Baiting Him (How to Catch an Alpha 2)

“I think she and Gram might have been separated at birth,” Leah says, referring to her grandmother, whose love life is still very, very active.

I laugh so hard tears fill my eyes and then look at my best friend. “I think we should ask them to do a DNA test.”

“Right.” She grins as she studies me, and then her hand wraps around mine, and her face sobers. “I know I said this earlier, while we were at the restaurant, but I want to say it again. I’m happy for you. Gaston is awesome and so very perfect for you.”

“Thank you,” I say through the tightness in my throat as she pulls me in for a hug.

I hug her back tightly, rocking her back and forth. I feel someone nearby, so I let her go and find one of the other VIP waitresses, Samantha, a beautiful woman with long black hair, holding a tray with a single glass of champagne. “This is for you,” she tells me, and I wonder who sent the glass. All evening, she and our waiter have been bringing glasses of alcohol to each of us randomly on the VIP platform from people partying on the club floor.

“Thank you. That’s sweet, but I’m cutting myself off until I get home,” I tell her, leaving out that I already had two glasses of wine at dinner and a glass since I’ve been here. I know if I drink any more, I will be snoozing on the couch Sam and Chris are currently sitting on. She nods like she understands, and not a second later, Gaston’s mom walks up and takes the glass, smiling.

“She’s cut herself off, but I haven’t done the same.” She tips the glass back and swallows half of it in one gulp before finishing it and placing the empty glass back on Samantha’s tray.

I laugh when she grins, and then I look down when she holds out her hand toward me. “Let’s dance.”

“Um . . .” I look to Leah for help, and she smiles at me right before she gasps, because Rita grabs her hand along with mine, then drags us off the VIP platform and down into the crowd of people dancing to the music the live DJ is playing. With no other choice, I dance with Gaston’s mom, whom I’m falling in love with, and my best friend for a few songs.

I feel eyes on me when the music starts to change to something I’m not even sure how to move to, and I look up to the platform and find Gaston watching me with a look of amused frustration and Tyler looking at his wife with the same expression on his handsome face. I know their look has to do with the group of men who have been attempting to get us to dance with them for the last few minutes. I get Leah’s attention, then point in the guys’ direction, and she giggles before grabbing Rita’s hand and urging her to follow us. Once we reach the VIP platform, the scary-looking security guard standing at the bottom of the steps lifts the red rope, letting us through.

I take the bottle that my brother, who is standing next to Sam, holds out to me, and I notice both of them looking highly amused as they glance at Gaston. I roll my eyes at them as I twist off the top of the water bottle and take a sip.

“Are you having fun?” Gaston whispers into my ear, and I look at him over my shoulder as his arms circle my waist.

“Yes.” I smile, turning in his arms, and I rest my hands, including the one still grasping the bottle, against his chest as I see his mom smile at us. “I love your mom. She’s awesome.”

“It’s good you think that, since she feels the same,” he says, taking the bottle from me and passing it to Chris.

“You think so?” I ask, and he grins.

“The moment she got me alone this afternoon after her nap, she was on my ass about my intentions, sweetheart.”

“What?” I breathe, pressing myself impossibly closer to him.

He smiles, tucking some of my hair behind my ear. “My mom might not have wanted to get married or be tied down, but that doesn’t mean she wants the same for me.” He leans closer, so close I feel his breath whisper across my lips as he speaks. “She’s been champing at the bit for grandkids since I moved out on my own. She’s kept that under wraps, but after spending the afternoon with you, she’s been asking when we’re going to give her little ones to spoil.”

“Oh,” I whisper, having nothing else to say, because seriously, there is nothing to say. I know I’m in love with him, but marriage and babies at this point might be more than I can handle. I already feel like we’re moving at the speed of sound; a baby would push us past that, toward light speed.