Page 8 of Alpha Wolf's Nanny
Butterflies swooped in her stomach, and her limbs felt tingly and trembling. Excitement, probably, but also nerves. He would say yes. He would. Why wouldn’t he? It wasn’t like she was proposing marriage, just that they see each other again. There was nothing wrong with that. He liked her; he’d said as much. They had talked for hours. It would be fine. He would say yes.
Wrapping herself in the biggest, fluffiest towel robe she could find, she took a deep breath and stepped outside of the bathroom, her throat growing strangely thick.
Felix was waiting for her at the table, a wonderful spread of pastries and bacon, and fruit in front of him. He had thrown his trousers back on, and a shirt which stayed unbuttoned, revealing the hard planes of his chest.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I ordered everything,” he said, as if it were nothing at all to order nine or ten items at one of the priciest hotels in Portland. Cassie had been ignoring how fancy the room was thus far. She was overwhelmed enough as it was.
“Thanks,” she said shyly, slipping into the chair opposite him, starting to pile her plate high with fruit. She didn’t often get to eat fruit—not fruit as nice as this, at any rate.
“You’re welcome,” he said, pouring himself coffee.
“Felix,” she said suddenly, realizing she only had so long before her nerves gave out entirely, “I, um, I have something to ask you.”
He raised an eyebrow, raising the steaming mug of coffee to his lips. “Yes?”
“Do you, um,” she drew in a deep breath, “do you perhaps want to do this again? See each other, I mean. Not sex. Well, maybe sex, but…that’s not the…what I’m trying to say is I’ll be in the area for a while, and…well…I’d like to see you again.”
She finished her words in a garbled rush, glancing between her plate and his surprised face, her hands shaking and her belly roiling.
The silence stretched out between them, thick and awkward.
Felix stared at her, his mouth slightly open, his brow furrowed.
With a start, Cassie realized she may have made a terrible mistake.
“Look, Cassie,” he said slowly. Carefully.
Shit.
“I think you’re great, and last night was amazing, but—”
“It’s fine,” Cassie said and stood abruptly, the chair clattering behind her, her breakfast forgotten as she rushed to gather her things.
“You’re a human,” Felix continued, “and I’m a shifter. I have certain responsibilities that mean—”
“Really, Felix, it’s fine,” she said, her throat thick and painful. Stupid, stupid,stupid.
He stood, his hands half-reached out as if to help her as she tore around the room. “Really, it’s nothing to do with you—”
“Thank you for a lovely night,” she said as she yanked her dress over her head, too humiliated to care if he saw her body as she did so, “but I should probably be going now.”
He considered her for a moment, his brow still creased into a frown, before he nodded once and picked up the phone on the bedside table. “I’ll call you a cab.”
***
In the car, Cassie tried her best not to bash her head against the window. What an absoluteidiotshe was. Of course, he didn’t want to see her again. She was her, and he was him, and he probably hadn’t even enjoyed himself, and it was just a one-night stand, and she was sostupid.
Unbidden, a tear rolled down her cheek, and she dashed it away with a barely-contained snarl of anger. This was precisely why she didn’t get mixed up in this sort of thing. She would only get hurt. And she had let herself get hurt. There was no one to blame but herself. Felix had been lovely and charming, but he didn’t owe her anything. He had a whole life to get back to. Why would he want to spend any more time with a scrappy, plain little girl like her?
Her phone chimed in her bag, and she pulled it out with slightly more violence than was strictly necessary. Alongside a bunch of texts from Phil, there was a new message from Molly.
Cassie, I hope you’re well. I’m pleased to say I’ve finalized all the details for your new job. I’m sure you’re going to love it. Could you come into the office tomorrow, and I can run through all the details with you in person? Shall we say ten a.m.?
Cassie’s head fell back against the headrest as she reread the message. A new job. One with stability and a roof over her head and, hopefully, protection. This was a good thing. She should focus on that. She fired back a text to Molly confirming that she would be there and put her phone back in her bag.
A new job. A new city. A new her, perhaps.
Soon, she would forget all about Felix.
