Free Fated Mates: Book 1 of the True Mates Series by Alicia Montgomery Page B

spa, Alex was already waiting for her, holding the door open. She gave him a side smile as she entered the car, enjoying the way his eyes roamed over and appreciated her body.  
    The ride to the restaurant was short, a couple of blocks from Fifth Avenue. The building they stopped at was sleek and modern and gave no indication of what was inside, not even the name of the restaurant. Grant was already there when the severe-looking maître’d brought her to the table.  
    Grant made a motion to stand up, but Alynna waved him down. “Please, I feel uneasy enough in these heels,” she joked. “So, uh, thanks for the invite,” she said as their waiter placed a menu in front of her.
    “Well, I know you’ve been busy and so have I, so Cady suggested we have dinner, just the two of us,” he stated. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted so I had my assistant book us a table here.”
    “What is this place?” Alynna asked, peering at the menu.  
    “I’m not sure. I just asked him for somewhere private and nice,” he opened up the menu.
    Alynna scanned the restaurant’s offerings. She gulped as she realized it was mainly in French, and she didn’t even understand half of the English translations. Shifting in her seat uncomfortably, she mumbled something and pointed to the first thing she saw when the waiter asked what she wanted.
    As soon as the waiter left, Alynna and Grant sat there in uncomfortable silence, as if they were waiting for each other to speak first.
    “So, nice place--”
    “How are the--”
    They spoke at the same time and then stopped abruptly.
    “What did you--”
    “You go ahead--”
    More silence. More uncomfortable shifting.  
    Finally Grant cleared his throat. “Is everything going well with Cady? I mean, with the lessons and such…”
    Alynna shrugged. “I suppose…I just don’t know why I need to know history and stuff…like when am I going to learn the cool things? Like growing fangs or something?” she joked.
    “Well, I agree that shifting is a big part of what you need to learn, though history is important too. You need to learn how the clans work, the high council, important people and such,” he said. “And I’m still not sure who can teach you the basics of controlling your Lycan side.”
    “Couldn’t you do it?” she asked. “I mean, it sounds like you don’t have formal teachers and such for that.”
    “I’m just afraid that I won’t be able to devote the time to it. It has to be done on a regular basis,” he explained. “But one of the reasons I wanted some private time with you is--”
    “Your starters, sir,” said their waiter as he approached. He put two plates of salad in front of them. At least, Alynna thought they were salad, as she did see a couple of piles of leaves on the plate, some raisins, unidentifiable grasses, and a squirt of dressing on the side.  
    They ate in silence, occasionally making a comment about the weather or New York politics. Their salad plates were cleared away and the waiter came with their entrees.  
    “Tripes à la mode de Caen for the lady,” the waiter said, laying the plate down in front of Alynna with a flourish. “And Les Escargots En Petites Tomatoes, for the gentleman. Enjoy your dinner.”
    Alynna stared at the dish in front of her. There was a small bowl with pieces of what looked like meat and a couple of potatoes. She looked up at Grant, who seemed to be just as puzzled as she was.
    “I think this is the dish I ordered…or at least it looks...digestible if not edible,” he said with a raised brow.
    She let out a laugh, which seemed to infect Grant as well as he struggled to keep from chuckling too loud. A couple of patrons glared at them and Alynna cleared her throat to try to suppress the giggles.  
    “Hmmm…so, this is kind of going like a bad first date…what do you say we get out of here and get some real food?”
    “I couldn’t agree more.”

    ***
    “So, you’ve lived in New York all your life and