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"Of course I'll feed you two! They're the babies of the family until Kari has her little one. Plus, they are dealing with those gruesome murders, why should they have to worry about cooking?"
Brie turned to Ari. "Can we marry him?"
"As he practically raised me, no, that would be weird. But I agree with the sentiment a thousand percent."
"Will you be getting your own squire like Kari and Declan when you establish your home?" Rex asked.
Brie lowered her spoon. "Ari, where do we live?"
His lion purred at her question. She was already referring to them as a unit, which meant they were one step closer to being a true mated pair. Then her question sunk in. "Shit. I have no idea."
"Brie, darling, don't you want your own space outside the unit estate? When I mated with Jedrek, I couldn't wait to leave my parents estate so that I could finally set up my kitchen the way I wanted," his mother asked.
Brie gave a one shoulder shrug. "I'm not really domestic. I live with my dad, so he's the one that cooks and does laundry." She smiled. "I kinda liked waking up at the warrior villa. The guys are great."
Leo looked crestfallen. "I was looking forward to cooking for you."
Brie turned to Ari. "What if we made your quarters at the warrior villa our work space. It's where we'll keep our guns, gear, and investigation notes. But on the weekends we leave all that behind and come here. You could maintain your connection with House Lionhart, and we get to eat Leo's food every weekend."
Her words seemed to resonate within him. He knew that she had just laid out exactly what would work best for them. "If Mother and Father don't mind us invading every weekend," he looked over at his parents.
"Of course, we don't mind!" His mother practically screeched before sniffling a little. "I thought we'd lose you for sure once you mated." She dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. "We not only get to keep seeing you, but it was your mate that suggested it."
Brie smiled at her. "You're family now." She paused. "We also need to work in some time to spend with my dad and my new dad."
Rex's mouth dropped. "I completely forgot you're Doran's daughter now, making you the queen's niece."
"I don't begrudge my dad finding a mate, but I do not want to be there for their honeymoon phase. Trust me. My dad has little to no filter; the less I hear the better," she shuddered at the thought of too much information.
"My poor mate," Ari laughed. He thought back to the way her dad came up with the prank to tell everyone he was neutered. "It might be best to give them some space," he agreed.
"Mother was the serious one of the two," she said, finishing her soup.
"How long has it been?" his mother asked gently.
"Coming up on fifteen years, but some days, I pick up my phone excited to tell her something only to realize all over again that she's gone." Brie stared into her lap.
"You said she got sick," Ari said, reaching over to take one of her hands.
She nodded. "Yup. Cancer. It spread like a forest fire in high winds. It seemed like one day she was fine and the next she wasn't."
"I'm sure she's looking out for you even now. I mean, what are the odds that both you and your father found happiness here in Éire Danu?" his mother pointed out.
Brie seemed to brighten at his mother's words. "You really think so?"
"Absolutely. Those that move on ahead of us are never truly gone. Just a bit out of touch for a while," his father said gently.
"Think of all the things you'll get to tell her the next time you see her," Leo added, bringing out their main course.
"It would take years to go over everything," Brie said smiling.
"At that point, darling, you'll have all the time in the world," his mother said.
Leo placed a plate of perfectly grilled fish down in front of them. By this time, his lion wanted a bit more than soup. He cut the filet in half and shoved the other half in his mouth. He sighed happily at the flavor.
"Ari! That was half a damn fish!" Brie exclaimed.
"Hmm umm," he agreed.
