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“Dylan?” I murmur when the credits start to roll.
“Hmm?” He turns and smiles at me, putting his chin on the hand resting on my chest.
Taking a deep breath, I ask, “Can I join you at the parade?”
His eyebrows scrunch. “You are. Bryce will be at the booth and—”
“No,” I say, interrupting him. “Can I join you? While you’re … doing whatever you do when you go to the parade.”
Dylan stares at me for a while. It gets a little uncomfortable, so I sit up a little, allowing him to slide beside me on the couch. Just when I think he’s going to continue to stare, he stammers, “You … you wanna go? Like, to the holiday parade? As a … guest? To enjoy it?”
I shift uncomfortably, not knowing what to say. “Yeah. With you. Whatever you want.”
His smile is blinding and my breath catches in my chest. Dylan buries his head in my chest and I rub the back of his head. We sit like this for a bit, and I love the feel of his silky hair under my palm.
When he lifts his head, he giggles. “Of course, I want you to come. I’d like to share all kinds of holiday things with you, but I also don’t want you to be uncomfortable. I would never push you to do anything you didn’t want to do just because I’m obsessed with the season.”
Nodding, I shift him back on my lap so he’s straddling me now. “I want to though.” I frame his face, watching how his eyes grow soft as he gazes back at me. “I’d like to take that step with you. You’re my mate. I want to make you happy. I know how happy the holidays make you, so yeah. I want to go with you, for sure.”
Smiling, he nods. “Of course, you can come with me. It’ll be a lot of fun. They have super fun floats and some of the kids floats like to throw candy. Bryce and I used to see who could catch the most. He won of course. Oh! And we …”
I settle back into the couch, listening to Dylan go on and on about the parade and I smile, knowing I made him happy. Even if I hate everything about the parade and don’t want to ever do it again, it will all be worth it if I can see this excitement on his face and the smile on his lips.
Gods, I am falling hard for my mate.
Chapter 10
Dylan
I’m nearly bouncing off the walls when I get dressed. Unfortunately, Andrew decided to go home last night so he could get some clothes and not have to walk back in the cold. It sucked, since I wanted to sleep with him again, but the disappointment fades when I remember he said he’ll pack a bag so he can stay with me for a few days.
As I’m getting ready for the day, I can’t stop smiling. I found out I have a fated mate and he’s joining me for the parade. I didn’t expect Scrooge to want to come with me, honestly. I never thought to even ask. When he offered to help Bryce at the booth, I was over the moon, since I figured he would have stayed at home to avoid any kind of festive event. I was half joking when I asked if he wanted to help Bryce.
My brother complained halfheartedly when I asked him to staff the booth for an hour or two so Andrew and I could walk around and I could point out what he’s been missing over the past few years. Andrew told me he’d only gone to a few parades, even though he’s a Fair Falls native. He said he wasn’t big on the holidays before his ex, but with his cheating and not accepting his engagement on Christmas Day, he further hated the season.
Which I can understand. It has to hurt to get that terrible news on a day when most people get the things they want. What I appreciate about Andrew is he took responsibility for his part in the relationship not panning out—though cheating is inexcusable. He said he learned from his past mistakes and won’t let it interfere with our relationship.
Relationship. Gods, that words sound weird and lovely when I think about me and Andrew being in one. I’m not sure if I should consider us being in a relationship since neither of us asked the other. And just because we’re fated doesn’t mean we automatically have to be together. Though it would be nice to be with him.
As I’m fixing my hair and doing my skincare routine, I think about why I want to be in a relationship with Scrooge. Admittedly, when he walked into the bar, I was intrigued. I mean, Andrew is hot as fuck, so that’s what had me struck stupid at first. Then his surly and dismissive attitude made me want to worm my way into him to get to know if that was all a front. When I did start to talk to him, I wanted more. He gave me those brief glimpses into who he was and I wanted to know it all. We still have a ways to go, but we have a lifetime together to get there.
There’s a knock at my door before I can think more about my alpha. When I look out the peephole and see my brother, I roll my eyes, but open the door for him. He storms in, hands on his hips.
“Good morning, big brother,” I say in a dry voice, moving around him to get to the kitchen. I start the coffee maker, knowing he’ll want a cup of black coffee before he has to staff the booth.
“Don’t ‘good morning’ me. You know I hate talking to people.” He plops onto a stool at my kitchen counter, giving me a look.
I give it right back. “Bryce, you said you would help. And you also told me it’s time I got out and dated. I’m just doing what you told me.”
“Wish I never said that.”
A few months ago, Bryce told me I spent too much time at the bar and I should get out sometimes. He said we have enough money to hire a bartender so I could take a break. Between bottling Winny’s, mixing new drinks and bartending full time, I didn’t have much of a personal life. But I liked my life as it was, so I blew him off.
Now, I have a mate and I want that personal life. I want to take some days off and relax with Andrew during the nights when I would normally be slinging drinks. I want to have date nights and come back home and make love to my alpha. I want to take weekends off, go out of town and sight see or something. I want to have a personal life with him.
Smiling, I pour Bryce some coffee and slide the mug over to him. “Yeah, well, as my big brother, you’re supposed to tell me to take breaks. And you take plenty of them with your boyfriend. It’s only fair I do the same.”
“So, he’s your boyfriend? The angry alpha from the bar?”
