Page 10 of Eddie

It was one of the reasons Matthias wasn’t planning on telling her about Eddie just yet. He knew she wouldn’t take it well. She was desperate for love but hadn’t met her mate yet. Matthias didn’t envy the poor guy when she did. She’d moved fast with Tommy, who was nothing to her. When she met her mate, she’d move in with him within half an hour.

Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing, at least not for Matthias. If Jenna met her mate, she’d be his responsibility, not Matthias’s. As much as Matthias loved her, he couldn’t wait for that to happen. Unfortunately for him, it would still leave him with the responsibility of caring for his parents and his brother, but it would be better than what he had going on right now. Jenna was the most dramatic of them.

“Then let’s pack up your stuff,” he told her. “The sooner we do that, the sooner you’ll be home.” And the sooner Matthias would see Eddie again.

EDDIE HAD BEEN DISTRACTED the entire day, and who would blame him? Certainly not Valentine, who kept looking at him, clearly amused. Eddie, on the other hand, kept looking at his phone. It felt like it was in his hand every five seconds. He was sure it couldn’t be that often because he was actually getting some work done. He just wanted to know when Matthias contacted him.

So far, he hadn’t, but it made sense. He had to be busy with his sister. Eddie didn’t mind. From the little Matthias had told him, it was clear there was more to the situation than just Jenna breaking up with her boyfriend. Matthias seemed especially wary when he talked about his family, especially his sister. It made Eddie curious, but they weren’t at the stage of the relationship when he would’ve allowed himself to ask questions yet. Hell, they weren’t at any stage of the relationship at all. For now, they weren’t even friends.

But Eddie couldn’t ignore the way he felt when it came to Matthias. Matthias could be human, in which case Eddie would make a fool of himself, but he was convinced that Matthias was a shifter and that he was his mate. He understood why Matthias hadn’t said anything considering the situation, but he still wished the man had. Eddie hated not knowing what was going on. It wasn’t just that he had to wait for Matthias to reach out. He needed the certainty that what he was feeling was right. He wanted to be sure so he’d stop feeling like an idiot when he thought about the possibility of being Matthias’s mate.

But that wasn’t something Eddie could ask on the phone or by text. Matthias was driving back through Green Hill tomorrow. Eddie would wait until then.

He just hoped he wouldn’t blurt the question out as soon as Matthias was in front of him. That would make things awkward, which was the last thing Eddie wanted.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he quickly put down the hammer he was holding to get it out. He heard Niall say something about it, but he didn’t pay too much attention to the grumpy man. Niall was mated. He’d behaved like a fool when he’d first met his mate, and Eddie wouldn’t have any problems reminding him of that. It wasn’t like he’d been doing anything dangerous. The only person who could’ve gotten hurt by his hammer was himself, and his fingers were all okay.

The past few times he’d checked his phone, it had been social media notifications and a few unimportant emails. He’d been disappointed every time, but not now, not when he saw Matthias’s name on the screen. He couldn’t stop himself. He smiled like an idiot when he opened the text, even though he didn’t know what would be in it.

I didn’t realize Jenna had packed so much of her stuff when she moved.

Eddie hesitated, unsure what to respond. He only knew very little about Matthias’s relationship with Jenna or her situation. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing. He did need to say something, though, before Matthias thought he was avoiding him or had decided not to answer his text.

Well, she was moving, was what Eddie settled on.

She’d only known her boyfriend for three weeks. Why did she think that packing her entire life was a good idea?

Once again, Eddie wasn’t sure how to answer. He wasn’t the kind of person who would do something like what Jenna had done. Well, he’d do it for his mate, but that would be different. Maybe she thought he was her mate? he asked, realizing that might not end the way he hoped it would. If Matthias told him that Jenna wasn’t a shifter, there was a good chance that Matthias wasn’t, either, and that Eddie was imagining the bond between them. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if that was the case. He was convinced he could feel something, but maybe he was fooling himself. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he was. Bury himself from shame, probably. He certainly wouldn’t want to talk to Matthias ever again, even though Matthias didn’t know anything about what was going through Eddie’s mind.

Eddie’s phone rang. He almost dropped it, but he managed to keep his hold on it and quickly answered before Matthias decided to hang up. “Hi,” Eddie said. He sounded a little breathless, which didn’t make sense.

“Hey,” Matthias said. Eddie was sure he could hear the smile in his voice. “What are you up to? I’m not bothering you, am I?”

“I’m at work, but it was time for me to take a break, anyway,” Eddie said as he walked out the door.

He heard Niall snort behind him, and he flipped him the bird over his shoulder without looking at him. Just for that, Niall could work on his own for a bit. It wasn’t like they were doing anything the man couldn’t do on his own. It would just take him more time.

“Well, I’m taking a break from Jenna’s whining,” Matthias said, sounding tired. “I love her, but sometimes I wish she would shut up. She’s been talking about Tommy since I got here, and she’s alternating between telling me how much she loves him and how much she hates him. He’s definitely not her mate, or she’d have moved in two days after meeting him.”

What was Eddie supposed to make of that? Did it mean that Jenna and Matthias were shifters? Should he ask? “And she’d have known if he was, right?” he asked cautiously.

“Well, yeah. Buffalo shifters might not have the same sense of smell as, say, a lion shifter, but we recognize our mates when we meet them.”

Eddie sucked in a breath. Matthias didn’t add anything, and for a moment, they listened to each other breathe. Eddie wasn’t sure what to say now that he had confirmation that Matthias was a shifter.

“You know, don’t you?” Matthias asked.

Eddie didn’t have to ask to know what he meant. “I mean, I’m not a shifter, but I suspect.”

“I don’t want to do this over the phone.”

“Then don’t. You’re driving back tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah. I wanted to try tonight, but Jenna’s still packing, and I’m exhausted, so it’ll be better tomorrow. I don’t want to fall asleep while we’re talking.”

“I can wait until tomorrow.” After all, Eddie pretty much had confirmation that he was Matthias’s mate now. He could wait to hear the words from him.

“I think we’ll get there after lunch, but I’ll have to settle Jenna in a room somewhere and convince her not to call our mother to complain that I’m taking too much time to drive us back. I don’t want to tell her about you when she just broke up with her boyfriend.”