The Alpha’s Prophesied Mate

Chapter 8: Silver

Rainshadow Café

Take a deep breath. There’s no reason to be anxious. It’s just Eleonor, and you liked her… and as for her brother… Pedro is just exaggerating.

Right?

After taking one last look at herself in the mirror and refusing to acknowledge that she had spent the last few minutes trying to style her hair, which was already pulled back in a ponytail, Evelyn took a deep breath and left the bathroom to face... no, attend to her customers.

It’s not like they need me, she told herself as she heard their voices from the dining area, briefly considering whether she could find something to keep herself busy with in the kitchen and avoid the encounter. She dismissed the idea entirely when she realized how ridiculous she was being.

“...every day, Monday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sundays until 3 p.m., but for special events, we adjust to whatever schedule you need.”

Good. Pedro was promoting the café. That was what they both needed to focus on, not playing matchmaker.

“And you two are the only ones who work here?” she heard Eleonor ask. “These cookies are delicious!”

“Thank you, sweetheart. Wait until you try the macadamia ones... And yep. She handles the pastries and also prepares the few dishes we serve here... and I take care of preparing the drinks and serving the customers. I do everything I... Evelyn! Look who came back to see us... and eat something, of course.”

Fantastic, Pedro... exactly the subtle introduction I needed to keep me from becoming the center of attention.

“Good afternoon. How are y... you?” Hiding her surprise, Evelyn approached the counter, where a smiling Eleonor was waiting for her... alone.

Nope. Alexander didn’t come... She confirmed it with a quick sweep of the café. Well, that solved everything. She mentally shrugged before focusing on the woman in front of her.

“Good, and you?” Eleonor replied with a smile before taking a sip of her coffee. “I stopped by to say hello and confirm everything for my brother’s birthday,” she added, placing the list Evelyn had given Alexander the day before on the counter. “There will be about two hundred and fifty servings of each item.”

“Okay.” Wow... This isn’t exactly a small celebration... Evelyn took the sheet, then froze when she noticed that the items on the list had been checked off and annotated... all of them.

“No me jodas...”

Pedro’s astonished whisper cut through her racing thoughts, and Evelyn found him right beside her, staring at the order, clearly just as stunned as she was. The regular menu plus the options Evelyn had added amounted to more than forty different items... and she wanted two hundred and fifty of everything?

Surely that meant dinner was no longer…

“We still need to figure out dinner,” Eleonor said, as if she had been able to read her thoughts. “And although at first I wanted something different, maybe something themed, I think it would be better to keep it fairly simple. In the middle of that feast of pastries and elaborate dishes, I think steaks or something with a lot of protein would be best. I know this is a pastry shop, but can you provide that, or do you know someone who can?”

“Sweetheart, you don’t need to go anywhere else. Whatever food you need, we can provide it here,” Pedro announced, already recovered from his initial shock and apparently motivated by the imaginary ka-ching of the cash register. “If you want simple steaks with potatoes, we can make them... but who says you can’t have something themed or limit yourself to just one thing? Beef, pork, chicken, with tortillas, corn... Just tell us what you want and whether the party is formal or casual, and we’ll adapt.”

Can we do that?

“Then it’s settled!” Eleonor exclaimed with a smile as she took a cookie from the plate. “The birthday is at our house on Saturday, April 25th. I think it’ll be around six in the evening. I’ll let you know as soon as I confirm the time.”

“Perfect. Believe me, sweetheart, we can hand—”

Nine days to do all this...

Evelyn let Pedro handle Eleonor while she mentally calculated approximately how many ingredients, how much time, and how much effort would be required to complete the order. She knew there was no way they could turn it down. In fact, they had been practically begging for an order this big to get themselves out of the red. In theory, the café was doing well. It had a steady stream of customers and sold what it produced, but they were still carrying the burden of the renovation expenses and the financial strain from paying Michael back for what he had invested in the project. This would give them some breathing room, perhaps even allow them to become completely financially stable... But could they actually pull it off? Especially with the spectacular dinner Pedro had just promised?

How many people would it be for? Two hundred and fifty? More?

“Not that I want to shoot myself in the foot and hurt my own bottom line, but although we don’t know exactly how many guests there will be, this is a massive order... And there’s going to be dinner as well. If there are two hundred and fifty people, that would be more than forty appetizers per person on average, plus a protein-based main course. Unless we’re talking about something much larger, or, on the other hand, it’s smaller and we need to reevaluate the quantities.”

“We still don’t know how many people will attend,” Eleonor said thoughtfully. “Two hundred and fifty gives us enough of a buffer to accommodate any surprise guests or handle it if more people show up than expected.” She shifted her gaze toward Pedro and added with a smile, “But whether it’s twenty-five or two hundred and fifty, nothing will go to waste, and we certainly won’t miss out on the fabulous dinner you’re going to surprise us with.”

You and me...

Evelyn began to worry about the commitment Pedro had gotten them into. The appetizers? Apparently, she wasn’t going to sleep until she finished the order. And that was without even counting the cake, which they hadn’t discussed yet... although it was only to be expected that it would now have to be enormous. But that was her specialty, the kind of thing she knew how to handle.

The carnivorous feast her business partner was promising? She hoped he had some idea what to do. They would definitely have to hire more pe...

“There are three additional pecan pies missing from that list... Those aren’t for the party... They’re just for me.”

“Wh...”

Not blue... gray.

The clarification flashed through Evelyn’s mind when her gaze met a pair of silver eyes staring intently back at her, filled with an intensity she couldn’t quite decipher. Although she wasn’t sure what that look meant, she recognized the open interest Pedro had told her about the day before.

Yes... interest...

She didn’t know why, or what he expected to get out of it... but Alexander Wood was there for her.

Well... s**t.