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Oh nothing, I was just held at knifepoint by my mate’s mother.
“I’m fine,” I reassure her. “I’ll tell you the whole story later, but right now…”
Mom holds up a hand to stop me, nodding her understanding. “I get it, you’ve got pack duties to attend to. Oh honey, you’re going to be a Luna now, how exciting!” She clasps her hands together in front of her, beaming a smile. “You’ll be a natural, I’m sure. Now go on and change, I’ll keep Javi company in the meantime.”
She waves me away, sliding closer to my mate, and I glance between the two of them warily. “Please just… don’t embarrass me,” I sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face.
“No promises,” Mom winks, wrapping a hand around Javi’s bicep.
I spin around, hustling over to the stairs and taking them two at a time up to the second floor of the packhouse where my old bedroom is. Even though I’ve lived at the squad complex for years now, I still have some clothes and necessities here for when I stay over. I grab a clean shirt and change into it as fast as possible, bounding back down the stairs to find my mom and Javi sharing a laugh in the kitchen while Iver hovers nearby, carefully observing their interaction.
Before today, Iver was a big fan of Javi, but now, I’m not so sure. Hopefully he’ll come around once the shock of the whole fated mates thing has worn off a little.
“Alright, you ready?” I ask breathlessly, returning to Javi’s side.
He nods, his hand finding mine and his fingers weaving between my own. “It was really nice meeting you, Mrs. Anderson.”
“Quinn,” she reiterates, giving him a pointed look.
“Quinn,” he smiles. “See you tomorrow, then?”
“Looking forward to it!” she chirps, and I glance up at Javi questioningly as he tosses Iver a little wave and starts to steer me toward the door.
“Tomorrow?” I whisper sharply.
“I’ll tell you in the car,” he replies with a low chuckle, and the two of us make our way outside silently, climbing into my Volkswagen Jetta to head over to the motel.
I can’t help but crack a smile as I fire up the engine and glance over at Javi stuffed into the passenger seat with his knees pressed up against the dashboard. This little car is perfect for me, but it’s less than accommodating for someone of his size and bulk.
“So tomorrow?” I ask as I shift the gear and back out of the driveway, stifling a laugh as Javi shuffles in his seat to try to get more comfortable.
“We’re having dinner with your family,” he murmurs, reaching down for the lever underneath the seat in an attempt to adjust it further back.Too bad it’s already as far back as it’ll go.
“Of course she wants to cook a big dinner,” I grumble, turning onto the main road that leads out of Westfield’s territory. “That’s been her thing the last few years, planning these elaborate dinners to get the whole family together…”
“Actually, we’ll be the ones cooking.”
I whip my head sideways to gape at Javi, and he just flashes me a grin in response, winking.
“Who’s idea was that?” I ask tentatively.
“Mine, I thought it’d be fun,” he says with a shrug. “Remember the last time we had lasagna and we talked about trying to make one ourselves someday? Well, tomorrow’s that day, babe.”
“You don’t have to do all that to try to impress them,” I mumble, shaking my head as I take the turn onto the forest road thatwinds through the middle of the six-pack territory. “My parents may be a little over the top and embarrassing at times, but they’re great. Andyou’regreat. I have no doubt they’ll accept you exactly as you are.” I reach over to rest my hand atop his, giving him a little smile of encouragement.
“Well cooking for them can only earn me more points then, right?” he says with a wry chuckle.
Our eyes meet for a moment, and I’m surprised to see the uncertainty swimming in his own.
He’s nervous.
Javi’s always so confident and self-assured that it’s strange to see that look on his face, but it’s also endearing as hell. I lean over the center console, keeping my eyes on the road as I lift his hand and press a kiss to the back of his palm.
“They’re gonna love you as much as I do,” I reassure. “Te amo.”
My hesitant, unsure pronunciation is probably comical to him, but I’ll never stop trying to speak his language to him because every time I do, he gets thislookthat’s so fucking hot it practically incinerates me on the spot.
This time is no exception.
