“What?” she snapped.
“I’ll meet you at The Wick in ten minutes. We’ll get a drink and you can unload your woes.”
“I don’t have woes,” she so priggishly pointed out.
His smile said he didn’t believe her. “Ten minutes, Rabbit.”
“Yeah, fine. Whatever.” Ten minutes, Rabbit. She mocked in her head as she climbed into Trixie. He waited till she had turned around and started down the road before opening his truck door and climbing inside. It took her seven minutes to get to the bar. Chuck had given her a space to park in the employee lot in the back. Just as she was pulling in, Owen’s truck rolled down the road and got the prime spot out front.
Surprisingly enough, she hadn’t changed her mind about talking to him. That didn’t mean the butterflies in her stomach weren’t in a frenzy. She put a hand over her fluttering stomach. It’s just a drink. Maybe two. Calm down and stop acting like a fifteen year old on her fist date.
He sought her out when he climbed down from his truck, his eyes finding her immediately. He could have such intensity about him at times. She had seen a flash of it the night before when he came storming into Zach’s room. That look was a searching one now. It tore through her, reading her. His eyes continued their search of her soul while a smile, small, simple and just a little bit wicked, crept up from the corners of his mouth. The dimples that drove her heart wild appeared on each side. Whatever he searched for, he found. And he liked the look of it.
Mira didn’t back down. He may call her Rabbit but she was far from that timid little creature. She squared her shoulders and raised a questioning eyebrow. His own eyebrows went up in response. Owen shook his head and let his smile hit her full blast. It was like, on some primal level their bodies were having a conversation.
Mira perched a hand on her hip and stuck it out. If he was going to look, she was going to give him something to look at. She had changed back into her clothes from earlier. The clothing from Quincy’s left haphazardly in the front seat of Trixie. Her boots clicked with every slow, almost seductive step she took. Owen, a man who obviously enjoyed a good show when he saw one, stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned back against his truck.
This was just way too much fun. Mira didn’t stop the smile that had spread across her face. Cars passed, a jogger ran by but all she saw was her destination. As she came up to him, he pushed off from the truck and took a few steps toward her. But Mira just kept walking, right on by him and to the door of The Wick. She heard his laugh, healthy and full, behind her. Looking over her shoulder to see his expression would have ruined the whole thing so she kept to her guns and strutted her fine ass right inside without waiting for him.
“That is one mighty fine walk you have there Rabbit,” Owen said from beside her.
“I don’t know what you mean. I was just walking.”
He laughed again, which caused most of the bar to look at them. Owen draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her toward an empty table. There were stares but they felt more like looks of astonishment. Owen paused halfway to the table and gave a quick, harsh sweep across the bar. The majority of the people avoided the look and went back to what they were doing. When he was satisfied, he led her forward again.
“What the hell was that about?” she asked sliding into the booth. The attention that had amused her had dampened Owen’s mood.
“Nothing. Small town life.”
Two beers were slammed down on the table before she had a chance to pry further. The dark amber liquid sloshed over the side, making a mess on their table. Mira’s oh so favorite bartender, Lee, stood at the end of the table with her hands on her hips. She wasn’t openly glaring but Mira felt the waves of jealousy and resentment coming her way. Owen didn’t look up. He continued to look at Mira with a blank expression on his face, but when he spoke, it was in obvious regards to Lee.
“Is there a problem, Lee?”
“Nope,” she said with a pop.
“Then why don’t you take these back, bring us new ones that you will serve to us respectfully after cleaning off the table.” The only action Lee made was defiantly crossing her arms over her chest. “That wasn’t a request,” he told her.
Mira felt the heaviness of those words. Owen held command when he wanted to. It was terribly attractive which was in the completely wrong direction she wanted to be headed with him.
Lee faltered for a second, but that’s all that was needed. She huffed out a breath and grabbed the beers. Before Mira could stop herself she called out to Lee, “Could I actually have a margarita, on the rocks. Thanks.”
Hot daggers piercing her body would have felt more pleasant than the look Lee shot her. Owen nodded his head ever so slightly, which caused Lee to huff another breath and turn to the bar.
Mira beamed at Owen. She shouldn’t have, but dammit that felt good. The stuck up waitress had had it out for her from the start. Owen didn’t look as pleased as Mira felt but he caught on soon enough.
“Your smile is infectious.”
This, of course, made her smile widen. “Can’t help it. The karma train finally left the station.”
He nodded like he knew exactly what she was talking about.
“So what was that about?” She flicked her eyes to where Lee was making their drinks.
Owen scratched his head and rubbed the hand down to his neck where he gave it a squeeze. “Lee and I used to date.”
She hadn’t actually expected an answer but the one she got wasn’t a surprise. It made sense and she probably should have put it together sooner.
“How long ago was that?”
“Over a year.” She got the impression that it had been a very long year. “This, whatever this was, is something new. She doesn’t normally act like that. We’ve been amicable since the breakup but she crossed a line back there and I don’t tolerate disrespect.”
She believed that. Disrespecting people was so petty. Mira much preferred to tell it how it was. So many people shied away from the truth to save some one from discomfort but all they were doing was postponing it. From what she’d seen, Mira could guess that Owen shared her thoughts.
“Do you want to know what it is? Because I can tell you. I don’t know you well enough to tell if it would help or hinder. So you’ll have to tell me.”
He cocked his head. “You know why she is acting this way?”
“I do,” she said with the utmost confidence.
“How?” He was intrigued.
She snorted this time. “I have a vagina. I know.”
He waved his hand at her, giving her the floor. “By all means then.”
“She is jealous. It’s doesn’t seem like she plans on being a bitch, it just comes out. That being said, she probably feels bad about it later on.”
“Jealous?” he asked unbelieving.
“Jealous,” she confirmed.
“Lee has never been the jealous type. I wonder what brought this on.”
Rhetorical question but she answered it anyway. “Um, that would be me.”
He’d been lost for a moment, his eyes unfocused as he thought, but those eyes snapped up to her. Mira shrugged but she knew there was a little bit of sass in it. Possibly a smirk. What could she say? It was a little confidence boost.
“Why,” he began. His voice getting heavy, “would she be jealous of you?”
“Why shouldn’t she be?” Her voice held more seduction than was necessary. The reasonable part of her brain was screaming at her to shut the hell up.
Dammit, Mira! We talked about this. No flirting with the brute until you get yourself together. Stop this instant!
Lee, being the goddess of timing that she was, chose that particular moment to bring their drinks. Owen broke the connection first. He turned his head toward the room and cast a glance around. Mira had to swallow down the lump of sexy thoughts that had lodged itself in her throat. When she looked up, Lee was watching her. This time, the bitch had been left at the bar. What Mira saw instead was ut
ter disappointment.
“Thank you,” Owen said as she turned. Lee paused but left without a word.
“Well, she’s just a pocketful of sunshine,” Mira said more to herself than to Owen. She took a small sip of her margarita, testing the waters in case Lee had poisoned it. “You ok?”
He smiled a little. “Yeah, but if I remember correctly we came here to talk about you, not me.”
“True enough.” Now that they were here, she wasn’t sure what exactly she needed to talk about. It always came naturally with another woman. You’d start talking about what you did that weekend and all the sudden both of you were dissing some bitch who cut you off on the highway three Mondays ago.
Sensing her uncertainty, Owen gave her a little push. “Sadie says you’re bisexual.”
“I am. In middle school I had a crush on Teddy Ross and Piper Hamilton. Once I got to high school, I found I couldn’t choose between just girls or boys. So I chose both.”
He nodded. Not phased at all. “How long had you been with…”
“Sophia,” she supplied. “It was about three years. We met in college and just got an apartment a few weeks ago.” Looking back now, she could tell things had been strained even then. Mira had ignored it or maybe she just didn’t see it. Either way, she was made the fool.
“She cheated on me. Apparently she had been seeing another woman for a few months. She said that moving in together was supposed to help bring her back to loving me. She thought that by being together more she wouldn’t need the sex she had been getting from Whore-face.” Even now she felt nothing about the situation. It bothered her.
“That must have been hard.”
A quick humorless laugh escaped. “But it wasn’t. That’s why I’m here. I can’t figure out why I don’t care more about this. She crapped on our relationship and I don’t even care.” She looked up at Owen and just asked, “Why don’t I care?”
He was listening to everything and was actually hearing what she said. He took a moment to gather his thoughts and a pull of his beer. “Did you love her?”
“Yes.” Maybe.
Whoa. What the? Where did that come from?
“Hmmm,” he said studying her thoughtfully, “I don’t think that’s entirely true. Were you excited to move in together?”
She shrugged. It was whatever. Living with Sophia was a way to move out of her mom’s house. Their friends and family had started nagging them about “the next steps” in their relationship. It seemed only natural.
He pushed his beer aside and rested his forearms on the table. She found herself leaning forward as he did, like what he was about to say was a secret. “The night before move in day, when you were lying in bed, unable to sleep, was it because you were nervous excited or nervous anxious?”
She didn’t even have to think about it. She had been terrified. Mira worried that she had been making the wrong choice but at that point what were they to do? The lease had been signed. Mira knew her eyes were practically bugging out of her head with a hard realization shining outward.
Owen leaned back, proud with himself, and said, “That’s what I thought.”
Mira stayed put. “I thought it was just cold feet,” she said at last. “I thought, I don’t know, that I was over reacting.”
“That was your gut, Rabbit. You should learn to listen to it more often.”
She drained the margarita glass. He was right; she had known it was the wrong thing to be doing as she was doing it. That’s probably why she had a headache the entire time they were moving. Hindsight was seriously a bitch sometimes.
“You originally wanted to know why you don’t care more, correct?”
Mira nodded. “From what it sounds like, it’s not that you don’t care, it’s that you are relieved that it is over, that you can stop pretending. Let me ask you this; were you two happy the week before you broke up? The month?”
Were they happy? Hell no, they were stagnant. Both of them were bored and often found things to do that didn’t include time spent together. Mira had noticed this and was planning on doing something special for Sophia but had never gotten around to it. But now, as Owen was peeling away layers of her relationship, she could admit that she didn’t want to do anything special for her. That’s why she kept putting it off.
“We weren’t happy. We never saw each other long enough to try and be happy. I think you’re right, about everything. I was miserable. I knew going home each night meant another night of awkward silences and half assed conversation. And those were the nights we were both home. Many times I’d come home to a note that she switched shifts with someone and was working overnight.” Mira rubbed her temple. “Oh god, I am such an idiot.”
“You’re not. You just saw what you wanted to see for as long as you wanted to see it.”
She had to agree with that. “I feel…” she wasn’t sure how to explain it, “I feel guilty almost, for not only allowing it to go on for as long as it did when we were unhappy, but also for feeling so, to use your word, relieved that it was over. That’s why I haven’t cried or screamed or anything really. All I did was get in a car and drive here.” Mira looked up to Owen. “I came here because I had nowhere else to go.”
He nodded, understood. His hand covered hers on the table top. “You’ve got a place here for as long as you need.”
The sigh she felt wasn’t audible but made her whole body sag.
“Sometimes a relationship ends, not because either one wanted it too or did anything wrong, but because it had run its course. She shouldn’t have cheated, that’s a coward’s way out. I’m not condoning that at all, but you have every right to be happy. There is no right or wrong way to live after a breakup.”
“Speaking from experience?” she asked as her mood began to lighten.
“You could say that.” He still held her hand. The surprising thing was, she didn’t make any motion to move it. Like everything about him, his hand engulfed hers. It was warm and protective but that was a horrible way to describe it. His hand on top of hers gave her strength. He was lending her whatever she needed from him.
With a squeeze he let go and reached for his beer. “I know you came to see Sadie and that hasn’t gone as planned, but I’m still glad you came. Knowing you is a pleasure, Mira.”
Chapter Six
“I should get going,” Mira said with a bit of sadness, which made her visibly surprised, as her gaze caught sight of the time. Her eyes flicked to him to see if he had caught it, he had. But his expression didn’t say as much. Owen had successfully kept her occupied for the past three and half hours by just talking. For the last hour he knew their time was running out. For tonight at least.
The night had ended up somewhere he would not have thought possible earlier that day. After she drunkenly kicked him out last night, he had worried about her. Calling in Chuck’s special hangover breakfast wasn’t all about chivalry; he had an ulterior motive behind it. The obvious reason being that she would get a good breakfast, but also that he could have someone relay back to him how she was doing. Chuck hadn’t said a word when he got the call at six a.m., a satisfied grunt was all the agreement Owen had gotten.
His day had been a busy one, which was good. It kept his mind off of little Rabbits. Although, he had gotten multiple updates throughout the day. He had no less than three people casually mention about the sister smack down that morning. Word traveled fast in the pack, especially when it involved him. He was not only pack Alpha, but also the rock they all leaned on. Not all packs were run this way but its how his father taught him. He needed to be the foundation of the pack. But that also meant, if he cracked, they all felt it.
His breakup with Lee had rocked everyone. His emotions were loosely linked with the rest of his wolves, as were everyone’s. They couldn’t hear thoughts but they would get the occasional light wave of emotion. It only happened during a particularly strong emotion. He had his under lock and key but that day, Lee had gutted him. The howling had started from all around
town before she had even made it out the front door.
Mira was the first woman he had shown any kind of interest in since. Walking in here with his arm over her shoulders had been an unconscious announcement. This one was his. Knowing smiles and sidelong glances had given him enough to know that the pack was going to talking tonight. He wouldn’t have to wait long before he heard what they thought of his Rabbit.
Their reactions would vary, they always did, but none of them mattered to him. As Alpha he had no one to answer to. Just like he had told Lee countless times, the pack got a say in anything but his personal life. That was his and his alone. She hadn’t believed him. The trust just wasn’t there for her. It wasn’t only with him; she didn’t trust anyone, not fully. So when she came to his suite, he had known instantly what she was there to do. He had seen the blank expression on her face before and knew that’s how she shut herself down to get shit done. Owen hadn’t fought with her that last time. He had tried. For months, he had argued and tore apart her pathetic arguments. But that day, he couldn’t get himself to argue any more. She had expected him to fight and when he didn’t utter a single word, she left as empty as she had come.
Normally, he would have sought out Tyson after a blow like that but no one had seen him in weeks. Jenny would have been his backup but she was gone too. Her betrayal was still a hot iron in his side.
But all of that was over. They were rebuilding and learning how to trust as a pack. Owen glanced around the bar and counted a dozen or so of his wolves. All good people. Loyal wolves. They had suffered alongside him when Jenny died and Tyson left and again when Lee had broken it off. They were ready for something good just as much as he was. His appearance with Mira, Lee’s attitude and dressing down, and whatever happened when they got up from the table would be news for at least a week.
“I can’t say I’m sorry for how I’ve hoarded your time tonight.”
Mira’s smile glowed. “I had fun. Didn’t think I would, but you proved me wrong.”
“Well cheers to that.” He held up his glass and tapped it against hers. They both finished off their drinks, eying one another over the rim of their glasses.
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