Chapter 16 I Must Be Crazy

[Ella]
"Mia, who is he?" I ask Mia in a whisper as I pull her a few steps away from them.
The corner of Mia's mouth lifts upward. She looks at Mr. Clapton, then at me, and says, "So, you had Ansel send your Ethan home for a date with Alpha Ethan. You could have messaged me about it earlier."
I cover Mia's mouth in a panic. Alpha's hearing is sensitive. If Mr. Clapton heard me, he would think I had feelings for him. Although I only have a little crush on him because he helps me, only a little.
"He just took me to buy my evening gown and shoes for tomorrow and then drove me to the restaurant. I asked him to have dinner with us as gratitude. So, we didn't. . uh..."
Before I finish the sentence, I notice something is wrong. This is obviously a date!
Mia's raised eyebrows and the upward curve of her mouth express her confusion, "So, you're going to tell me you didn't have a date after all that? Are you going to admit it until you bring Alpha Ethan back to the apartment?"
"Of course not! I have no way of having a thing for him. Oh, that's not what we're talking about! Why does he know Mr. Clapton? Is he the annoying guy you mentioned in your message?" I ask.
"He's my brother. What's the problem?"
Mr. Clapton's voice appears from behind me again, and he seems to enjoy overhearing me talking to others. Wait, my brother? I turn around and see Mr. Clapton standing two feet away from me with a grim look.
I wince, shake my head and say, "Oh, no! This is the first time I've seen your brother."
Standing next to him, Lucas overlooks Mr. Clapton in a bad mood, showing me a big smile and extending a hand. "Lucas Clapton. Nice to meet you, Ella."
"Ella Jane Ronan, pleasure to see you." I smile and shake his hand.
"I heard Ansel say you're in charge of the little boy. Is he okay? I was worried when I first heard Ethie say that the cat was lost. It's wonderful to know he's met a good owner now. I'm even jealous he can live in an apartment with you two beautiful ladies." Lucas's smile spreads to his eyes at the mention of Ethan.
"He's very well. His health check-up has been done this afternoon." I say. Amazingly, Mr. Clapton's brother is such a warm and talkative type, quite different from his proud and serious older brother.
"See? Lucas, I told you. You and Ella would get along great." Mia grins and wraps her arm around my shoulders.
I glance at Mr. Clapton, who looks at me unkindly, which makes me wonder if I've done something to make him angry. But what requires my greater attention is that Mia seems to want Lucas to develop some kind of feeling for me.
"Yes, Ella is very nice. But," Lucas quickly shifts his gaze to Mia's face, his smile fading.
"She's not Mia Watts."
I can feel his affection for Mia revealed by how he looks at her. Such a look is familiar to me because that's the look my mother has when she looks at my father.
My mother once said that the eyes are the player of the heart. If you meet your mate, then whenever he appears in your vision, you will unconsciously keep your gaze on him and let him know how much you like him.
The Mia's mate that Ansel implied is not Ethan D Clapton, as I believe, but Lucas Clapton. Realizing this actually makes me feel cheerful as if my heart was swept gently by Ethan's tail.
"Mia, the mate you mentioned is Lucas?" I ask Mia.
Mia nods, looking helpless about Lucas's approach.
Oh yeah, I remember that Mia is a member of the 'Not-Expecting-Mate' faction. In other words, she admires relationship freedom and doesn't believe in loving one mate only for the rest of her life.
"Hey, girls, coming here for your double date?" Jenny, the owner of the restaurant, comes out. She probably sees us standing at the entrance for a long time.
"Hi, Jenny, table for four, please," I say, intending to fill my stomach, which has been twitching several times from hunger.
"Feel free to order whatever you like. My treat today." I say to Lucas, sitting next to me after I get the menu.
"Mia mentioned this dinner is to celebrate you getting a full-time job. So, I bring a bottle of champagne." Lucas takes a bottle of champagne out of his handbag.
"Thank you." I thank Lucas, even though I hardly drink because I get drunk immediately with a sip of any kind of alcohol.
"Yes. I told you it is a girls' night for Ella and me." Mia, sitting opposite me, stares at Lucas and specifically emphasizes 'girls.'
"What a pity. I should have brought Phi-phi over to celebrate for Ella if I'd known Ethie was getting an invite today." Lucas sighs, completely ignoring the implication in Mia's words.
"Oh, Phi-phi is my youngest sister, who just entered primary school in early January. She loves this kind of lively restaurant." Lucas has already pulled out his smartphone, not waiting for us to ask him who Phi-phi is. He smiles and shows us a picture of his little sister.
The little girl in the photo looks like a little angel left on earth by the moon god. She has shoulder-length curly blonde hair, sky-blue eyes, and red apple-like cheeks. The most adorable and eye-catching thing is she owns two dimples when she smiles.
I turn my attention to Mr. Clapton sitting in front of me on the right, studying the menu and remaining silent. I can't believe Mr. Clapton has such a sweet princess-like sister.
"Luke, don't show Sofi's picture in an unfamiliar place." Mr. Clapton reminds Lucas without taking his eyes off the menu in his hand.
"You're too overprotective of Phi-phi." Lucas waves to Mr. Clapton opposite him, but he still pockets his phone.
When ordering, Lucas directly selects all of Mia's orders, including dessert, causing Mia to roll her eyes.
Not knowing if Mr. Clapton can read minds, he chooses Buttered Toast Bread, Grilled Rib-eye Steak, and BBQ Salad, which are all dishes I order regularly. However, I will not let him think I deliberately order the same as him. So I just change my main course to the Southern Chicken Sandwich.
Mia seems to see why I have changed my main course; she snickers, and instead of poking me, she changes the subject, "Ella, did you get your perfect gown yet?"
I nod and smile, "It's my first time buying an evening gown. I'm not sure if I fit into the red."
"You didn't go to your high school prom?" Mia asks. I have never told her about what happened to me in high school.
"I got dumped by a jerk before the prom. So, I didn't attend the prom." I shrug.
"That's too bad!" Lucas says in surprise.
"Urgh~ what a jerk!" Mia widens her pure blue eyes and frowns again as she asks me, "Did you slap him a few times?"
I shake my head, "No, I got slapped by his true love."
"Damn it! If I had met you earlier, I would have certainly shifted and bitten that bitch." Mia curses and doesn't ask me for specific details.
"Oh, Mia, please do take me with you if you're going to do this. I'll be sure to help you testify you didn't shift." Lucas seizes every opportunity he can to talk to Mia. He manages to get a smile from my friend.
"What's her name? Your ex-boyfriend's true love." Mr. Clapton asks me. His face is expressionless, and I can't guess what he wants with this question.
"What's her name? Your ex-boyfriend's true love." Mr. Clapton asks me. His face is expressionless, and I can't guess what he wants with this question.
"Forget them! I can't wait for dinner." I wave my hand and pick up the buttered toast.
"Good." Mr. Clapton teases, takes a sip of champagne, and comments, "Nice champagne."
Frankly, his smile is terrifying, a bit like an evil wizard in a movie. Even Lucas beside me winces.
"Speaking of tomorrow's party, Ella, do you wanna go with me? Or is there someone to pick you up?" Mia asks, glancing again at Mr. Clapton.
"Liam said he borrowed Andrew's car to get me. I'll go with him!" I say, swallowing the buttered bread.
"Liam? Who is he?" Mia asks as if she didn't expect my answer.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you that. He's the youngest son of the pet store owner, where I worked part-time. He asked me on Thursday if I would be his dance partner." I take the chicken sandwich the waiter just serves up, not noticing Mia's strange look. I continue, "I guess the kid must be very upset that he didn't have a dance partner, so I agreed."
SMASH
The restaurant suddenly falls into a brief silence. I look at the champagne glass broken by Mr. Clapton in shock. The terrible aura emanating from him brings shivers running down my spine to the tips of my fingers.
"I must be crazy." He growls, picks up a napkin from the table, and heads for the entrance.