Chapter 79

0079
(James POV)
Have you ever taken a female out on a date with her older brother or father as a supervisor? No? Well,
neither have I, but I am pretty sure this breakfast is a close equivalent.
Of course, I am not in a position to complain. At least Lily is here and I have a chance to talk to her.
Given our past, and all that I have done, I know that any conversation with Lily is better than no
conversation.
The three of us sit back down at the table. As Brady and Lily look at their menus, I watch Lily.
“You mean stare at Lily,” Luke corrects me.
Fine, whatever. As Brady and Lily look at their menus, I stare at Lily.
She glances up at me. “Why are you staring at me?”
“You are beautiful,” I reply honestly.
Brady lets out a low growl. Lily gives him a look, and he stops.
“I am sorry that I never noticed it before, Lily. You are breathtaking.”
Another low growl comes from Brady. This time Lily just rolls her eyes and shakes her head.
After another minute of looking at her menu, Lily puts it down and looks at me. “So what do you want to
talk about?”
Before I can answer her, Brady puts his menu down, drapes his arm behind Lily’s chair, and pulls her
closer to him. I take a deep breath. I can do this. I have to do this. Just ignore Brady, I tell myself. I only
have this one shot.
I had been thinking about how I want to start this conversation with Lily. I decide to stick with my plan, regardless of Brady’s aggravating presence. I reach out and gently grab Lily’s hand. I enjoy the very faint sparks that happen as our hands touch. I wonder if Lily can feel them too.
“Lily, I want to start by saying
“Let go of her hand, James,” Brady growls at me.
I glare at him.. “I am pretty sure that Lily has already told you that she can speak for herself.”
“No touching her without her consent. Did she give you permission to hold her hand?” he asks bitterly.
+15 BONUS
1 do not see her pulling her hand away, do you?”
That must have been the wrong thing for me to say, because as soon as the words are out of my mouth,
Lily pulls away.
“Please stop, both of you,” Lily pleads. 2
“I am not going to let him touch you without your consent, Lily. He does not deserve you.”
That is it. I desperately want to talk to Lily, but there is only so much that I can take. I stand up.
“Who do you think you are, Brady?”
“Alpha Brady Hyder. I thought you knew that,” he responds sarcastically. He remains seated, his arm still comfortably draped on Lily’s chair.
“No, I mean who do you think you are to interfere with my conversation with my mate?”
“EX–mate, James. Practice the words. EX–mate,” Brady taunts.
Before I can say anything else, Lily also stands up. “I have lost my appetite,” she announces.
(Lily POV)
This was a horrible idea. What were any of us thinking? There is no way that James and I can talk with Brady hovering over us especially now that Brady has confessed to having feelings for me… and especially after I kissed him back last night.
I stand up and throw my napkin down on my plate.
James looks at me, obviously scared that I am leaving. Meanwhile, Brady looks at James with at
triumphant look on his face.
I do not want to hurt Brady. I care about him… a lot. But I now know more than ever that I need space to
figure things out.
Before I walk away from the table,‘l mind–link him. “Brady, I am going to go sit by the ocean for a bit.”
He stands up. “I will go with you,” he mind–links back.
“No… I think James should go with me.”
He looks at me with hurt in his eyes. “What?”
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