Page 12 of My Unhinged Alphas
“I don’t,” I say. “What if he’s secretly forty-five and living in his mom’s basement?”
Mara squints at the photo. “He does not live in a basement.”
I look at the picture again. He looks… expensive. Like someone who has never worried about overdraft fees.
“That’s the problem,” I say quietly. “He looks like he belongs in a different tax bracket.”
Jess rolls her eyes. “You deserve something nice.”
“I deserve stable,” I correct.
“You deserve both,” she counters.
Mara leans forward slightly. “Lena. You work constantly. You pay your bills. You survived everything you’ve survived. You don’t get to talk yourself out of good things just because they look unfamiliar.”
I glance back at the screen.
Dinner tonight.
This feels reckless, and I don’t do reckless. I do budgets and backup plans and emergency savings accounts with twelve dollars in them.
But maybe reckless for one night won’t kill me.
“It’s just dinner,” Jess says softly. “Public place. You text us the address. We track you like you’re an Uber.”
“That’s comforting,” I mutter.
Mara smiles. “You don’t even have family obligations to juggle. No one’s waiting for you at home. Go.”
It stings less this time. Because they aren’t wrong.
No one is waiting.
I stare at Ethan’s message one more time.
He looks too polished. Too perfect. Too out of my league. Which is probably exactly why I should say no.
My thumb hovers over the screen.
Then I type:Dinner sounds good. Text me the details.
Jess shrieks.
Mara grins.
The phone buzzes again almost immediately.
Ethan:I’ll pick you up at seven.
Pick me up. That makes my stomach tighten, but Jess exhales dramatically. “See? Gentleman.”
I lock the phone and stare at the brick wall behind Jess. “What have I just done?” I murmur.
Mara pops another fry into her mouth. “You said yes.”
Jess grins at me like she just won something. “Welcome to Kindred,” she says.
For a second, I feel something unfamiliar in my chest.
