AllFreeNovel
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Nicky was the first to recover. “How? We just saw you. When did you have time to be part of a heat?”
Allie’s cheeks flushed and her hand squeezed mine.
I wrapped my arm around her waist while I explained to my family the few bits of information we knew about being ideal mates and how it caused spontaneous short-term heats.
Mom seemed absolutely elated by this development. “My baby is bonded! We should plan a ceremony. I have so many phone calls to make.”
Allie burst out laughing. “You would get along so well with my mom. Is there a hive mind all the mothers share?”
“Speaking of, I should get your mother’s information now that we’re related,” Mom said.
“Do you actually want a ceremony?” Nicky asked.
“We’re holding off on that for a while,” I replied. “We didn’t get a choice in the bonding and I want to make sure we choose each other on purpose before we celebrate.”
“That’s so sweet.” Nicky’s eyes shone. “I guess that gives us some time to get to know each other. Tell us all about yourself.”
Allie blinked blank eyes. “Way to make me forget every single thing I’ve ever known about myself.”
Luca laughed.
Allie’s nerves didn’t last too much longer as Nicky skillfully drew her into a conversation. My sister was a bit of an introvert, but she’d probably taken one look at the quiet panic in Allie’s eyes and mama-bear mode had kicked in. The girls talked about travel and university, the rest of us adding our own stories whenever something applicable came up. Everyone had been to Italy at some point or another, though for the Marino clan it was to visit family, and for Allie it was to backpack.
“Il Duomo is so cool!” she gushed. “Architecturally speaking, it literally blows my mind. Like, how did they figure out all the math back then? Must’ve felt like witchcraft. And don’t even get me started on Roman concrete.”
God, she was so fucking cute. It made me want to cart her away to see every ancient building in the world just so she could get excited about the architecture.
“Do you ever get to design anything fun like that?” Nicky asked.
“Hell no. The most exciting thing I’ve worked on is a strip mall. I think I would simply pass away with excitement if I ever got to do anything big.”
“Well, you’re on the right path for it,” I reminded her. “If you want to move, we could do a custom build and you can design it however you want.”
Allie’s eyes gleamed. “Don’t tempt me with things like that. I’ve designed my own dream house a million times over and I’m pretty sure the only way I’m getting any of them is with a pretty hefty lottery win.”
I smiled softly at her, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’ll start buying tickets.”
Her laugh was too sweet.
“How’s living with Sidney?” Nicky asked as we moved from the pasta course and on to dessert.
“We’re not actually living together quite yet. I still have my apartment, but we’re gonna be having lots of sleepovers to get used to everything. It’s good, though. I’m not under any illusion that I’ll be able to escape chores forever, but it’s sooo relaxing to not have to worry about feeding myself.”
“No omega of mine is going to survive off frozen meals.”
Mom patted my arm. “That’s because you’re a good boy.”
“Speaking of way better than frozen meals, my compliments to the chef tonight. This tiramisu is easily as good as what I had in Venice.”
“Thanks!” Luca beamed at her. “I made the ladyfingers myself.”
“You can totally taste the love. Homemade is way better than store-bought.”
“I always thought so,” Luca said.
“Nicky, being a librarian sounds so cool. You should definitely tell me more about it,” Allie said before stuffing more tiramisu into her mouth.
She employed all of her active listening skills while Nicky explained the job. I knew my family would like her, but it was nice that she was starting to feel it as well.
