Thea’s POV

The drive wasn’t long. Other than some small talk, we spent most of the time in comfortable silence. It felt weird—in a good way. In the past, during our rare car rides together, Sebastian would try his hardest to ignore me, while I desperately searched for conversation topics, usually making things awkward.

“What are you smiling about?” I asked as Sebastian got out to open my door. His smile should be classified as a weapon of mass female distraction. Sure, he was already handsome, but as I’d said before, his charm level went up another notch when he smiled.

“Can’t I be happy about taking my woman on a date?” he asked, tilting his head slightly.

For some reason, I giggled. I’d never been the type to make that girly sound; in fact, I used to find it annoying in grown women, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Sorry, I don’t know why I did that,” I apologized, trying to regain control.

He took my hand, and I wrapped it around his arm. The intimacy was mind-blowing. Sometimes I pinched myself to make sure this wasn’t a dream.

“You don’t need to apologize. It actually suits you; I like it,” he said.

Though unconvinced, I nodded with a smile.

We walked toward the restaurant entrance. As I suspected, the place was suffocatingly luxurious, reeking of money. I mentally laughed; of course. Sebastian truly didn’t know my preferences.

“Alpha Ashworth, your table is ready,” the hostess said upon spotting us.

Sebastian nodded, and she led the way. I ignored the people who turned to stare. Sebastian was well-known as Alpha of the Ashworth Pack, and according to Iris, I had some recognition from my charity work. I hated this attention, so despite my anticipation before leaving the house, my excitement was slowly fading.

The hostess poured our wine, promising a server would take our order shortly.

“Have I told you how gorgeous you look tonight?” he broke the silence.

I smiled. “No, you haven’t.”

“Well, you do look beautiful, Thea. Absolutely stunning. I can’t take my eyes off you.”

My friends’ judgment of my dress had been spot-on; I could see the heat and desire in his eyes.

I understood what he’d said that day, but come on! Did he have any idea how hard it was to sleep next to him every night? To wake up to his kisses, or to feel him pull me close, only to pull away whenever things heated up? He was slowly torturing me, and I wasn’t sure if he even realized it.

“Thank you,” I smiled, taking a sip of wine.

My eyes scanned the restaurant. Sure, it was a great restaurant if you liked fancy places, but it wasn’t for me. I just didn’t know how to tell him that.

“Thea?” His voice pulled me back to reality.

“Hmm?”

“You zoned out.”

“Sorry.”

I tried to focus, but I couldn’t. God, I felt awful. I was on a date with him, a date I’d been looking forward to for so long, yet I wished I were somewhere else.

His soft chuckle forced me to look at him. He leaned back, one hand on the table, looking smug with a smirk. I tilted my head, wondering what he found so amusing.

“What?” I asked, slightly irritated. “What’s so funny?”

Instead of answering, he stood and extended his hand. I stared, wondering if he’d lost his mind.

“Come on, Thea, we’re going somewhere else,” he said, eyes twinkling with amusement.

“What about dinner?” I asked.

“What about it? Did you really think I didn’t know you hate fancy places like this? This was a test; I wanted to see if you’d tell me the truth or suffer through it.”

I stared, unsure if I’d heard correctly. He already knew? I didn’t know whether to be impressed or angry. I leaned toward the latter. He should have been upfront from the beginning.

“Come on, our real date is waiting,” he said, tugging my hand to pull me up. Before leaving, he grabbed my clutch and tucked it under his arm.

“What about the reservation?” I asked as we walked out.

“Who do you think owns this place? Don’t worry, the hostess already knew I wouldn’t actually be dining here.”

He helped me into the car, then got in himself. After buckling up, he started the car, and I turned to him.

“What do you have planned for tonight? You’ve got me curious,” I told him.

“You’re really impatient, aren’t you?” he chuckled. “Relax, I’ve got everything planned out, and you’re going to love it.”

If I said I wasn’t excited, I’d be lying. After the initial shock of his little restaurant trick, I was over it. I was glad he knew my preference, though I still didn’t know how he knew, since he’d never taken me anywhere before.

We chatted about random things. When we stopped at a fast-food drive-thru, I opened my eyes wide in surprise.

“Seriously?” I asked excitedly.

“Of course,” he smiled, making my heart skip a beat. “What would you like?”

I told him my order, and he repeated it to the server. After getting our food, we continued driving. I was so excited; the night was starting to look promising.

“You know, I’m surprised,” I began. “I never thought you’d be the type to get burgers and fries at a drive-thru. You always seemed more like a wine-and-proper-dinner kind of guy.”

He side-eyed me. “That shows you don’t know me as well as you think. Give me greasy food any day. In fact, for the first few months after we separated, before I hired Mary, I practically lived on this stuff.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Imagining Sebastian eating burgers and fries every day was really funny.

“If I didn’t hit the gym every day, I’d probably have a gut by now,” he added.

The image made me laugh harder. I couldn’t imagine him without those perfectly defined abs.

“Then thank goodness for gyms, or I would have missed out on the sexiness you display every time you take off your shirt,” I joked.

He laughed, the sound a bit husky. God, this was what I’d always wanted: to see Sebastian happy by my side. It was finally happening, and I was glad.

“We’re here,” he told me after a few more minutes of driving.