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Technically we didn’t date, unless you counted gym time and sex; we did a lot of both of those. Since I couldn’t figure out how to explain thatdatingwasn’t quite the right term I just said, “Yes, we are.”
Magda squeezed my hand, letting me know how happy she was that I’d just said it, no overexplaining. It made me feel better about myself and the visit. I could just tell them the truth about my life; it was up to them to deal with it. What a freeing thought.
“I think you’re needed at the luggage,” Nicky said, and if it had been almost anyone else I’d have thought he was jealous, but that wasn’t it. He was pulling rank as leader, Rex of their lion pride. I didn’t want to know what Magda had done to make him feel like he needed to do it, but I’d learned that if I interfered in the small things between the werelions, they turned into big things.
“As my—” She almost saidRex, but finished with “Of course.” She didn’t even smile at me before she went back to all business. I’d ask Nicky about it later.
“Fredrick, I did tell you that there were women in Anita’s poly group,” Judith said.
He turned to her. “But that was pictures of Jean-Claude with other women on his arm, or Anita and another woman with them. I don’t remember seeing any pictures with Anita and a woman without at least Jean-Claude with them.”
I fought the urge to ask why that mattered, but luckily the rest of our security rescued us from the awkward possibilities. “Hey, boss, the luggage is inside, along with your grandmother and brother.”
“Well, hello,” said Judith, offering her hand, “are you another ofAnita’s poly group?” Her reaction and Andria gazing up at Custer made me do a double take at him. It wasn’t that I didn’t know he was tall, dark-haired, and traditionally handsome, but to me he was Custer, nicknamed Custard, or Pudding, or just Pud by his fellow former Navy SEALs that we’d hired when they popped hot for therianthropy. They’d become wereanimals in defense of our country, and then that same country had said,Thank you for your service, but if you can’t pass a basic blood test to prove you’re still human, then you get a medical discharge.
“No, ma’am, I just work here,” Custer said to Judith’s question.
“Does that mean you’re single?” Andria asked.
“You’re engaged,” my dad said.
Custer looked pleasant but puzzled as he said, “Yes, but you’re my boss’s sister, so it doesn’t matter.”
“What’s that mean?” Andria asked.
“It means that they won’t risk their jobs to flirt with you,” Nicky said.
“You’re engaged to Kirk, you shouldn’t be flirting with anyone,” Judith said.
“Nothing wrong with feeling admired, Mom.”
“Kirk should be making you feel admired,” Dad said.
Did that mean that Andria’s fiancé wasn’t making her feel attractive? I hoped not, because if you were having trouble when you were only engaged, that didn’t bode well for the marriage. “Do you have a date set for the wedding yet?” I asked.
“Not yet, do you?” she asked, and she sounded hostile. I didn’t take it personally; I shouldn’t have asked about wedding dates when she was already upset about the topic. Her reaction let me know that there was something seriously wrong with her and Kirk.
“December, though we’re still trying to get everything lined up for the exact date,” I said.
“A Christmas wedding!” Judith gushed, face alight with whatlooked like genuine happiness about it. She actually grabbed me in a huge, spontaneous hug. I was so caught off guard I just stood there and let it happen, even giving her an awkward pat on the back.
“If it’s not until December, then why do I have to come now for my suit fitting?” my dad said.
I extracted myself from Judith and said, “Because it’s not a suit fitting, it’s the tailor taking your measurements and he and the seamstress creating a bespoke outfit for the wedding.”
“There will be at least two more fittings after this one,” Nicky said.
“Two more!” Dad looked shocked, maybe even a little horrified.
“If it’s too much trouble…” I started to say.
“No, I want to walk you down the aisle, Anita, I just…I don’t think I’ve ever been to a wedding that was this…fancy.”
“Me either,” I said.
“If it’s fancier than the engagement video,” Andria said, “then short of royalty, no one has.”
“Jean-Claude is royalty,” Judith said, as if Andria should have remembered.
