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“Yeah,” Nash joined in, with a grin on his face. “Penelope wouldn’t touch a hockey player with a ten-foot pole, right, Pen?”
Penelope, who’d been standing in the corner with her mom just made a face at him, her eyes darting away from her brother too quickly.
Had I been the only one to notice that? Everyone else already seemed to be moving on as they discussed the logistics, Enzo explaining the plan to move everyone in together in September after the invitational.
But my eyes were still on the dark-haired female version of Nash. I’d only met her a handful of times as she seemed to be in the apartment that she shared with Ciara for most of the day. I often wondered where she was at, knowing that the legal department at the Complex couldn’t keep her that busy.
Her eyes met mine and she turned away from me completely to whisper something to her little sister.
It was odd, for sure but it was also none of my business what Penelope did in her free time.
“Are you sure you want to wait until September?” Maxim asked after Ciara finished explaining why she was waiting for us all to move in together.
“Yes,” Ciara said, finally settling into the chair next to Artie and pulling his free hand into hers.
It was a display of unity and the rest of her family seemed to understand that. Their shoulders finally sank with relief and the tension seemed to leave the room in one long whoosh of sighs of relief.
“I want to keep my own space for now while we get used to each other and then after the invitational we can figure out where to live.”
Truthfully, I’d already caught Enzo and Leith looking at houses more than once while we were all hanging out in their apartment. Houses big enough for all five of us to live comfortably in. They’d even asked if I had any preference, and I’d explained my desire to garden like my mother did.
If Ciara knew what they were doing it would definitely make her panic, so I was keeping that nugget of information to myself for now.
Alexei looked as if he still wanted to argue until Thea, their wife, stepped forward and slipped her hand into his and the alpha’s shoulders finally relaxed.
“If it’s what you want, then I’m fine,” he finally surrendered.
“Now that that’s over can we please get pizza now?” Mimi Nashtos whined, making everyone laugh as the tension was finally broken.
“How does one even plan a date?” Ciara asked as she paced the length of her bedroom.
Two days had passed since our impromptu family dinner and we’d settled into something of a routine.
In the mornings I drove with everyone else to the Complex and we went on our own to our separate jobs and practices.
Leith’s practices had been moved to later in the day, so he usually watched Artie and Ciara skate for a bit before heading to that.
In the afternoon, both of the other alphas were still busy with their own things so Ciara, Artie, and I would head back to the apartment and hang out until they made it home.
Which was why Ciara was currently pacing in front of us as we lounged on her bed.
“He’ll be happy with whatever you come up with,” Artie pointed out unhelpfully as he dozed with a golden retriever on either side of him.
Ciara didn’t seem to like that answer because she stopped at the end of the bed and gave Artie’s foot a shake. “Well what did you do when you first started dating either of them?”
Artie sat up with a grumble and gave her hands a tug until she finally climbed into the bed between us, displacing a grumpy Lucky as the dog moved to the floor with a huff.
“They’ve always just sort of handled it, so I’m afraid I won’t be of much help,” he said, tucking his nose into the place on her neck where her scent was the strongest.
“But I know Leith just wants to spend time with you,” he said, lifting his head so he could squint over Ciara’s body at me. “And what do you think, Casanova? You’re good at this kind of stuff.”
Lover boy, Casanova, Romeo, all variations of the many nicknames the guys had quickly given me when I told them the full story of how I came to fall in love with Ciara.
“I can help you plan it if you like,” I offered, threading our fingers together.
When I’d first considered joining their pack, I always just assumed our interactions would remain separate and only through Ciara. But they were an affectionate bunch and I was quickly becoming accustomed to the random cuddle piles that they seemed prone to falling into.
“No,” Ciara said, shaking her head. “I should plan it myself. It’s only right.”
