Alpha's Twins Chapter 196

"Yeah, but why did you suddenly stop the car?"

He stayed quiet, not bothering to answer. His eyes were locked on mine. I looked away when I realized he'd been staring at me for way too long.

"M-Max, wha—"

He grabbed my hand out of nowhere, making me freeze mid-sentence.

"You're right. I was looking for you. But you weren't at your pack."

I slowly turned to look at him. "What made you come looking for me?"

His gaze dropped to our joined hands. I felt this weird tingling sensation on the back of my hand. When I glanced down, I saw his thumb slowly stroking across my skin.

I tried to pull my hand away, but he tightened his grip, stopping me.

I shot him a look. "Max."

"Natalia, I was hoping I'd see you again after that night at the club. But I had to head back to my pack because my Alpha needed me there."

I stared at him, my nerves showing on my face. God, he was gorgeous. While he talked, his eyebrows kept furrowing, then relaxing with each new sentence.

That calm energy of his, that laid-back tone—it was the kind of thing that could make any woman weak in the knees. He was seriously attractive. Back when I was in school, every girl had a massive crush on him.

But I'd never thought of him that way. I'd always just respected him as my mentor. Nothing more than that.

I was a mom of two kids. I didn't get to think about my own life anymore. I could never start over, even though they weren't with me. I lived for them.

I pulled my hand free and cleared my throat.

"I think we should head to my place, Max."

Max looked hurt. He slowly let his hand drop and nodded.

He started the car again, and we drove toward my house.

The whole ride was painfully awkward. I kept stealing glances at him. His mood had turned dark.

Was he pissed at me?

But what choice did I have? I knew exactly what he'd been getting at when he talked to me back there.

He was this charming doctor, the town's most eligible bachelor, and I was a divorced woman with two kids.

We weren't even in the same league. I wasn't ready, and honestly, I couldn't even think about letting another man into my life.

I was terrified of feeling something for someone again, scared to trust, scared to even consider the possibility that I might get to live my life again.

The car stopped in front of my house—I'd already given him the address when we left the restaurant.

I saw him just sitting there, not moving, like he was waiting for me to get out first.

I hated his silence. He was this accomplished guy with tons of life experience and knowledge. Why was he acting like some moody teenager?

"Max."

He mumbled, "I'm listening," without even looking at me.

His response caught me off guard. I tried to figure out how to clear up this whole misunderstanding. Then I decided to just tell him the truth so he'd stop thinking about me like that.

"Max, you're my friend. So I want to be honest with you. Alpha Adrian isn't just my pack leader—he's my ex-husband. I'm not just any woman. I'm a divorced woman with two kids."

I expected shock to flash across his face. But to my surprise, Max turned to look at me and said in this low, deep voice:

"Natalia, I already know all of that."