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Sighing, I pocket my cell phone. Maybe I haven’t made as much progress as I thought I had, given she isn’t even considering this a date. I want to get there early so I can have the table ready and waiting for her. Grabbing my jacket, I pull it on. That last snow storm should blow in any day now.

After a brisk walk to the diner, I stomp my boots by the door to knock off the snow collecting on them. Gail would have my ass if I dragged this much snow into the diner. The heat of the restaurant engulfs me when I step inside to find Gail, of course, standing at the hostess stand.

“Oh good, I was hoping you would be smart enough to show up early for your date tonight.” Gail gives me a wink before grabbing two menus and walking towards the back booth, away from the rest of the customers.

Shaking my head, I follow her.One day, we will all figure out how she knows everything without people telling her. It’s almost like mind reading the way she just knows.I didn’t tell anyone, other than Aspen, that we were going out on a date–sorry, out to dinner tonight. The bench of the booth gives a slight creak as I shuffle into it. Gail sets down the menus for both of us, followed by the silverware needed.

She gives me a warm smile before saying, “I’m glad to see that you guys are moving along nicely. How are you enjoying reading that series that she recommended to you?”

My jaw drops slightly as I stare at her in shock. “How did you…?”

Her small, aged hand lays gently on my shoulder. “Warrick, it still pleases me tremendously how much I shock you all with my knowledge. How nobody has figured it out yet truly tickles me.”She pats my shoulder while her smile widens. “Now, how's the reading coming along?”

Still unable to process what she said, I stumble out a response. “It's, uh, going well. I really like the series and think I am far more of a fantasy reader than a contemporary reader.”

“That’s good dear. I know it means a lot to Aspen that you are reading, especially a series that she loves so much herself. Keep up the good work, dear.” With one last pat on my shoulder, she walks off to probably meddle in someone else’s life. Goddess knows I can’t be the only life that she is meddling in right now.

I’m reading through an article on my phone about the upcoming spring training for the football team when I hear a tiny clearing of a throat. Glancing up, I find Selene looking nervously at me. “Hey Selene, what are you doing here?”

She hooks her thumb over her shoulder. “I was having dinner with my folks when I saw you come in. I rarely run into you, but I wanted to let you know I talked with my parents. I told them all about the photos, showed them that same album, and asked for a camera for my birthday! They said they will be getting me one! I just wanted to thank you for pushing me to do this.” Her hands twist together, showing her anxiety.

“That’s really cool, Selene. I’m glad to hear that you took my advice. Do you have any new photos to share with me?” I smile broadly, hoping that it will calm her nerves.

Her face lights up with excitement as she pulls out her phone. She looks between her phone and the open space next to me. Before I can really say yes or no, she slides in next to me.

“Since I’m moving to a camera soon, hopefully, I don’t have a ton of them on my phone anymore because most of themhave been uploaded to my computer. But some of these are my favorites, so I kept them on my phone so I could easily show people,” she says animatedly as she swipes open her screen.

Watching her face light up in excitement, I can’t help but think of someone else. Someone whose face lights up when she is telling me about a book she read, reminding me of the days when we were teenagers and I would watch her recount the entire story to me. I’m so lost down memory lane that I hear nothing Selene is saying, nor do I hear Aspen approaching.

“I can’t fucking believe I thought it would different this time around.”

That snaps me out of it. My eyes find my beautiful mate with tears starting to fall down her face and the shattering of her heart, yet again because of me, is evident. I’m innocent this time around, but to her, I’m guilty.

Not that I can blame her. I built this expectation of myself and, without even thinking about it, I made her think it was happening again.

She doesn’t know Selene like I do or realize she is just a child. She doesn’t know that she was showing me pictures she has taken lately or that I’m the reason she is so excited about them to begin with. I want to stop her, the words dry up in my mouth. I can tell by the look on her face, there isn’t any hope. All she is seeing is a girl hugged up on my side as we smiled together. I’ve got nobody to blame for this trigger, only myself. I created this reaction with all my past actions. I don’t blame her. Resigned to my fate, I do nothing but watch as the pain washes over her like a tidal wave.

Selene looks between the both of us before jumping out of the booth. “I’m…” she looks at Aspen. “It’s not what it looks like.”

Aspen is staring at me as her tears are falling down her cheeks. Selene tries one more time to say something, but Aspen just shakes her head. I watch as if in slow motion as Aspen turns around and runs out of the diner.

Selene looks back at me with an apology written all over her face. “I’m sorry, Warrick. It wasn’t my intention to make her think that something was going on. I was just so excited about my pictures.”

Sighing, I drop my head into my hands before saying, “It’s alright, Selene. You didn’t do anything wrong. If I hadn’t hurt her as much as I have in the past, then she wouldn’t have jumped to those conclusions.”

“Is there anything I can do?” she asks.

Shaking my head in my hands, I tell her, “No, this is my mess to clean up.”

“I’m sorry,” Selene says before I hear her footsteps retreat.

I have nothing else to do other than exactly that. This isn’t how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to win her over tonight, but now the exact opposite has happened.

As I’m walking back to my house, Wraith decides he is done waiting. Before I can wrestle control of him, he rips out of me. When I blink open my eyes, I’m on all fours, running right to Aspen’s house.

“What are you doing?”I demand.

“You broke our mate’s heart again. I told you that if it were up to me, we wouldn’t be here. Waiting for a chance for our mate to forgive us,”he growls as he runs the last of the stretch to her house.