"Oh! Oh they were… no, nothing like that. They're… they're incredible. All of them. You've raised a wonderful man."
"Good." She picks up her coffee cup and takes another sip. "So, tell me, Dellie, is there a reason you're sneaking out like a thief in the night instead of letting my boy and his pack treat you like a lady?"
My stomach turns to ice and my cheeks flood with shameful heat. I pause, hoping she will give up and fill the silence. But there is no relief. "I, uh, just don't want to disrupt things. I… I didn't really know what they did for work until his phone went off… um, and I could feel myself getting… I don't know…clingy, I guess. I just don't want to wreck things for them," I mumble, frustration building. "I guess I just didn't know how to talk to them without making their lives worse."
I stare at the half empty cup in my hands, fidgeting with the handle. A warm hand wraps around mine.
"Hmmm. It sounds like that isn't a standard reason for not wanting to see the faces from last night the next day."
I shake my head, silently willing the burning behind my eyes to stop. "I… I wish I didn't have to go. But I do."
There's a clink from the table, followed by a second hand resting on mine. "Do you? You seem very sure about that."
I let my chin fall into my chest, a tear plopping onto the skirt of my dress. "… I would wreckeverythingfor them." My voice is hardly a whisper.
I feel the sunlounger shift as she sits next to me, her warmth pressing against my side. "Would you now? Huh. Wow. That's impressive."
A chuckle slips through my tears. This close to her, I can smell a faint waft of warm mint chocolate.Now I see where he gets it from. My chest tightens again at the thought.
"That's an impressively honest answer as well. Tell you what. You feel like someone who tells the truth, and I like honest people. How about if I put my number in your phone? That way, we can have another delicious coffee later, and have a chat about whether talking to my boy and his pack wouldreallybe quite as bad as you think. And whether you're regularly the one who settles for less than you need. In clean clothes. And, uh, underwear."
Holy heck, I must look like a tomato right now.
"Relax, Dellie. I was a sex therapist before I retired. Nothing shocks me."
I look up at her, my mouth agape. She chuckles quietly and slips her hand out. I sigh, unlock my phone and pass it to her. She taps in her number and hands it back to me.
"There. Now, Dellie—"
My phone vibrates. My taxi's here. "I'm sorry, Johanna. I think I have to go."
I drain my cup and place it gently on its saucer with a small clink. I stand, grabbing my shoes and purse and the shirt.
"That's alright, Dellie. It was great meeting you. Promise me you'll call when you're ready?"
The faint honk of a horn pulls my focus.
"I'm sorry. I have to go."
I turn and dash away up the brick path.
Chapter 21
Something's wrong.
Itshouldn'tbe wrong—last night, before I fell asleep, everything was better than it had ever been.
But there's a tight tugging in my chest. All our bonds are there, quiet as they are most mornings. But there's a tightness. And… something's… missing.
I don't want to open my eyes. But… I think I have to. Allen's muscular thigh is warm under my head. He's sound asleep, judging by the slow meter of his breathing, but I can hear tense murmurs from the bedroom. Whatever it is I'm feeling, from the sound of James' terse mutter and Zeke's hissed whisper, and from the little tugs of tension in our bonds, they're feeling it, too.
My mind whirls as I slowly force my eyes open. Nothing's obviously wrong. At least, not on the surface. The room is bright from the beams of morning sun peeking over the horizon. The room still holds the scent of freesias, though growing faint.
A cold prickle edges up my spine.
Oh no. Please, no. Not that.
Something tightens in my chest.No.I glance around the room, frantically, trying to crane my neck to see into the kitchen without waking Allen.
