Talia put the little car into park and sighed. It was the first time she'd driven a car in a few years. Not that she had told Daniel that or he might have reconsidered letting her borrow it. She had never owned her own car as it was not a necessity in New York City. Driving it was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time
She opened the door and climbed out ready to start her first day. Caleb and Charlotte were keeping Matthew and she was only scheduled to work 5 hours which was fine with her
She walked inside of the diner and up to the hostess booth. A teenage girl glanced up at her. "Hi, how many are in your party?"
"Actually I'm here to start work." Talia smiled at her.
"Oh are you Talia?" Her face brightened.
"Yes, I am."
"Nice to meet you Talia. My name is Ashleigh. Come on. I'll take you to the back." She turned and headed back to the kitchen, Talia following close behind her.
The dining room itself wasn't busy, and she was glad for that. She just needed to learn the menu and where things were and she'd be good to go. Talia had been waitressing on and off for six years, and Jenna had said this place was easy.
Ashleigh stopped behind a tall broad shouldered man. "Noah?"
One of the most gorgeous humans Talia had ever laid eyes on turned around, flashing a brilliant smile as he looked her over. He had warm brown eyes and wavy brown hair styled messily. His face was clean shaven. "Are you Talia?"
Talia swallowed as she eyed him. "Yes."
"I'm Noah. I'm going to be training you tonight," he flashed his one hundred watt smile again and Talia smiled back. Well, work had just gotten a lot more interesting.
Two and a half hours later, she sat across from Noah at a table in the back, sipping a drink.
"You're catching on quick," he complimented her. "You said you've waitressed before?"
"On and off for the last six years," she confirmed. Jenna was right. This place had been easy.
"Where did you work?" Noah asked her.
"At a cafe in New York City. It could be pretty fast paced," she admitted, looking Noah over. She couldn't help but be attracted to him. He wasn't her usual type, not that she really had a type. She'd always wanted to save herself for her mate.
Noah was gorgeous, and he knew it. He was also very human. He was twenty-five, single and had lived in this town all of his life. "So what brings you to Podunk, Pennsylvania?"
She debated what to tell him for a long moment and decided to be vague. "I'm staying with a friend for a while."
"Long enough to get a job?" His eyes twinkled at her.
"Yes. I'm not sure how long, but for a while. I'm tired of the city. I lived there my whole life." That much was true.
Noah stood. "We have to get back to work. Welcome to Pennsylvania, Talia Sanders."
Talia settled well into her job and began to enjoy the new routine she was developing. It wasn't long before Noah asked her out on a date. She almost told him no, but at the last moment, she'd said yes. She really wasn't sure how she felt about him, but knew she wouldn't know until she spent some time with him away from work.
Talia was definitely attracted to him, but there was no bond. 'What do you think?' she'd asked Lila before she accepted.
'Im not sure. He's attractive but he's not a werewolf and Im not sure how I feel about that,' Lila admitted.
'Well, we will see if there's a connection. If not, we won't go again. This affects you too and I want you to be happy,' Talia told her.
'I'd rather have Rollo,' Lila admitted quietly.
And I'd rather have Ragnar. 'He's not an option,' Talia reminded her.
'I know. But I have a bond with him.'
Talia didn't respond. She knew Lila was right. There was just something about the man and his wolf that drew her in. She was always at ease around him.
She wasn't sure if the date was a good idea either. It had only been two months since she'd lost James. But she agreed to it anyway.
She'd left Matthew with Charlotte who hadn't seemed too thrilled with the idea of Talia going on a date.
"Of course I will watch him, but are you sure you want to do this? Are you ready for it?" Charlotte had been watching Talia get ready.
"I won't know until I try. I'm only twenty-two. I don't want to be alone forever, and neither does Lila." Talia swiped on some mascara.
"I think you'd be happier with a werewolf," Charlotte pointed out.
"I won't be with someone who hasn't found their mate. The chance that I'll find someone in the same situation as me are not in my favor," Talia said quietly.
Charlotte bit her lip. "I'm sorry for being critical."
Talia turned to her. "It's okay. I don't get a second chance mate like Caleb did, and that's okay. Noah is kind and very attractive, so I'll go on a date with him. But if there's no connection, or Lila doesn't like him, then that'll be the end of it."
She hadn't told Ragnar about it at all. She'd thought about it, but she sorta felt guilty that she was going, which made no sense to her. Ragnar was her friend, except in her dreams. She'd had the most erotic dream of him to date last night and he'd been on her mind all morning, but he hadn't been at breakfast or lunch.
"He had to make an emergency trip to Texas," Caleb told her, when he saw her looking for him. "He left in the middle of the night."
"Okay," she said. She'd text him later.
Lila still thought that they should just have sex with him. 'I would like to know if it's as good as it is in our dreams.'
'We're not having sex with him!' Talia sighed.
'Why not? I know you want to.' Lila smirked at her.
She wasn't wrong, but ever since her night run with Ragnar when he'd returned from Mexico, she'd avoided thinking of him that way when he was around her. Knowing he'd been aware of how turned on she was that night had been rather embarrassing.
The good thing was, he hadn't acted awkward at all around her, and had treated her the way he normally did, which made Talia think Lila had been wrong and Ragnar really wasn't attracted to her.
'Im not wrong,' Lila insisted.
'Think about it. If Ragnar was interested in me, and he knew that night that I was that horny, why didn't he do anything? Because he's not interested,' Talia pointed out. And it hurt.
'What about Rollo?'
Talia sighed. Lila wasn't wrong about that. Rollo was very affectionate with Lila, always licking her and rubbing his scent on her. He treated her almost like his mate. Talia was a little jealous of Rollo's affection for Lila.
This was why she was going on the date with Noah, to see if there was any spark, any connection.
She'd met Noah at the park that afternoon, and he'd taken her to a somewhat secluded area to eat. They'd chatted over the meal about nothing really important, him telling her about his family and her doing the same.
"So, did you have a lot of boyfriends in New York?" Noah asked her non-chalantly.
"I.." she stopped, debating what to tell him. If she wanted this relationship to go anywhere, she had to be somewhat honest. "I was actually married."
She saw the look of surprise cross his face. "You? Are you divorced?"
"No. He was murdered," she admitted quietly.
Noah stared at her for a long moment. "I'm sorry," he responded, taking her hand in his. "Is that why you came here?"
She nodded. "I needed to get away."
"How long have you been here?"
"A few months now." This was either going to make or break the date. "I'm sorry, this isn't something I should be.."
"No, it's fine. It's part of who you are, Talia," Noah said, brushing her hair back. "Is this the first date you've been on since?"
She nodded, looking down.
He tipped her chin up. "Well thank you for taking a chance with me. Any other secrets?"
"I have a child. A son. He's almost six months old," she said.
"Any pictures?" He asked.
She pulled her phone out and unlocked it, noticing a text from Ragnar. A thrill went through her, but she swiped it to the side. She'd read it later. She found some pictures of Matthew and showed them to Noah.
He looked through them, asking her questions, and Talia felt the awkward moment pass. They settled down to friendly conversation for a bit longer, then began to gather their stuff up to leave. Noah walked her back to her car. "I had a good time, Talia."
She turned to him and smiled. "Me too."
Noah leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. Talia gave him another smile, then got in the car. She started the engine and pulled away, waving to Noah. The moment he was out of sight, she dropped her smile.
She felt nothing with the kiss. Absolutely nothing. 'Lila?'
'That date was a waste of time,' the wolf muttered.
'It wasn't that bad,' Talia responded, annoyed at Lila's quick dismissal.
'Can you see yourself mating with him?'
Leave it to Lila to be upfront. She tried to visualize Noah over her, kissing her, making love to her, but the only one who came to mind was Ragnar, and the many times she'd had sex with him in her dreams. 'No. I can only see myself with..'
'Ragnar,' Lila finished for her.
Talia sighed. She was so screwed.