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A display of silver and bronze tea infusers caught my eye and I grabbed a few different ones for my own collection and a simple one for Dean’s dad.
She finished at the same time I did, bringing over the loot and putting it on the desk for me.
“Now make sure I didn’t get heavy-handed on any of these. If I gave you too much tell me and I can definitely downsize it,” she said sheepishly. “I just get excited.”
“No need to downsize, I’ll take everything you’ve got, I trust you,” I told her. “I’d like these as well.” I pointed at the handful of infusers on the counter.
“I’d love to see how this turned out, here’s my card, give me a call with an update in a week or so?”
“I definitely will and I have a strong feeling that we’ll be back. I need some more for my own collection anyway but for now, this will do,” I said. The prospect of spending an afternoon making Micah’s house smell like herbs and finding the right mix sounded amazing.
Or maybe it was a good distraction for tomorrow.
After paying for it and heading back to the car it felt like some of the awkwardness between Dean and I had gone away.
“I’ll need a few days to get all this together,” I told him. “I’ve got to do measurements and blending and crushing… you get the idea.”
“Take all the time you need. I’m just floored that someone would do all this for us,” he admitted quietly.
Needing to ease the mood I couldn’t help but let my smartass side come out.
“I take payment in the form of coffee,” I joked. We shared a look before we both turned away. It felt far too intimate to be just strangers.
I thought that I knew so much about the Forrest Pack during the show, but finding real mates was where the magic was. I barely knew these men and I was already forming deeper connections, learning things about them and their lives. It wasn’t just surface-level like the show had been.
Apparently, I was just too delusional to see it at the time.
Ellie
“Ellie?” Micah sounded worried. I’d pretended to be asleep every time he’d come in here before now and if I didn’t acknowledge him soon, I knew he’d move on to full panic mode. “Fine, I’ll call Mom.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I grumbled as I poked my head out of my blanket burrito I was currently wrapped in. “Just let me wallow.”
“Absolutely not,” he said. “We’ll watch it together. You don’t have to do this alone.”
“You don’t need to watch it at all,” I argued. “Just let me have today.” The whine in my voice was even getting on my nerves.
“No, because I know you too well to let you face this alone. Don’t make me go to desperate measures.” He was trying to keep his voice light but I had a feeling if I didn’t move, he’d make good on his promises.
The issue was I couldn’t move. My body refused to cooperate and I hated that they had this power over me. It wasn’t simply the Forrest pack, it was everything. The aftermath, how people would look at me, what my newfound mates would think of me.
I just wanted to hide and not come out. Was that too much to ask?
Apparently, it was.
Micah let out a huff and finally left me in blessed silence. My eyes shifted to the clock on the wall and I groaned.
Two more hours.
I was being insanely dramatic but it felt like this was counting down to my own demise.
At some point, I must have drifted off because I woke up to voices then my door was flung open and two women came rushing in, jumping on the bed with me and nearly bouncing me out of it with no remorse.
Katya laughed at my grumbles and they both started poking at me before simply ripping the covers away completely.
“Look. I know the situation is complete shit, and I don’t blame you for trying to hide, but we’re not going to let you do that. Friends don’t let friends suffer alone.”
“I see no problem with hiding in this blanket all day. I’m pretending it’s not even a thing, it’s working,” I lied.
