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It was almost…cold…hollow.
The voice belonged to Justice. I knew from his picture. He wasn’t as lean as Sloan but his T-shirt tan and upper body muscles would be a dead giveaway for someone who worked hard. I knew from his profile he was a general contractor. Never saw one of those look so damned delicious.
“Who are you?” a tiny voice said as my skirt was tugged. I didn’t even see the little guy walk in. He was a ninja panda. Note to self: be aware of the tiny ninja.
“My name is Livvy. And what’s your name, little guy?” I kneeled down to be face-to-face with him. His face was smudged with what smelled like banana, and he carried one of those stick horses.Old-school toys. Nice.
“I’m Koby. Are you gonna be my new mama?”
And there it was. The question of the evening. Leave it to a tike to blurt out the real questions. “I’m not gonna be your mama, but I’m going to take care of you so that your daddies can go to work and not worry anymore. Do you have pictures of your mama? I’d love to see her.”
The next half hour or so, Sloan walked with me, Koby already on my hip, and showed me family pictures. I knew it would open him up. He lovingly pointed to all three of them and told me who each person was.
“How about your toys, Koby? Where are they?”
Justice cleared his throat and held out his arms. “I’m glad you two are getting to know each other, but the cub really needs to get into his nighttime routine. We like to keep him on schedule.”
Schedules here. Schedules there. Schedules, schedules everywhere.
“I understand. Good night, Koby. We can talk more tomorrow.”
The little one kicked up a fuss but after a stern look from Justice, it all faded.
“Are you hungry?” Sloan asked. “We ordered pizza and Thai. We didn’t know which you would like.”
Chapter Eight
Justice
Koby hadn’t shifted all afternoon. Maybe he was done with that for a bit. At least long enough for Livvy to settle in. We weren’t really on such schedules as all that, not anymore, but we wanted her to feel like we had some level of control—which we did not. I’d cleaned like a maniac while Sloan was at the airport and Koby cooperated with a long nap. It was part of why he was so charming when she arrived. He didn’t spend a lot of time with strangers, but either he was very rested or he just liked her.
I liked her.
And I could tell Sloan did the moment I saw his face. He’d had such tension in his expression since our mate passed on. Never looked really relaxed, but when they came in the door, I could tell they’d been laughing in the car. My friend had laugh lines forming around his eyes, but I hadn’t seen much of them lately.
We’d always known we’d share a mate. We had shared one, but she hadn’t been our fated. Livvy…nobody needed to tell me that she was. Not that it stopped my panda from loudly informing me of the fact.
But the problem was, Livvy didn’t seem to react the way we did. We’d had a pleasant evening, a nice dinner delivered because we weren’t going to ask her to cook after her long trip. And she didn’t deserve our limited culinary skills, either. She chose Thai, a favorite of ours, and of Koby’s, although he was already asleep. He’d probably love to have the leftovers for breakfast, but I feared that would make Livvy think less of our parenting skills.
She excused herself after dinner, claiming exhaustion after her trip, but I suspected she needed a little private time. How tough would it be to be thrust into such a new situation? I couldn’t imagine doing it. Sloan and I had been friends for many years, shared a mate, were rearing a child, and we’d always had a secure home. It was the desire to hold onto that feeling that had driven us to sign up for the app to start with.
We said good night and took care of the minimal cleanup before heading for our own bedrooms. It felt good having a female back under our roof, but not in the way I’d anticipated. Not the comfortable we’d shared with our previous mate. No…there’d never been this kind of intensity.
Chapter Nine
Livvy
I awoke with the sun despite the time difference. My panther knew it was morning and always made sure to greet the sun. She was fickle like that.
For a brief second, I forgot where I was. A bit of panic quickly dissolved as the events of the previous day flooded back, along with the scents of both the males I was now living with.
My first day on the job. Or in this new life, rather. I had to stop looking at it as a job. Sloan and Justice were looking for a surrogate mother for Koby, but after what they said and the pictures I saw, I was afraid I would always pale in comparison to her memory.
Their mate was thin, with piercing blue eyes and a smile I knew brought them joy.
Perhaps, one day, I could bring them a slice of that.
I showered and got dressed quickly, haphazardly making my bed. I dressed in a cropped tank and some linen pants. It was still a bit chilly out but not enough to warrant anything warmer. Besides, the sun was going to be bright as it was the day before.
