Chapter 3

Cade was not in the best of moods, today was one of those days that he wished to be anywhere but at work. 

His ex was trying to get back into his life, her latest boy toy had dumped her and she was feeling old and lonely.

She had been pestering him of late, constantly pitching up at his place, on the pretence of checking up on the kids or calling him at inconvenient times, whining about stupid nonsense.

As if he would take her back, he scoffed to himself, she was in for a rude awakening, he would not touch her with a beanpole, especially since she had not been faithful in the last few years of their marriage, luckily by then, they had been living separate lives, each with their own room.

So, when he finally had the proof he needed to separate from her, he had not looked back, luckily his kids were old enough at the time to understand that their parents were not made for each other or were even soul mates.  

However, he always made sure that they understood, that he never regretted having them, they were his number one priority and he would always love them.

Unfortunately, he had gotten Sharon pregnant in a drunken depressing haze and duty demanded that he make her his mate. 

So it was easy for him to reject her, there never was any feelings for her towards the end of their relationship, after all she was not actually his fated mate, she was a social climbing hussy that he had the unfortunate bad luck of getting pregnant and out of a sense of honor, he had married her, though he had never marked her, instinct telling him not to do it.

He had given her his name, officially named her his mate, but he never wanted to mark her. He had been loyal to her till the end, but once their break-up was official, he did whatever he damned well pleased, not that he went all out and got laid constantly, but whenever the urge hit, he would discreetly scratch the itch, with no strings attached, he never made any promises for a long term relationship.

Nevertheless, like everything else, his ex had not been interested in the twins from birth, so his kids had no emotional attachment to their mother, having seen what she was like, they had asked the judge to let them stay with him, citing that they did not want to live with their mother, which he was forever grateful for having them in his life, they were the one thing that was good that had come out of his failed marriage

His ex was trying to use the kids, forgetting that they were old enough to make up their minds or that she had abandoned them when they most needed her, his ex was making things stressful and uncomfortable for him and the twins.

She clearly was off her rocker, forgetting that he was not her mate and he had no obligation whatsoever towards her.

The one thing he had been grateful for during the time that he had been tied down, was having his kids and that for some or other reason, his true mate had never appeared in his life to date.

Walking in to the dealership, he hardly took note of his environment, still deep in thought, if it wasn’t for his meeting with his brother, he would have continued to drive around on his Harley, trying to unwind and forget his current problem.

But since he was the oldest and having a sense of responsibility, he was now making his way to his brother’s office.

“Hey Bro…bad day?” Matt asked him the moment he entered the office, taking instant note of how Cade had a dark look about him.

Cade grunted, “Sharon is at it again…” Was his only response.

Shaking his head, “When will she ever learn…” Matt muttered under his breath, hating his brother’s ex, she had been a thorn in everyone’s side from day one, “What is she up to now?”

Waving his hand in a dismissive manner, Cade did not want to discuss his ex or go into detail, “Never mind that…you wanted to see me about the accounts?” Changing the subject abruptly, taking Matt’s seat and leaning back, resting his head for a moment, a low throbbing in his temple, a sure sign that he was getting a headache, “Is there a problem…?” He queried, glancing at his brother beneath hooded eyes.

Shaking his head in denial, Matt ordered a coffee for both of them, secretively happy and smirking, that his brother had in some way taken his chair, Matt taking the opposite chair, across from his brother, sitting down at an angle, making sure that his brother had a bird’s eye view of the entrance and Vanessa’s workspace.

Both men finally getting down to business…

Cade listened half-heartedly, his brother began to discuss numbers, his mind still jumbled over his ex and her nonsense, barely paying attention to what his brother was saying, trying to figure a way of making his ex leave him alone.

Gazing unseeingly towards the entrance, he was mindlessly playing with a pen he had picked up, when a movement caught his eye.

His eyes narrowing, focusing on the form at the entrance, his body stilling, his gaze zeroing in on the woman approaching his sister-in-law.

She was petite in stature, her hair from this distance seemed white as snow, though he could not say if it was long or short, she seemed to have it tied up in a bun of sorts, her body was curvaceous, the tight fitting blue jeans she wore, shaped her legs and butt deliciously, her top hinted at voluptuous breasts and a small waist. 

Shifting discreetly in his seat, his groin stirred at the thought of cupping her lush breasts, wondering if they were real or how soft they would be or if her skin was as smooth as silk, as it seemed to be from this distance.

For some reason, he really wanted to get up close and memorize every little feature of this female, at this distance he was curious to know the color of her eyes, did she have freckles, did she wear make-up or not, could a woman in this day and age look so naturally youthful without a bounty of make-up caking her face, he pondered and would her temperament be as sweet as her looks, so many questions... 

His wolf was standing to attention, which was another indicator that this woman was special, normally his wolf lay quietly and dormant, only reacting when absolutely necessary, depending on the circumstances at the time.

He tried better seeing her, first leaning a bit forward, and then unconsciously leaning sideways as she moved further away, barely taking note of his brother watching him, his mind and body solely focused on the this woman.

Matt smirked internally…hook, line and sinker, he thought to himself amusedly, his brother was definitely hooked.

Quickly, while his brother was distracted, he texted a message to his wife, giving her the interesting news, then turning his attention back to his brother, who hadn’t even noticed till that point, that he had stopped talking.

Cade was frowning, he really wanted to know who that woman was, it was the first time in a long time, that a female had piqued his interest to such an extent, the last time that had happened was when he was in early teens and puberty was hitting him hard. 

Straining his neck, he tried to get a glimpse of her, though from his viewpoint, he could only get a slight side profile and with her now sitting down and her small stature, he could barely see her properly.

“Who is she…?” Finally giving up trying to be discreet, curiosity getting the better of him, he asked his brother directly, getting straight to the point.

Matt grinned secretively, “Who…?” He asked innocently.

“Don’t be a dumb ass…” Cade growled, not in the mood for any kind of teasing, wanting answers instead, “ Your wife’s client…who is she? I know Vanessa would have told you about her.”

“Oh…!” Shrugging his shoulders, Matt turned towards his wife’s desk, feigning disinterest, secretively laughing, taking his time in responding, “That would be Ava, she is here for the car, the one you recently finished.” He elaborated, “Apparently she is the new owner, she is here to pick it up, though she needed to come in person to sign some paperwork and of course pick up her vehicle, it should all be sorted by the end of today…”

Stiffening slightly at that information, “Is she getting it for a partner or somebody else…?” He queried, trying to keep his features impassive, hoping his brother would not pick up on his interest or jealousy.

“Nah…according to Nessa, Ava is getting it for herself.” Matt replied, choosing to ignore the jealous tone he heard in his brother’s voice, not wanting his brother to back away if he teased at this early stage of the set-up.

“So not for a partner…” He mumbled under his breath, a thrill of some sort coursing through his body, wondering if she was single and available.

Matt decided to get up and try a new tactic, stretching his large frame, “Listen I am going to take a break for a moment, if you don’t mind.” He informed his older brother, “I need a bit of fresh air, why you don’t also take a few moments and check things in the other departments…” 

Crossing his fingers and hoping that Cade will take the bait. It seemed that Cade was too fixated on Ava to take note of anything he was saying or doing.

Cade nodded, barely registering what his brother was saying, too distracted with the woman seated at Vanessa’s desk, slowly standing up and making his way around the dealership, discreetly finding ways that he could get a better and closer view of the woman, watching as she stood up and moved towards the car he had designed recently.