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“Prepare yourself for it being used as a tablecloth. Or worse.” I peeked back in the closet, thankful that Bibi hadn’t eighty-sixed all the good stuff. “I have a hoodie that might fit you.”
“I’ll take it.”
Once he pulled the black sweatshirt over his head, we headed out to assess the damage. Charlotte came running for me. She’d never gotten what she wanted last night, my poor baby. I kissed the top of her head. She was sticky and had a ring of what I hoped was grape jelly around her mouth. I should have time to give her a bath before—
The knock on the door wasn’t unexpected, but really? Already?
How late did I sleep?
Carter ran to greet our guests. I only had a moment to assess the wreckage on the kitchen floor. It was worse than I thought. Drawers pulled out, chairs knocked over, cereal and pickles everywhere, and things I wouldn’t have a chance to identify until I cleaned them.
“Looks like someone had some fun already this morning.” Bibi scanned the room, and Hugo followed behind her, a brown paper takeout bag in each hand.
Of course, Bjorn had his camera ready to go.
“Yeah, I didn’t have a chance to tell the kids you were bringing breakfast before they took matters into their own hands.” I turned around, and Logan had somehow found the mop, and he handed Caleb some paper towels. Okay, I could get used to this.
“I’m sure you worked up an appetite,” Bibi added as Hugo put the bags on the coffee table. The kitchen was still out of commission. “And the rest of it will keep.”
“Need any help?” Marissa asked.
“Don’t get me wrong, you’ve been amazing, but you have much more important things to do than clean up my messes.” I was still horrified that anyone saw my house in this state. I could never ask them to clean up after me.
“My job description says I do whatever is needed to keep the production moving. And my sister is a single mom. I know how hard it is.” She picked up a ripped cereal box and tossed it into the trash.
“You’re not used to accepting help.” Bibi wasted no time getting to the thick of things. Of course she’d have a few things to say about that.
I shook my head. She’d spent enough time with this pack to know how hard it was for all of us. “I’ll get better at it.”
“Good. Because you can’t make real change in this pack if you’re busy with mundane details.” She flashed a megawatt grin at me as she took a seat on the couch. Charlotte wriggled in my arms. I imagined she thought of Bibi as a living doll and wanted to get as close to her as possible. But she was a big sticky mess, and I’d bet good money that Bibi’s dress was dry clean only. So I headed to the kitchen to wet a napkin and clean her up before she went into full-on tantrum mode.
Bibi grinned at my little, and my heart swelled. I didn’t need the makeover or the fancy mating ceremony. My new pack made my kids feel like they belonged, when everyone else in my life had convinced me they were tiny monsters.
“I’m not going to bother asking either of you what you were thinking last night, because I’ve seen wolves do crazy things when it comes to their mates, so you’re right on brand. Wait. What do I see here?” Her hand was on my shoulder. “You don’t have your mark?”
I gave her a flirty shrug. “Seems like it forgot to come back last night when my real mate showed up to fight for me.”
“I’ve seen this happen before when someone’s true mate appears. It’s like your wolf knew what it needed to shed after the shift.” She swiped her tablet. Even the case had sparkles. And then she lifted it to take a picture. “Let’s talk about the future. Cindy, what do you see happening next?”
“Well, there’s the makeover, and another date.”
Bibi shook her head. “Beyond that. Tell me what your life will be like when The Mating Game is over.”
“I haven’t even had coffee yet.” I laughed as I sank into the chair.
Hugo reached into one of the paper bags and produced a cup. Because of course he did. I took a long sip.
“I want my life to be like it is this morning. Okay, maybe not waking up to a science experiment in the kitchen. But I loved waking up feeling safe. Not worrying that something would happen to my kids. Of course, I know that was because the two of you spent the night in my driveway. And somehow you still manage to be perfect. I love having everyone together. And I hope this won’t end when the episode does.” I almost said I wished it was under better circumstances, but I had an entire TV crew dedicated to helping me live my best life. I couldn’t think of any better circumstances. The events of last night seemed like they’d happened to someone else. I’d get slapped in the face with reality as soon as I left the house, but they couldn’t touch me anymore. Pedro couldn’t have his way with me just because he wanted to.
“That’s beautiful. And of course we’ll see each other. We’re neighbors, and I need as many fierce girlfriends as I can get.” Bibi beamed at me. “But you signed up for a major change and I plan to deliver. So what’s next? Epic shopping trip? The best date reality TV has ever seen? Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
I turned to Logan, who wrapped up a bag of trash and leaned on the mop. The floor was clean, and the kids were putting away the rest of the stuff they’d pulled out this morning. He winked at me.
I got up and kissed him. The boys oohed. I’d expected them to give Logan a hard time, simply because they wouldn’t understand why he was here and Pedro wasn’t. But he’d won them over. Not by being their buddy. By being a wolf they could look up to.
“If it’s okay with all of you, I think we should skip straight to the mating ceremony.”
