AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I updated them on the situation.
“I’ll come with you!” Billie offered immediately.
I fidgeted. “I’d love to have you there, but I’m kind of a baby under my mom's scrutiny, and she definitely heard Jasper on the phone. I feel like if I showed up with you, who I could definitely not pretend was the same person…that would lead to a lot of questions that I don’t really want to address with my family right now.”
Billie pouted.
“I’m sorry.” They allowed me to gather them into a hug. “I know that's kind of selfish.”
“It's cool.” Billie sighed and kissed my cheek. “Gabe's probably better for their first meeting anyway. He's got those calming alpha vibes and Idefinitelydo not.”
“Just give me five minutes to change,” said Gabe. “I’ll be right with you.”
I watched as he walked away, then as he took the stairs two at a time, disappearing into the upper levels.
“I guess it's too soon to say you should invite your familyhereso we can all spend time with you,” said Billie as they fidgeted with the hem of their shirt.
“A bit.” I kissed them softly. “Let's make it past the first week at least.”
“Okay, fine.” Billie thrust out their bottom lip in an extra dramatic pout. “I’ll survive.”
“If Mom didn’t have superhuman hearing, then you’d be the first one over there. She’s just a lot when it comes to my love life.”
Gabe appeared, dressed much the same as usual, in his distressed jeans and a black tank top tucked under a black button down with gold embellishment at the cuffs. He was freshly cleaned, and envy surged. I wished I could shower that fast.
“Do you want to take the motorcycle, or the sports car?” he asked.
“I’ve never been on a motorcycle and I would one-hundred-percent choose that if I didn’t have cookies to safely transport.”
Gabe gave me a smirk. “No worries. I’ll get you out on the bike another time.”
He waved me towards the garage, and I clutched the cookies to my chest, following after him. Gabe opened the door to a sleek black two-seater and waited for me to get situated before climbing into the driver side.
The ride was smooth as hell as I directed him to my parents house. Every mile we covered tweaked my anxiety a little higher. The last person I’d brought home was Alphonse, and I hadn’t planned on bringing over any of the pack this soon.
“Anything I should know about before we go in?” Gabe asked as we parked.
“Would I be the worst person ever if I asked you to keep the pack on the down low just for today?”
“For today, I can, but not if I see them again. I’m proud of my pack, though I also don’t want your mother to take to the fainting couch over you gathering yourself multiple lovers this week.”
My cheeks burned. I was pretty sure that was going to be a common occurrence for the rest of the night. Gabe held my hand as we walked up to the house, the container of cookies tucked under his other arm.
I knocked on the door, opening it without waiting for anyone to answer. “We’re here!” I called.
Mom was there first, followed very closely by my sister-in-law, Allie.
“Nicola, introduce us to your special friend,” Mom insisted.
Gabe put out his hand to greet her. “Gabriel Hassan, but you can call me Gabe. It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Marino.”
The rest of the family gathered around, and I smoothed my hand down the front of my shirt to anchor myself.
“Nicola didn’t mention you the last time she was here. When did you two meet?” Mom asked.
“We met through friends this week,” Gabe replied.
Mom turned to me. “Nicola, what friends are these? Do I know them?”
