A week later, there was still no sign of a call from Elizabeth. Perhaps he had overestimated his effect on women, at least this woman. It looked like he was going to have to move on to his back up plan. It struck him that while the newest addition to the Lowery pack didn’t seem to be thinking about him, he had done nothing but think about her and not just as an avenue to getting into the Silver Wolves. He felt an unexplainable attraction to her, one that was anything but something he could afford.
He reached in the fridge for a beer and a bowl of leftover chicken salad. He missed the days when he used to have someone to cook his meals for him, but those days were long past now. Cooking was something he could learn to do, but he really just didn’t care to do so. Takeout and deli food worked just as well for the purposes of nutrition. He had only taken his first bite when the phone rang. Figured someone would call now that he had settled down to eat. He didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?” he said into the speaker.
“Hi,” came a demure voice from the other end.
“Yes?” he replied, feigning ignorance as to who it might be.
“Oh. Sorry. It’s Elizabeth,” she said.
Grant hesitated, just long enough. He didn’t want to appear as if she meant anything more to him than just some random stranger he ran across in a coffee shop.
“From the coffee shop,” she added.
“Oh, Elizabeth. Yes, yes. Of course,” he said.
“You said I could call,” she told him, now sounding uncertain.
“Absolutely. I’m glad you did. I’m sorry. I was just busy with something and wasn’t connecting the dots. Of course, I know who you are. How could I forget such a beautiful smile?”
It was a bit cheesy, but she was a little younger than him. Twenty-two as compared to his twenty-four. A comment like that was sure to get a roll of the eyes from someone his age or a little older, but from what he could discern, she seemed inexperienced. It was his guess that she’d only recently even developed any interest in the opposite sex. She was a late bloomer, as his mother would have said.
“I, um, I . . ..” She floundered a bit from the other end before finally latching on to some words. “I didn’t know if I should call.”
“What? No. Of course, you should call. I’m so glad you did.”
“Really? Good. I just wanted to talk to you a bit more about the art. Is that okay?”
“Absolutely. What did you want to know?”
“I don’t know. I paint. I think I’m okay, but I was wondering if maybe you could take a look at some of the things I’ve done and tell me what you think?”
“Oh, yeah. I’d love to. You want to meet somewhere, and we can look through them?”
“It’s not that easy. All my work is done in murals other than some ridiculous sketches.”
“Well, I guess I could come and just look at the murals. Are they all in one place?”
Of course, he already knew the answer to this. They were all over the walls in the clubhouse. He had seen them when he had gone through in wolf form during the Dire Wolves attack. He had counted on the young artist in her seeing an opportunity to have someone in the profession look at her work. Though he had also learned Amanda’s background would put her in a position to critique it, but given what he had found out about their closeness, it would be only natural for her to want an impartial opinion.
“Yeah, they are, but that is kinda a problem.”
“Why?”
“I have pictures of them,” she offered excitedly, ignoring the question.
“Okay. I guess if they are clear enough.”
It had been too much to hope for that she might just invite him to the clubhouse. In fact, he would have been shocked if she had. This was good too though. It gave him a chance to get her alone. Obviously, she would try to slip away from the pack, and bring the photos to him for review.
“I think they are. I am pretty decent with a camera. I’ll bring them to the coffee shop next time you are there.”
“I don’t know when that will be. I have a good bit going on. You are welcome to stop by here. I can give you the address.”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“Of course. I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I’m not thinking. That would be inappropriate. Listen, I’ll be at the library tomorrow to return some books and do a bit of research. Perhaps you could stop by and we could sit down for a bit?”
Grant chastised himself for even suggesting she meet him alone at his place. It made perfect sense that she would be wary of coming to a man’s home alone. It almost made him smile, how sweet and innocent she was. In another situation, he could easily find himself attracted to her, but he had to stay focused. He couldn’t afford to let some sweet young thing tug at his heartstrings, no matter how attractive he found her to be.
“I think I can manage that. What time?” she asked.
“About 2 p.m. would be good for me if you are available.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you there.”
“See you there. You have my number if anything comes up.”
“Sure do,” she told him. “You want mine?”
“I have it on the caller ID. I’ll save it to my contacts.”
“Yeah. Silly of me. Okay. See you tomorrow.”
“You will.”
Grant hung up, even though he could tell she was still on the line trying to decide if she should say anything further. There would be plenty of time for niceties tomorrow. He smiled as he walked away. It was taking a little time to find an “in” but the plan was working. All he had to do was win her over and she’d bring Aspen Lowery around. Even the baddest biker was always a sucker for what his little girl wanted, and Elizabeth was as close to a daughter as he would ever have. She was the only daughter any of them would ever have.