Alpha Terrell's POV
Gareth came in some minutes later, looking alert and slightly amused.
"I need a strategy," I said. No preamble. I had already wasted enough of the morning on preamble.
Gareth looked at me.
"For what, Alpha?"
"Making a woman smile."
A pause.
"A… strategy," he said.
"Yes."
"You're saying… you want a strategy." Something was happening at the corner of his mouth. "As in, you want to approach this the way you'd approach battles."
"Gareth." I looked at him with the look that had ended longer conversations than this one. "I'm aware of the word. I used it deliberately. I know what I'm talking about, you know what I'm talking about. Give me something useful before I lose patience."
He cleared his throat.
"Right," he said. "First…" He stopped. Looked at my face. "You're going to need to smile more yourself, Alpha. That face won't…"
"The strategy, Gareth."
