Page 20 of Knot A Chance

He nodded. “If you want to make sure I eat dinner at a reasonable time one night, a date would be a great way to do that.”

My face flushed, and I knew I was at the end of my rope. I couldn’t resist this guy. He was so damn charming, and his loyalty to me was already more than enough to make me want to give him a chance. But on top of that, I continued to get the sense that if I told him to back off at any time, he really would. He’d continued pursuing me because I wanted him to and he knew it.

I reached across the counter and gripped his shirt, pulling him closer to me again so I could smell him. “You know, even if I were willing to let you take out the mated omega with a drug addiction who you’re so intent on chasing—”

His hand covered mine. “Don’t talk about yourself like that. You’re a lot more than your past.”

“Fuck. Why do you have to be so impossible to resist?”

He smiled, still holding onto my hand. “I believe you were trying to make a point.”

“My boss is your sister.”

“So?”

“Ally is terrifying. I don’t want to be on her bad side,” I said with a laugh. “The other day she grabbed a man by his collar and dragged him out of here like he was a sack of potatoes.”

Bennett laughed. “She’s strong.”

“Abnormally strong, even for an alpha,” I said, raising one eyebrow in alarm. “Aren’t you scared of her?”

“Slightly terrified, but not about this. She’ll have no problem with us dating. Besides, you’ll probably fall in love with me after one date and we’ll live happily ever after. Even she can’t complain about true love.”

“You know there is no happily ever after unless my ex releases me from our bond or you just happen to be my true mate.”

Bennett smiled with confidence. “Maybe that’s exactly what I am. Either way, you still get to choose what happens next.”

“God, I wish,” I said on an exhale.

My pulse raced as I thought about what he was suggesting. Wouldn’t he know if he’s my true mate? And don’t most alphas just lay claim to their true mate when they find them? Why would he even give me a choice? Unless he knows he’s not and he just wants to give me hope about getting out of my bond to Ryder, which seems kind of cruel.

The scent of pine filled the air around me and I took a deep breath, pulse instantly returning to normal. Bennett smiled at me and squeezed my hand. “I don’t like when you feel nervous.”

“I’m off on Friday.” I let go of him, picked up his phone off the counter, and lifted it to his face to unlock the screen. I typed in my phone number and address before handing the phone back to him.

“What time can I pick you up?” he asked.

“Seven,” I said, feeling my pulse kick up again.

Was I really going to do this? Was I ready for this? To consider dating someone? I’d always assumed it would be impossible until I convinced Ryder to break our bond, and he’d made it very clear the day I left that he had no intention of doing that. After detoxing at my sister’s house for two weeks, I’d found him to tell him that we were done and that I was going to rehab. He’d laughed and told me I’d be back. When I assured him that I wouldn’t, he’d smiled slyly at me, ran a finger over the bite mark on my neck and said, “Doesn’t matter, you’ll always belong to me.”

Another wave of calm washed over me as I suddenly felt like I was surrounded by pine trees again. I locked eyes with Bennett to find him smiling happily at me.

“I know what you’re doing,” I said.

“You’ll tell me if you don’t like it,” he said confidently.

“I will,” I said, feeling Bennett’s gaze on me as I moved to the other end of the bar to check on the customers over there. The ones who’d no doubt be leaving me a terrible tip because of how much I’d been neglecting them. I needed to go on a date with Bennett just so I could go back to being a halfway decent bartender.

Twenty minutes later, I set a salad down in front of Bennett. He lifted one eyebrow. “What’s this? I thought I ordered onion rings.”

I shook my head at him. “You ordered those to appease me. What you want is this. I had Milo take the ingredients for the chicken nachos and throw them on lettuce instead. I probably should have asked if you had any dietary restrictions first though. Sorry.”

He grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Don’t be sorry, this is perfect. I love it. Thank you.”

I preened at his praise, the instinct to please my alpha already strong. He smiled knowingly, like he could see the pride on my face. He picked up his fork and started eating, looking mighty satisfied as he did. I stared at him, captivated by every movement of his jaw as it worked to chew. He swallowed and my gaze shifted to the bob in his throat.

“You know, if you want better tips tonight, you’re going to have to serve the other customers,” he said with a teasing smile.