Honored_ An Alpha Mob Romance(18)

I made a choice. Maybe I made the wrong choice, maybe I doomed people that I loved, but it was my choice. I wasn’t going to give up, not yet, not when there was still a chance.

All I had to do was figure out a way to keep Ellie alive while still keeping myself in Colm’s good graces.

Easy. No big deal.

I sighed, pulled my phone out, and began to type a text.

Me: I’m sorry to do this, but I have to cancel on you tonight. Work stuff. Another time, maybe.

I hit send, frowning. I couldn’t be seen with her, not when other people in the Mob knew her face and knew she was the one that Colm wanted dead. I couldn’t risk that obvious connection, not yet at least. I hated letting her down, but I’d rather she feel a little annoyed than get a bullet in the back.

All I needed was a plan. I pulled a bottle of decent whisky and a glass from the bottom drawer of my desk, poured myself a decent drink, and sipped it.





Chapter Eight: Ellie


Liam: I’m sorry to do this, but I have to cancel on you tonight. Work stuff. Another time, maybe.

I frowned at the text, folding my legs underneath me. I had already showered and was getting ready when he canceled on me. What an asshole. Why would he wait until the last minute? It must have been important, but still. What could have been so important at his restaurant that he couldn’t at least give me a call? It was frustrating and confusing; he seemed pretty into me during our walk, except for at the very end.

On a whim, I tapped on my friend Chelsea’s name and listened to the phone ring. I figured I was already dressed up and in the mood to do something; I might as well not waste the night just because Liam decided to stand me up.

“What up, girl?” Chelsea said.

“Hey, how’s it going?”

“I’m decent, exhausted though. Haven’t seen you in like, forever!”

“I know, being an adult sucks.”

“Tell me about it.”

“What are you doing tonight?”

“Honestly? I’m having a few glasses of wine and going to bed by ten.”

“How about some ice cream with me instead?”

“Can I still have some wine later?”

“You absolutely can.”

“Great. I’ll meet you at your place. When?”

“Half hour?”

“See you soon.”

“Bye.”

We hung up. I looked down at Petey.

“Liam is such an asshole, right, Petey?”

He looked up at me and wagged his tail. I sighed, leaning back into my comfortable couch. I hadn’t been on a date in a while, and honestly I hadn’t really thought much about it. I knew there were all these different dating apps, which I guess would have been easy enough to use, but it felt weird. And I didn’t want to meet some random guy at a bar, since that could be so sleazy. Instead, I put it out of my mind and didn’t bother.

I have no clue why I was so against meeting guys in a bar. It would make a lot more sense if I were open to meeting someone great anywhere, but I guess I loved to shoot myself in the foot.

Then Liam came along. The situation seemed perfect. He wasn’t married, I wasn’t meeting him through an app or at a bar, and he was attractive. I mean, he was nice and funny and seemed interesting, and he was beyond sexy. I felt like a teenager again, imagining myself running my hands down his shirt and along his muscled chest. I wanted to bite his lower lip so badly.

But he stood me up. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to give him another shot. Then again, you had to respect a man with his own business, especially at such a young age. He hustled, and I couldn’t hold that against him too much. It didn’t exactly upset me, but it was definitely strange.

Shaking my head, I stood up and walked into my bedroom to get changed into something comfortable to wear.

Chelsea grinned at me as we walked down the sidewalk toward Philly Flavors on Fairmount Avenue. She was her usual, happy self, though I could see how tired she was around the edges. She was slightly less ready to laugh, and the bags under her eyes were thicker, but otherwise she was the same old Chelsea.

“So he just canceled on you, out of the blue?”

I nodded. “Yeah, through text. I mean, he does own his own restaurant, so there really could be some issue, but still. Call me at least.”

She laughed. “Yeah, seriously. If you want, I can hook you up with one of the lawyers at my firm. There are some nice, hot young partners.”

“No, thanks. I’m not really interested in dating around.”

“Oh, and yet this mysterious Liam guy is good enough for Princess Eleanor?”

I winced. “God, don’t call me that.”

“It’s your name, isn’t it? Anyway, what makes this guy so special?”