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What if she thinks I’m weird for going to all this trouble over one little disappointed comment she made? What if she doesn’t even remember?
I start pacing around in front of the door while she’s upstairs getting a jacket.
“Stop wearing out the floorboards,” Carter tells me as he comes to the kitchen doorway with a fork in the container that holds the rest of the ginger cake that we didn’t finish at dinner. “She’s going to love it, and you know it.”
“I hope so.” I set everything up last week when I was finishing the work.
“You know so.” He sighs as he scoops a bit of cake up with the fork. “The frosting was worth waiting for, by the way.”
I knew he was going to end up finishing it off. As soon as he realized Rachel preferred the gingerbread men, which he found out by reading her mind, he announced that the remainder of the cake belonged to him. I don’t know how he doesn’t make himself sick when he eats like that.
“I’m so glad you approve.” I curl my fingers around the keys in my pocket.
“Don’t keep our mate out all night,” he calls out as he heads into the living room where our Alpha’s already watching TV.
I don’t know how Adrian does it. He’s so chilled out when it comes to our mate.
He told us to have a good night before he went to watch whatever terrible Christmas specials are showing tonight. He’s not going to reappear to get one last look at our mate before she leaves with me. He didn’t cast a million lingering glances her way over dinner because he isn’t going to see her all night. He’s not like Carter, or me.
That’s why he’s in charge, I guess.
I willing to bet he won’t feel this nervous when he’s giving Rachel her present, either.
She comes down the stairs in her sexy red heels, a white leather jacket on over the striped dress. Her smile is bright, and she looks like a rockstar. Any other woman in the same clothes would look like a runaway elf. Not Rachel. She could pull off any kind of look.
And here I am, in a boring black T-shirt and jeans.
She’s a million miles out of my league and she couldn’t care less.
“This is kind of exciting,” she says, as she reaches my side.
“Well, I hope you like the surprise,” I tell her, hoping to hell it wasn’t a dumb idea.
She’s taller in the heels, which I like because it’ll mean less leaning down when we kiss, but maybe she’d be better off in sneakers. Her present is close, but it’s not super close.
“It’s like a twenty-minute walk,” I warn her.
“Ooh, what could that mean?” she asks, apparently trying to guess where we’re going.
I smile. “You’ll see. Are you ready?”
“Ready,” she says, then shakes her head. “No. Wait. I should give you your present first.”
She goes into her jacket pocket and brings out a slim black box.
“This is an improvement on the charm I gave you before. The one you lost in the woods.”
She hands it over and I open the box. There’s a black leather bracelet inside, with a silver skull charm attached. I feel my lips twitch as I take it out. It’s the perfect gift, and it’s actually kind of cool.
“It activates when you put it on,” she explains. “And it deactivates when you take it off. Which means …”
“I can put it in my pocket when I need to be able to see spirits?” I ask.
She nods. “Exactly. I searched everywhere to find a skull I could use as a charm. I thought it would make it more personal.”
“I love it,” I tell her, though I would have worn a massive sparkly pink unicorn around my neck if it stopped me from seeing spirits. I love that she got me something she knew I’d like. “It’s perfect.”
She smiles as I put the empty box down on the table by the door. The leather band slips on easily, but it’s loose. She shows me how to tighten it.
