47. Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Seven

Gio

I unlock the door to the restaurant and hold it open for Beth. She smiles a little uncertainly before she steps inside, and I catch a hint of the nervous energy she's barely been supressing since I met her outside her apartment building.

Keeping the conversation light was easy, but apparently it didn't do much to calm her down.

I step into the restaurant after her and I leave the door unlocked.

Arrow isn't at his post at the front desk.

I don't see any sign of Jack in the dining room, either.

"Are you guys closed today?" Beth asks.

"We're open now," I tell her, "Not that you could tell. This is how it's been for the past few weeks since we started this place."

She nods slowly. "Well, hardly anyone knows this place is a restaurant."

"Jack mentioned I messed up the outer design."

I'll admit, it stung to hear that was part of the problem.

"You decided on the dark glass for the windows?" she asks.

"Arrow's sensitive to light, and I thought it would make the atmosphere more intimate."

I can see now I made that decision based on the wrong priorities. I was too busy thinking about the personal preferences of my pack, not focusing on what would make the restaurant more welcoming to customers.

"The layout and lighting make the atmosphere," she tells me, looking around slowly. "And the front desk could be moved over there so it's on the other side away from the windows. Does that corridor lead to the kitchens?"

The corridor she's talking about is where the apartment door is, and I can hear it opening now.

"It's where the door to our apartment is," I explain, a second before Arrow steps into sight, dressed in a white shirt and black pants like usual. "But yeah, there's also a door that leads to the kitchen farther down."

"Hey," Arrow says, his expression lighting up. "You're here."

"Hi," Beth replies. "It's nice to see you again."

"I hear you're going to turn this place around. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the restaurant."

She blushes. "Oh, I'm just here to give suggestions, really."

"Well, we'll take any ideas we can get," he assures her, as he moves past us to get to the front desk, where he picks up a couple menus.

Jack comes out of the corridor and smiles at us.

"Ready for lunch?" he asks, as he moves toward Arrow and takes the menus he offers.

"I could eat," Beth says.

"Starved," I murmur, letting Jack do his job and lead us to a table.

He pulls out a chair for her and gives her a menu.

"The special is the carbonara. It's the best you'll ever taste."

I sit down across from Beth, and she raises her eyebrows at me.

"He's not exaggerating. Bring us the starter version of that while we decide."

Jack nods. "Wine, or …"

"Water's good with me," Beth says quickly. "Not a wine drinker."

"Water for me too, thanks," I tell him.

He leaves me a menu despite the fact I know everything that's on it.

Beth opens hers, and her eyes gleam as she scans the page. "It all sounds amazing."

"It is. Enzo makes the pasta from scratch. He makes the pizza dough. Everything's fresh."

"Stop, you're making my mouth water," she jokes. "I'm so hungry now."

"Well, order anything you like. Free meals are part of the consultant's perks."

She smiles and puts down the menu. "You guys don't need to pay me to help you out, you know. Great restaurants are so hard to find. I'd hate it if you closed just because no one knows you exist."

"Good advice is worth its weight in gold. You'll be paid for helping us get things right. That's only fair."

"Well, it's your money, I guess," she says, shrugging as she picks her menu back up.

I have to admit, Jack was the one with the million-dollar idea here.

He's the one who offered her a job based on a comment she made.

If it wasn't for him, I'm not sure it would have been this easy to see her again.

"Though, I'm keeping Pinkie hostage until the job is done, just FYI."

She looks up and laughs. "What?"

"Your little fluffy friend. She's safe and well upstairs. But she won't be released until the end of the week."

"Oh, my hedgehog." She nods. "Okay, well you'd better take good care of the little guy. I won't be happy if I get him back and he's traumatised."

I smile. "Oh, it's a boy. I didn't know."

"Well, you didn't ask, but that's okay. I forgive you."

And just like that any hint of nervous energy is gone.

It feels like a date, and the ice has been broken.

We're both interested, available and ready to dive in with both feet.

Except, she doesn't know this is something bigger and better than mutual attraction.

She can't know. My instincts are unshakable on that.

She's not ready, even if it really feels like she is.

Jack comes back with a pitcher of ice-cold water and pours us both a glass.

"The carbonara starter will be with you in a few minutes. Would you like more time, or are you ready to order your main courses?"

"I think I need to go with pizza," Beth says, nodding. "I'll try the spicy vegetarian one."

She closes her menu and passes it to Jack.

"Thanks," she murmurs, her gaze lingering on him.

It's possible she's never considered becoming part of a pack.

Most don't. It's not something that anyone usually seeks out.

It always seems to happen more organically than that, at least for the packs that last.

Maybe that's what she's not quite ready for.

Multiple lovers.

It can be a shock to the system. I was not prepared for Jack when he came along.

I was used to sharing Arrow with Enzo, but it took a little time to get used to being shared.

The fact that Jack has that streak of Alpha dominance in him was a big surprise.

Alphas are used to taking the lead in bed.

Having a Beta come along and turn everything upside down the way he did, well it was not expected. It made me realize it's not always a bad thing to let someone else be in control.

"What are you thinking?" Beth asks.

I snap out of my thoughts, and I realize Jack is waiting with an amused smile on his lips.

I can't tell Beth what I was actually thinking about, but that wasn't what she was asking.

"I'll have the ravioli." I pass the unopened menu back to my Beta.

"Good choice," he says, before he leaves us alone again.