Elise’s POV.
It got harder day by day to hide the urge to touch Hayden and be close to him. I felt like a crush-stricken pup who had just realized the presence of an alpha who had been with me all this time. And now it was far too clear to ignore. I wondered if he had noticed too, if he had seen the times I looked away when our gazes met.
It got harder each time our eyes locked from across the room or from where he stood with his friends, laughing at a joke Brady made. I watched as his eyes crinkled from the joke, and an unconscious smile spread on my face too.
Jax called his attention back to the field as I stood with the ladies under the gazebo. I felt a soft tap on my shoulder from Rita, Brady’s intended mate. We were under one of the tents, with the other serving beverages and drink
