He was a moron. His first date with the woman who was likely his mate, and he’d messed it up. He’d messed it up so bad that she wasn’t even spending time with him or speaking to him. The moment they got to the ball, his mother had grabbed Mary, and now she was introducing her to everyone.
Mary hadn’t spoken to him much in the car or while they were waiting to get in. She’d seemed somber. Now that she was away from him, she was laughing and having a great time. It stung. Not that he blamed her. What he’d said was so stupid.
Of course the girls weren’t stealing anything. They were normal teenage girls. Maybe they hung out with some sketchy people, but that didn’t make them thieves. What annoyed him was that Mary had acted like it didn’t matter if they were stealing.
That wasn’t how he’d expected her to react to potential criminal activity. He was in security—his job was to make sure crime didn’t happen. When he was a kid, he’d even thought about being a police officer for a while. It wasn’t the right job for him, but he was still a law-abiding citizen who took following the law seriously. He’d been wrong to shoot off about the twins, but she wasn’t entirely in the right either.
She’d even tried to turn it on him, making it seem like he was a callous rich jerk, but his wealth had nothing to do with what they were talking about. Even if he was homeless and penniless, he wouldn’t steal. It was wrong. But there was no way he could communicate that to Mary tonight.
Anytime he got close to her, she started to frown and clammed up. He wasn’t sure how he was going to make her understand where he was coming from.
“What’s on your mind, little brother?” Beckett handed him a beer. “Thought you could use this. Looks like you need to loosen up a bit. You aren’t even talking to your date.”
“My date isn’t talking to me,” Connor corrected him. “I pissed her off on the way here. I don’t think she wants to see much of me tonight. I’m going to give her space for a while and try to talk to her later.”
Beckett laughed. “One date, and she’s already done with you. That’s got to be a record.”
“We didn’t even make it to the ball. We were in the car when I did it.” Connor had to laugh. It was so stupid, only he could have pulled off this move.
“Don’t worry. If she’s special, she’ll look past your idiocy.” Beckett patted him on the back. “Any girl who’s going to date you needs to be used to you putting your foot in your mouth.”
“Thanks for that great advice.” Connor shrugged off his brother’s hand. “I’m going to go ask her to dance.”
“Good call.” Beckett scanned the room. “I’m going to ask Lenni, and they’re together. You go first.”
Connor wove through the crowded ballroom to stand near Lenni and Mary. He waited until Lenni had caught his eye before entering the conversation. “Hey, ladies. Having fun?”
“This party is packed,” Lenni said. “I knew the app was going to be popular, but I’m surprised to see so many people here to celebrate it. I wonder if they all want in on the investment?”
“Probably,” Connor said. “You’ve used the app before, right?”
Lenni pursed her lips. “Yup, and I ended up with a stalker. So, you know, I’m a little biased.”
“That’s right. I’d forgotten about that,” he said. He turned to Mary. “Are you having a good time?”
She nodded. “I am. You have a great family, and everyone here is so nice. Your mom has introduced me to like fifty people already.”
“She does know how to make an introduction,” Connor said. “Would you like to dance with me?”
She looked at the floor. “It’s pretty packed. I’ve never seen so many people who want to dance before. Not that I go to many parties like this, but at the weddings I’ve been to, the dance floor takes forever to fill up.”
“And it’s not until everyone’s a little drunk,” Lenni laughed.
“We could go dance outside,” Beckett said as he joined the group. He put his arm around Lenni’s waist and rested his hand on her baby bump. “There’s almost no one out there, so we’ll have some privacy too.”
“I’d love to,” Lenni said, then turned to Mary. “Great meeting you. I have a feeling we’ll be talking more in the future.”
She gave Connor a look, and he got the message. Everyone loved Mary. After spending just a few minutes with them, she’d managed to win over his whole family. He was really going to have to work to get her to forgive him.
“Would you like to go outside?”
“I guess.” She put the drink she’d been holding on a passing waiter’s tray. “I don’t really dance, though. So, don’t laugh at my lack of skill.”
“I’ll tell you a secret.” He leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “Nobody is really good at dancing. Slow dancing is mostly just rocking back and forth. I think you’ll be pretty decent at that.”
She smiled. “I’m willing to give it a try.”
He led her through the crowd to the garden space outside. There were a few couples dancing and talking in the moonlight, but it was mostly empty. It was the perfect space for an intimate conversation.
He took her in his arms and began to move slowly back and forth.
“So far, so good,” she said.
He kissed her on the forehead. “You’re doing great. I’m glad you came tonight.”
“Me too. I’m having a really great time. I think I’ve made some good contacts.”
“And you got to dance with the most handsome shifter here.” Connor whistled. “You’re one lucky girl.”
She chuckled against his chest. “I’m one lucky girl.”
They swayed to the music together. The heat of the day had settled, and it was a pleasantly warm night. It felt better out here than it did in the crowded ballroom.
“I could spend the rest of the night out here with you,” Connor said quietly. “That would be much better than going back in there.”
“It is quieter out here. But your parents would kill you if you spent the rest of the night out here.”
“Ugh, my parents.” He looked into the ballroom. “They won’t even notice. With Beckett and Lenni here, I’m mostly off the hook. I could easily skip out, and they’d barely notice. Actually, they would notice if you were gone. You’re the most beautiful girl in that room. Your presence would be missed a lot more than mine.”
“That’s not true. People would miss you too. Eventually.” She laughed. “I could listen to you talk me up all night. I’m starting to get used to this.”
“You should.” He kissed her. “I like saying nice things about you. That’s why I was so upset when I put my foot in my mouth earlier.”
She blanched. “Let’s not mention that. We’re having a nice time. There’s no need to bring up your bad judgment.”
Connor frowned. It wasn’t bad judgment; he’d been making a point. It was a bad time, but he hadn’t been wrong, and he didn’t appreciate her saying that.
“I’m sure it was just your nerves,” she continued. “I’m not mad. I can say dumb things when I’m too nervous, too. Not like what you said, but still, I understand.”
He gritted his teeth. “I didn’t say anything stupid. I just said it at a stupid time.”
She stepped back. “You implied that my sisters were thieves. I think that was a dumb thing to say.”
“Not if they’re thieves,” he snapped. He let go of her and began to clench and unclench his fists. “I know you disagree with me, but you have to see that it makes sense.”
“It does not.” Her face was getting flushed, but this time it wasn’t sexy. “I don’t understand what kind of monster would turn their own family in to the authorities. I would never do anything like that, and, frankly, I can’t believe you would, either.”
“I could say the same. I assumed you were someone who followed the rules and did what was right.”
“What’s right?” she scoffed. “Right is giving your family the benefit of the doubt. What you’re saying is right by the law, but not right morally.”
“How is following the law not moral?” He couldn’t believe his ears. She was trying to take the moral high ground by arguing for breaking the law. “I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree.”
“Are you going to drop it?”
“Yes. I don’t want to talk about this right now.”
“I mean, are you going to drop it forever? Even if you think there’s something here. You aren’t going to go home and try to find evidence to support your theory.”
He pressed his lips together. He was curious now. He wanted to look up the stolen shoes and see when the theft had happened, and if there was even a chance that Mary was wearing stolen property to the ball. He didn’t think anything would come of it, but he couldn’t not follow his hunch. That wouldn’t be right.
“You’re not going to let this go,” she said.
A tear ran down her left cheek. He wanted to brush it away, but he couldn’t move. He didn’t want to do anything else wrong, and going to her felt wrong.
“I think I should leave. Get back to my family.” She walked onto the grass. “I’ll take an Uber home. Thank you for inviting me.”
That set him in motion. “Wait. You don’t need to go. We can work this out.”
“We can’t.” She shook her head sadly. “We’ll never see eye-to-eye on this, and I can’t trust you if you’d ever think about turning my sisters in to the police or even investigate them. It isn’t right.”
He was speechless again. All he could do was watch her walk away across the grass and out of his life.