Page 117 of Tempting Fate

Chapter Forty-Five

Jamie

I’m so glad Em brought Cate over. Or that she made him bring her over, which I think is more likely after a few minutes speaking with her.

She really doesn’t ask Patch and me too many questions. I know she has them; that’s fairly obvious. But I think some of her curiosity is tempered by the new knowledge she has, which I know from experience can be overwhelming.

“Can we bring Cate with us?” Em asks. He’s sitting in the armchair because Cate is still sitting on the sofa with us. Nick’s got a cushion on the floor. I offered to move for him, and he and Em had a quick argument over who would take the chair, but he already told me earlier he’s planning to stay here while we go see Kieran, so he’ll have the living room all to himself.

Patch shrugs in my direction.

“I don’t see why not,” I say. I don’t think Kieran will mind. Cate is Em’s closest friend—there’s no way he could be mated to me and Patch and never have her find out the truth. Besides, Nick knows, and his whole attitude towards it has been far more negative than I think Cate’s will be.

“Awesome,” Cate whispers. She drinks the rest of her tea and then sits back, studying the three of us again. “Where do they live? Some place fancy?”

“Not really,” Nick says. He’s half-watching the TV, where the football is on but muted. “Block of flats, but they’ve bought up a lot of it.”

“And what are they like?”

“Kieran’s great,” I say and ignore Nick’s fleeting frown. I’m not going to argue the point. Truth is, whatever Kieran does at this point is going to go down well with me—Sam backed me up when I needed it, and Kieran accepted Patch and Em into his pack.

If they want it. Em still hasn’t made that choice clear.

“He’s not a wolf like I am,” Patch says, and Em frowns. I guess we haven’t really talked about that, either. “And his pack is more than just wolves. His mate is a vampire.”

“A vampire?” Cate leans forward eagerly. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah, they have a lot going on over there,” I say with a weak laugh. Is Kieran going to give us a deadline? Vince told me what mating entails. I take a breath, absorbing Patch’s warmth. I’m not ready for that yet. I’m sure Em isn’t. They won’t force it, will they?

“We’ll head off in a few,” Patch says. If he can feel what I’m feeling—I doubt it, not yet—then it doesn’t come through in his voice.

“Yeah, let me… Em, where’s your bathroom here?”

“There’s one upstairs. I’ll show you.”

“I can find it.”

“I’ll show you,” Nick says. We watch in silence as they both leave the room.

The moment we hear them on the stairs, Em moves to sit in Cate’s spot on the sofa. He only hesitates for a moment before he leans in, wrapping his arms as far as he can around both of us. I hum against his throat and Patch drags him even closer.

“You were gone for so long,” Patch murmurs. “Was it useful?”

“Useful? Wasn’t for that,” Em replies. He shivers. “I’m nervous about later.”

It’s an admission I’m not expecting. Not because I think he won’t be nervous; I’m just not expecting him to say it.

I take his face in my hands so I can look at him properly. “What are you nervous about?”

“I brought Cate here to give me perspective.”

“And?” Patch asks.

“You heard her perspective,” Em replies. There’s a laugh in his voice. “She’s right. I know what I want.”

“So what’s there to be nervous about?” I ask.

“What if your friends don’t like me? After they’ve got to know me properly, I mean.”