Page 7 of A Lady's Heart
“…no, I don’t think I can do that. Talk to you later, Flash.”
The connection went dead, and Justin stepped into the nearest alleyway to finally let his roar of frustration escape, the bearlike sounds ripping from his human throat and leaving it raw, which matched the sensation inside him.
He punched in Amy’s number.
“You are one brave son of a bitch,” Amy announced in greeting. “Last time I saw Evan that mad, someone ended up dead.”
“Pissing your mate off was never my intention.”
“I’d hate to see what would happen if you tried to be annoying. Honestly, save your breath. I already know what you’re going to ask, and if you make one wrong move, I’ll warn you now Evan is the least of your worries.”
Justin leaned an arm against the nearest brick wall and counted to ten so he could respond softly. “I’ll remind you she’s not one of your pack.”
“And I’ll remind you there’s pack, there’s family and there’s friends. I consider Mandy all three, so you watch your p’s and q’s, buster. I’ve always wanted a bearskin rug in front of my fireplace.”
She cut the call short and left him with dead air.
Justin spent a few minutes cursing creatively before the small voice in his head that had been trying to get his attention the entire time finally wiggled past all the testosterone.
Why not call Mandy?
Flipping genius.
He took a quick walk around the block first, to practice sayinghello. He got some strange looks from people who scurried out of his way, but it wasn’t his fault he towered over most of them by nearly a foot. Their wide-eyed retreats helped him realize snapping, growling or otherwise greeting Mandy any way other than with the iron grip of control he’d maintained for the past two months would only get him in more trouble.
Evan didn’t really scare him.
Amy? He was a smart enough man to fear womanly wrath.
But Mandy hanging up on him would gut him.
He sat on a park bench, crossed his fingers and made the call.
“Hello?” Pure innocence and just a hint of curiosity in her tone.
Only…Mandy had call display. Justin had installed it on her phone himself so she’d never have to worry about her ex-husband trying to get in touch. She knew it was him, but if she wanted to play the game this way, he’d play along.
“Good evening, Mandy. I hope Kent got you settled for the evening.” He wished nothing of the kind. Even thinking of the young pup near her made him grind his teeth hard enough his jaw ached.
“I’m quite comfortable, thank you. And you?” she asked. “I hope I wasn’t too rude earlier.”
“You know I was the one out of line,” he admitted. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.”
Then she waited in silence until he remembered he’d been the one to call her. “I was wondering if you’d like some company.”
Say yes. Say yes. Say yes.
“I think I’ll settle in for the night.” She dashed his hopes before offering a breadcrumb. “Would you like to get together for breakfast? I was thinking about tea and muffins at Midnight Sun around eight o’clock, if you’re interested—”
“Yes,” he got out before she could even finish issuing the invitation. “I’d like that very much.”
“Then I’ll see you there?”
“With bells on,” he promised.
Soft laughter drifted over the line. “That won’t be necessary. Just casual. Two friends meeting to start their day.”
