ball?”

“Absolutely, all you have to do is ask,” I replied. “ But don’t be surprised if I step on your toes or knock you down. Did you hear how I broke my first dance instructor's arm?”

William’s eyes widened. “I thought that was just a rumor someone made up.”

“Nope. It really happened.” I was relieved when William laughed. “Do you still want to dance with me?”

“Sure. I’ll take the chance,” William’s eyes sparkled as he teased me.

“How many balls have you attended?”

William sipped his tea and put it on the table, “Three since I turned eighteen a couple of months ago. But none were as grand as yours is going to be. How many guests have been invited?”

“Over three hundred. Alex wanted to invite more, but that’s all that will fit in the ballroom.”

“The Wilson mansion’s ballroom is in the oldest part of your home. I heard my parents talking about it. They said your ball will be like the old days, whatever that means.”

“I know Alex is into tradition, and so is Victor,” I told him. “But much of it will be new to me. I didn’t keep up with Alpha traditions while I was living with my adopted Beta family.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll do fine. I’m sure your father will make sure you know what to do and when. Did anybody explain the moon goddess ceremony to you?”

“A little,” I replied. “They’re having a rehearsal in the next couple of days.”

“Good, then you’ll know what to expect.” William leaned back in his chair as our food was served. As soon as the waiter returned to the kitchen, we both dug in.

“This is much better than the chicken soup and peanut butter sandwich we were served in the cafeteria today,” I said as I speared a chunk of meat with my fork.

“Much better,” William agreed as he chewed a bite. “I’m glad your stomach growled when it did, or we may not be here right now.”

After we were finished eating, William refused to let me pay half of the check, and we left for the theater. We found aisle seats near the back of the theater and settled down to wait for the movie to start.

The movie ran for over ninety minutes. It was fun to see part of my history books come to life. I thought the movie company did a terrific job casting the characters. Many of them looked exactly as I had imagined them.

The costumes and sets were so realistic that it was almost like being there. When I glanced over to look at William partway through the movie, his eyes were glued to the screen.

He was incredibly handsome in a way that was the opposite of Victor. Where Victor was dark haired, William was light blond.

And William’s good looks were youthful and unsophisticated, while Victor’s looks were more striking and masculine.

Maybe that was why I was surprised when I learned they were friends. But then, Victor had many friends.

I brought my attention back to the movie in time to see the beginning of the battle. I couldn’t help thinking that Victor would have enjoyed this movie.

When the movie was over, William stood and stretched.“That was pretty good. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. What did you think, Daisy?”

“It was great. It was nice to see the people from the past that we’ve studied about come to life on the screen.”

We walked out of the theater together and climbed into his shiny black Mustang. It wasn’t a Lamborghini, but it was a very nice car.

We had almost arrived at the mansion when my cell vibrated. It was a text from Victor asking if I was home yet. I told him I was on my way and would be there very soon.

He didn’t say why he wanted to know. So I put away my phone when someone appeared in the front entrance doorway as William parked in front of the mansion.