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"So. I've been dying to know about your match! Tell me everything."
I climb onto the bed and cross my legs, looking her in the face.
"I mean, there isn't much to tell. We've been talking for about two weeks, and it's been really great."
"Really great? Paige, you are smiling from ear to ear! You like him!" She's right. He does make me happy. I get butterflies every time he messages me.
"Fine! You got me. I do like him. He is funny and easy to talk to. He messages me every night, and we just spend hours talking about important stuff and nothing. I was actually supposed to meet him tomorrow, but I rescheduled."
Quinn quickly sits up. "WHAT! Why didn't you tell me? You could have come after, or not at all!"
"Quinn, this guy has been around for all of two weeks, and I haven't even met him yet. You have been around for four years and are my family. You needed my help, and I am so glad to be here for it."
"Paige, you should have met him! We would have been fine. You care too much about other people and not enough about yourself. If I wasn't so pregnant, I'd kick your ass." She is a funny thing, isn't she?
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, he was fine. We'll get together soon, I'm sure."
"Fine. Wanna make cookies for dessert tonight?"
"We're just going to eat the raw dough, aren't we?"
"Yup!" She claps her hands like a small child. It's so good to see her happy and way less stressed. Eli has been good for her.
"I'm in!" I hop off the bed and go to help Quinn, but she's already standing.
"I also got Eli to grab your favorite bottle of wine. I was going to get it, but Eli was concerned people might think I was drinking while pregnant. I thought that might be funny."
"I would have loved to see that."
We did end up eating most of the cookie dough, and I went through nearly the whole bottle of wine, whoops. Just before bed, I crack the window open because I love sleeping with the cool air and check the app.
Sexywolf: Hello Sunshine, How was your day?
It makes me smile every time.
***
We're heading over to the pack house for the first official meeting with the council members, which means Maddie and I are going to be bonding for the morning.
"Auntie Paige, can we have a tea party when we get there?"
"Of course, sweetheart. But let's go outside to play, too."
"Okay!"
We finally get ourselves unloaded from the SUV and manage to make it inside without getting too cold. Nothing has really changed in the packhouse. The main area is large and minimally decorated, meeting rooms to the right and the door straight ahead leading to the backyard. The kitchen is just by the back exit on the right. Despite its sparse decor, its warm-colored walls make you feel welcome.
"Okay, so it should only be a couple of hours. Eli has a bunch of toys in his office, and there are lots of snacks and food in the kitchen in case she gets hungry. Plus, I packed extra snacks in her bag."
"We'll be fine, Quinn, I promise."
Suddenly, I feel a pull in my chest, and Maddie screams "Uncle Liam!" and goes jetting down the hall to the kitchen at the back of the packhouse. Everything slows down after that. Maddie goes racing to this man and jumps into his arms. He twirls her around, making airplane noises. I feel like I'm watching a Hallmark movie when the heroine sees the handsome man from town playing with the local kids, but this isn't a Hallmark movie. This is my nightmare.
The tugging in my chest pulls harder, and my wolf whimpers; my breathing becomes shallow, and everything around me feels like it's spinning out of control. The man finally puts Maddie on his hip with a huge smile on his face and looks up at us, but then our eyes meet.
This can't be happening. What is he doing here? Liam Gates, my childhood crush, turned teenage bully. Bully is a mild term for what he did and participated in while I was with my old pack. He walks up to our group, but our eyes never leave each other's. I feared him at one point, but I'd also longed for the friend I had before everything changed.
I want to fall back into that hole I used to live in and never come out, but I won't do that. I spent way too much damn money getting over everything. I won't let him tear me down. I won't let his very presence shatter what I worked so hard to become. I am strong now! I am confident in myself! I am who I am, and his presence won't make me feel bad about that.
