Romance: Wanted by the Alpha Lion (A BBW Paranormal Suspense Romance) (Heroes of Shifter Creek Book 2) (44 page)

Jimmy

“So then I just stopped with the being overly romantic and emotional stuff, and I think she bought it,” I told Orion a week later in his new loft apartment. “I think indifference is going to work.”

“You’re insane,” he answered, walking around his apartment in all black as if he were in mourning. “I guess I applaud your resolve though.”

“Well, I mean, her fiancé isn’t around, and it’s obvious she’s lonely. She didn’t like the over-the-top stuff, so I’m going to have to try to win her another way.”

“I think you may be in luck with the fiancé. Nina said he’s never around.”

“How does Nina know? Daisy let on that she hasn’t talked to Nina for a while.”

“I talked to her yesterday.”

“How?”

“She called me.”

“I never had a phone to make personal calls on my mission.”

“Well, I think her mission is a little different. Plus, I think the new commander is a little looser with that stuff.”

“What happened to our commander?”

“He finished, I guess. Didn’t want to do it anymore.”

“Huh. Commander Jones seemed like a seasoned professional.”

“I guess so.” Orion came to lean against the breakfast bar I sat at. “Do you really think you can pull off this whole indifference thing?”

“I think I could. I mean, I think I played it off pretty well when I was there. And I haven’t called her or rode by there at all.”

“You just wrote her letters in your diary, huh?”

“I don’t have a diary, jerk. But I have been taking up poetry. I think it helps me work out my feelings for her without telling her about it. Then when she falls in love with me, I can give her one or two of them. You know?”

“Yeah. I don’t know about that.”

“Do you want to read one of my poems?”

“No, I really don’t.”

“You could help me make it better.”

“I don’t want to read your poem, Jimmy.”

I sighed, swirling the lemonade he’d given me. “Do you think I’m pursuing this all wrong?”

“Well, I mean, she really never has shown interest. So you’re kind of spinning your wheels.”

“I think she softened a bit when I acted hurt.”

“That’s because she’s not a monster. She realized she was mean to you and tried to make the situation less awkward.”

“I saw her looking at me when I was making lunch. She was checking me out.”

“She could’ve been. You are pretty attractive.”

“Thanks, Orion. I appreciate that.”

He laughed, “You never had trouble attracting girls, Jimmy. You just chose to only want Daisy.”

“It’s like Paul Newman said, ‘Why try the chicken when you have steak at home?’”

“I don’t think that’s the quote.”

“It’s something like that.”

“You don’t have her at home either. That doesn’t work at all.”

“Your negativity is bringing me down, mate.”

“I’m just being realistic with you. Nina said Daisy really is not a fan of yours.”

“Has she even talked to her?”

“She said she called her before she called me.”

“Why didn’t she call me?”

“I think she didn’t have a whole lot of time.”

“That sounds like some bull to me.”

He rolled his eyes. “What is this conversation even about? You think playing indifferent, instead of being way too clingy, will work better for you?”

“Yes, that is what I think. I talked to my mom about it, and she thought if I took a step back, it might work.”

“Why are you talking to your mom about it?”

“She’s like my best friend. She gives me really good advice. Especially since I don’t have a dad anymore.”

“Blah blah, you always have to mention that,” Orion said, rolling his eyes again and leaning further into the counter. “It doesn’t have an effect anymore, man.”

“Well, he is still dead so.”

              “I guess. What did your mom say to do?”

              “Well, she’s inviting Daisy to dinner tonight, and I’m going to dress very snazzy and not pay attention to her. You’re invited too, of course.”

              “You probably should’ve told me that when you first came in here. I might have plans.”

              “Do you have a date or something? None of our friends are living here right now.”

              “I think Petey came back near here.”

              “I guess we should call Petey since we’re back.”

              He shrugged. I shrugged too. Our high school friend, Leo, transferred to one of the offices to work in administration after his mission ended, and our other high school friend, Petey, did move back somewhere near here, but I haven’t contacted either of them. I guess that’s not a very good friend thing to do, especially when we all went into the SEALs together. But we did just get back, so I think it’s okay. I’m focused on Daisy anyway, which they would understand.

              “So, do you want to come?” I asked Orion, who’d turned away to look out the window.

              He shrugged again. “I guess so. That sounds okay. I don’t have to make dinner then.”

              “Can I borrow some of your clothes so I can look more mysterious?”

              “No. I’m taller than you. My clothes won’t fit the same.”

              “You’re not that much taller. You’re like three inches taller.”

              “I’m still taller.”

              “Come on!”

              He sighed and stood straighter, guiding me to his bedroom closet. His clothes did hang a little bit on me, but it helped that he is leaner than me - I have broader shoulders and a more stocky build. He frowned the whole time, not wanting to give me any of his black clothes.

              “If you didn’t dress in all black, you wouldn’t be so mysterious,” I said, checking myself out in a black button down and black slacks. “I think the pants are too long.”

              “They are too long,” Orion said sullenly. “I think I have some shorter ones though.”

              He helped me pick some that fit better, and we prepared to go to dinner. He didn’t seem altogether into the dinner, but he went anyway. He kept things quiet, seeming more stately than he used to be. I’m not sure what’s going on with him, but it’s a little off-putting.

              I walked into my parents’ house and called in to present myself. “Mom! Orion and I are here!”

She quickly came into the foyer with a grave look and pulled us into the large coat closet to the side of the door. Orion raised an eyebrow, looking incredibly uncomfortable to be in there.

“You look very nice,” she said softly to me. “You too of course, Orion.”

“Thanks,” we both said together.

“I do have to prepare you, though. Jaden is here.”

“Who is Jaden?” Orion asked. “Is that a neighborhood kid?”

“It’s Daisy’s fiancé,” Mom answered.

“I didn’t know his name was Jaden. He wants to be a politician, and his name is Jaden?”

“Don’t be mean, Orion.”

Orion quieted, crossing his arms. “I can’t believe I have to be here for this. Can I leave?”

“You have to be my wingman, mate,” I said and hit his shoulder.

He rubbed it, making an “ouch” face. I frowned, making him smile. Mom did not give the same smile; instead, she gave a concerned look.

“You both need to be good,” she insisted. “I understand you have this weird obsession with her, son, but this is her future husband. And if it gets messed up because of a dinner here, her mother is going to be pissed. And I don’t want to deal with it.”

“Don’t worry, Mom,” I said, patting her shoulder. “We will be perfect gentlemen.”

She gave a deep scowl, then walked out of the closet. Orion and I looked at each other with mischievous glints in our eyes.

“I made out with Nina in this closet in high school,” he said softly.

“That I didn’t need to know,” I answered. “Are we going to scare this dude away or what?”

“Oh yeah, we’re scaring him away for sure.”

He clasped hands and then exited the closet, ready for some trouble.

Daisy

This was probably one of my worst ideas, I know. I never should have thought to bring Jaden here to the lions’ den. I figured my stepmom, Ruth, would keep Dad and Jimmy in line, but I didn’t expect Orion too. This just means trouble. And Jaden didn’t want to come anyway.

“Very nice to meet you,” Jimmy shook Jaden’s hand.

Jaden shook his hand without moving from his seat. His blue eyes examined Jimmy as he bristled at the intruder. Jimmy appeared completely calm, smiling and seeming personable. Orion shook Jaden’s hand as well with a smile, but didn’t offer the nice sentiment Jimmy had. He kept his same brooding look.

“You look like twins in all black,” Dad said with a boozy smile. He opened the wine as soon as he saw Jaden and hasn’t stopped drinking since. He kept the wine bottle by him.

“Jimmy wanted to look more mysterious, so he borrowed some of my clothes,” Orion answered, giving Jaden a scary, dark look.

Jimmy smacked his arm hard, making a slapping sound that echoed throughout the room. Ruth grabbed the wine bottle from Dad and poured herself a large glass. She held the bottle up to pass it to anyone who wanted it. Jimmy grabbed it and attempted to pour everyone a glass.

“I’m not drinking,” Jaden said, pulling his glass toward him. “I have to drive, you know. Don’t one of you?”

“I am living here right now,” Jimmy answered pleasantly. “I just got back from being overseas with the Navy SEALs, so I’m still trying to find a place to be. Orion can stay here if he wants to.”

“Are you two together?”

Dad snorted into his wine and wiped his face with a napkin, hiding his laughter. Ruth patted his shoulder as if he were choking. He got up to excuse himself and check the dinner, chuckling as he disappeared into the kitchen. I looked to Jimmy, expecting to catch him looking at me, but he seemed unconcerned. That’s weird.

“Orion is with my sister,” I answered. “Jimmy is single.”

Orion frowned at me, and Jimmy took a calm drink of his wine. I gave Orion a raised eyebrow, asking him nonverbally, “Well, aren’t you?” He slunk back in his chair, still looking as effortlessly handsome and cool as he always did. He even looked that way when he was a kid. Maybe that’s why Nina gravitated toward him.

“Orion and I actually went out last night and had a great time,” Jimmy smiled. “I met a really sweet girl, and we danced all night. I think things are looking up.”

              I watched his face, seeing if I could sense him lying. He didn’t make any indication he was, and something within me felt a wave of jealousy. It’s not that I want him – I certainly don’t since I have Jaden back – but it’s strange to hear him say so nonchalantly that he had a good time with another girl. I do remember him dating a few girls briefly, but he always came back to me. Maybe this is the same – though, of course, I don’t care at all. I’m not interested in him in the slightest.

              He does look sexy in the black though. Oh God, Daisy. Get a hold on yourself.

              “You met a lady, huh?” Dad asked, starting to bring in the food from the kitchen – his usual roast and potatoes with salad.

              “I did, Patrick,” Jimmy smiled. “She was great.”

              “Glad to hear it.” Dad disappeared into the kitchen again.

              Ruth and Orion stood to help bring in the rest. They left us alone. I thought to stand and help them, but leaving Jaden and Jimmy together would be a terrible idea. I tried to grasp Jaden’s hand to ease any nervousness he could feel, but he moved his hand away. He’s been weirdly inattentive and distant since I picked him up from the airport this morning.

              “So, Jaden, you work in D.C.?” Jimmy asked amiably, trying to make pleasant conversation.

              “Yes, I’m a staffer for the senator of California.”

              “There’s a few of those, aren’t there? Which one is it?”

              “I’d rather not say.”

              “I had quite a few undercover missions. I can keep your secret.”

              “You were in the Navy, right?”

              “Navy SEALs. I think I just… said that.”

              “Sorry, I guess that just seemed hard to believe.”

              “Why? You don’t know me at all.”

              “From what I’ve heard about you, you didn’t sound very smart, is all.”

              Jimmy looked to me for what seemed like the first time tonight, but quickly looked back to Jaden. “I don’t know who told you that. I was at the top of my class in high school, and kept being at the top in the Navy and the SEALs. I did pretty well for myself.”

              “But you’re living at home and borrowing your friend’s clothes?”

              “I haven’t found a place yet. Plus, I like to spend time with my mom since I haven’t seen her in so long.”

              “Right, sure. But your friend doesn’t live at home, does he?”

              “Well no, but he hasn’t lived with his parents for a long time. He moved out when he was teenager.”

              “Wait, is he Orion Morello? I see his dad in Washington all the time! Daisy, why didn’t you tell me your sister was dating a Morello?”

              “Well, it’s not really something my mom is happy about,” I answered. “And they aren’t really incredibly public. It’s just kind of a known thing between them.”

              “The Morellos have that trust fund though. I mean, that’s quite a fortune to deal with.”

              “All right, here’s the rest of the food!” Ruth grinnedas she entered the room.

              Orion whispered something to Dad, which made him laugh. I sighed, happy to have other people in the room finally. Orion set down the bowl of potatoes he carried and sat back at his spot. He gave a slight smile to all of us, then folded his napkin on his lap. Jaden smiled larger at him.

              “You didn’t mention you’re a Morello,” Jaden smiled, pulling the potatoes toward him to start serving himself. “Your dad is a real inspiration to me.”

              “You must not know my father then,” Orion replied. “If you did, you wouldn’t have anything nice to say about him.”

              “I think he’s great. A great negotiator and communicator. I hope to be like him when I get older.”

              “That’s probably not something you should say in front of your future wife since he’s a terrible husband and father.”

              “I wouldn’t think your mom would say that. She seemed pretty fond of him.”

              “She’s fond of his money. She’ll be fonder of him when he dies.”

              Jaden chuckled awkwardly as if it were a joke. I glared at Orion, knowing it wasn’t.

              “Well, maybe we should talk about more happy things. Have you guys set a date yet?” Ruth asked. “I know your father is looking forward to it.”

              Well, that’s not true. I gave a fake smile, prepared to answer, when Jaden answered instead. “I think we’re going to take a step back from that for now.”

              “We’re… what?” I inquired, turning to him with that same fake smile.

              “We just don’t have time to plan it right now with my career and everything, so we’re taking a break from that wedding talk.”

              “We never talked about that together.”

              Orion raised an eyebrow and gave a slight look to Jimmy. Jimmy drank his wine and zeroed in on Jaden.

              “If I had proposed to someone, my job wouldn’t matter at all,” Jimmy said with a terse grin. “If I loved someone enough to spend the rest of my life with her, nothing could keep me from marrying her. Don’t you think so, Daisy?”

              I wanted to melt into my chair and evaporate into the air. The look Jaden gave me with his cool blue eyes made my blood run cold. Dad held out his hand for the wine bottle. Orion stood to give it to him and get another one.

              “Careers do get in the way sometimes,” I mumbled.

              “Well, that doesn’t sound like love to me. Love should have the power to move mountains, not falter at tiny ant hills,” Jimmy responded.

              “If I want to be a senator, I have to be focused on my career right now,” Jaden replied indignantly. “They’ll be no point to getting married if I can’t get where I need to go.”

              “I guess we have different ideas about marriage then,” Jimmy responded, leaning back in his chair. He didn’t look at me. For some reason, I wanted him to.

              “Well, didn’t your mom remarry Daisy’s dad? It doesn’t sound like that marriage worked out all that well.”

              “My dad died serving our country in the Middle East. Their marriage was beautiful before then.”

              “Oh, let’s not talk about such matters,” Ruth flitted the comment away as Orion returned with more wine. He refilled her glass. “That’s all very depressing.”

              “Yes, it is very depressing,” Orion said. “We don’t need to give Jimmy a pity party here.”

              Jimmy glared at him, but said nothing. Dad kept drinking, looking incredibly uncomfortable. We ate in a steely silence – Jaden and Jimmy obviously didn’t like each other, and I wasn’t precisely in the mood to deal with either of them. Orion eventually started to make conversation with Dad and Ruth, asking them how retirement was going and what they thought of having one of their little birds back in the nest. Dad became more animated with this and commented on how polite and clean Jimmy had become.

              “The military really did him good,” Dad smiled. “I thought he’d be a little terror forever.”

              “Hey, I’m not very little. I’ve always been kind of tall,” Jimmy replied.

              “You’re average size,” Orion grinned.

              “I’d have to agree with that,” Ruth laughed. “But still, a much sweeter boy for sure.”

              “A little more realistic too,” Orion said, pushing Jimmy on the shoulder.

              “Let’s not talk about me anymore, huh? Aren’t there more interesting things to talk about?” Jimmy asked.

              Jaden responded to this by discussing politics. Everyone inwardly groaned. Dad finished his food and said he was tired, that he had to go to sleep. Ruth watched him despairingly, wanting to escape herself. Orion and Jaden embarked on a rousing argument about some tax or something or another. I admittedly have become less interested in politics since Jaden has nothing else to talk about. Jimmy stood and sat closer to his mother, talking to her in hushed tones and helping her clean up everyone’s dishes.

              I watched him as he sat with her, doting on her every need. I’d never noticed how sweet he acted and how protective of her he was. Jaden doesn’t act that way with his mother – she more dotes on him. She always insists I should do something with my hair or that I should go shopping with her like how I present myself is not adequate for her family. Ruth would never say that to me. Jimmy would never tell me how to dress.

              Jimmy gave me a slight smile, catching me looking at him. I acted as though I hadn’t been watching him at all and started to pick up the dishes too. Orion thanked me for taking his plate, but Jaden didn’t, too into the discussion at hand. I moved with Jimmy into the kitchen. Ruth excused herself quietly to retreat to her room after Dad.

              “I’m sorry for Jaden being so rude,” I told him quietly as we both started doing the dishes – I rinsed, and he set them in the dishwasher. “He’s more used to politician talk.”

              “Yes, I’m sure that’s it,” he responded without the normal jump in his voice. “I guess I just don’t understand why you want to be with someone who doesn’t love you.”

              “Just because he doesn’t love me as much as you do doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me.”

              He peered at me from the side and gave another slight, slight smile. “I don’t expect someone to love you as much as I do. I realize I am an emotional man with a certain depth of love that is incomparable.”

              “And modesty that also cannot be compared.”

              “Exactly. But if I imagine you marrying someone, I hope he cherishes you for the beautiful treasure you are. I can tell he doesn’t cherish you. I can tell he doesn’t appreciate you. He only focuses on himself.”

              “I feel like you focus on yourself too because I’ve told you so many times that….”

              “I get it,” he snapped, turning to me and setting down one of the plates on the counter. “You don’t have feelings for me. In fact, you’d rather I just leave you alone. And I intend to do that. I’m not going to hold on to a worthless cause.”

              Worthless cause sure doesn’t sound very nice.

              His eyes flared. “But I’m also not going to sit back and let you hold on to a worthless cause yourself. If that man marries you, it’s just going to be because you’ll look good standing next to him in one of those political ads. You’re obviously not interested in the same things, and there’s no intimacy between you.”

              “I don’t like public displays of affection, and neither does he.”