Page 4

I frowned. I had forgotten about that. Well, I hadn’t forgotten. I was heading to the bakery when I ran into Katie. She had taken the thought away, and I forgot to order it. If Sam finds out, she will never let me hear the end of it.

Double fuck. Sam will kill me if I don't show up with a cake. I might as well go home if I showed up empty-handed.

I put on a hurt look. “Of course, I’m bringing the cake. I already made the order. She needs to think higher of me.”

Jay nodded. “Good. I would hate not to have cake on my birthday.”

“Which I should probably go and grab,” I said, straightening my shoulders. I hoped that they would have something for sale. Anything at this point. A bakery should have cakes to buy on display.

Jay waved a hand. “Alright. Katie said she wanted you to meet us there at three.”

I grabbed my car keys and headed for the front. “I know the way there. It’s almost like I lived here before.”

“You’re a smartass, you know that, Henrik?”

“Where do you think I learned it?” I yelled over my shoulder as I slipped outside.

I drove across town and headed straight to the bakery. I parked my car and glanced towards the little cafe next to the bakery. The same door that I ran into Katie at.

A shiver ran down my spine. In another world, I would have happily accepted her asking me out; I might have evenasked her out. But that wasn’t the world I lived in. I didn’t get to decide who my wife would be. How could I start a relationship with someone knowing that at any moment, Katie was going to get a match for me with someone else?

I did the right thing, turning her down. And maybe I was a little harsh, but I had to make it hurt. If I walked the line, she would keep asking. It was better to let her lick her wounds and pull herself back together rather than continue making little wounds over a long period of time that seemed to never heal. I did the right thing, even if it doesn’t feel like it.

I shook the thought off and headed for the bakery. It smelt like sweets, and a young woman stood at the front. She gave me a soft smile. “Morning, Henrik.”

The joy of being an Alpha is that everyone knows who you are. Everyone knew who your family was. The downside was that they didn’t know who you truly were.

I plastered a smile on. “Morning. I made a mistake, and I’m hoping that you can fix it.”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Oh?”

“I was supposed to order a cake a few days ago for a birthday today.”

She smirked and leaned onto the counter. “You mean Jay’s birthday? The birthday that the entire pack is talking about?”

My shoulders sank. “Yes….the very one.”

The gal chuckled. “You really did make a mistake. If you show up empty-handed, I have a feeling your sister will have words with you.”

“I’m aware, which is why I’m hoping you will save me from her wrath.”

She looked to the back and tapped her fingers on the counter. “When is the party?”

“At three.”

She seemed to count the numbers out with her fingers and tilted her head from side to side. “Would be cutting it a little close.” She looked back at me. “I guess I could make a cake, but it will cost you.”

“That’s fine. I’ll pay whatever you want.”

“Chocolate cake, three layers enough?”

I nodded. I glanced down, reading her name tag. “Yes, thank you, Jill. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“I can drop it off, since I will be there. Do you want to write on it?”

I nodded. “Yes, Happy Birthday.”

After making my payment and tipping Jill for the help, I headed out to do a few other things that I needed to do before Jay’s party.