Finn just wasn’t emotionally ready. He’d been abused as a child and kept as a slave. The brand on his arm only served as a reminder that some people still saw him as nothing more than property. Finn was maturing before my eyes into a remarkable man, and as much as I teased him about dating, he needed more time. And Shifters had centuries of time.
“My wolf gets lonely,” he admitted. “He paces and doesn’t have brothers and sisters to howl with. It’s not so much a pack he craves but companionship from another wolf. We’ve always been alone, but it just gets harder.”
“It won’t be forever,” I said. “Someday things will change.”
“You mean when I leave?”
I shrugged and sat up straight. “I don’t know. We want you here, and this will always be your home, but it’s also your life to live. You have to make choices for yourself. Logan says the fates brought us together for a reason. There’s no telling what the future holds, but something will change. You’ll see. Who knows, maybe you’ll have a niece or nephew to take care of someday.”
He draped his arms over his legs and smiled at me. “Any luck with that?”
“Not yet.”
“If anyone deserves to be happy, it’s you.”
“I’m already happy.”
Finn put his arm around me. “I know a few people. If you two don’t have any luck on the black market, I might be able to find someone who can help out.”
“Thanks. Maybe we’ll take you up on that someday. But for now, I think we need to hold off on the search. It’s too painful, and I’m not sure if I can handle another disappointment.”
“Sounds coolio. If it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen. If not, then screw it. Doesn’t mean anything. You’ve still got Logan, me, and everyone else.”
“Thanks, little bro. I think you’re going to have to pull me up. My ass is glued to the floor, and my legs feel like cement.”
He stood up and reached for my hands. “Why did you want to host this dinner all by yourself?”
I grabbed his hands and launched to my feet. “Because I want one Christmas where I feel like I had something to do with all the good memories. I don’t want to just be the girl who brought the bag of chips or bowl of potato salad while Sunny or the Cross brothers served up a feast. It’s my turn to show my stuff.”
“If you need help, I won’t tell anyone.”
I pushed the button to my floor. “Bring the supply cart to my floor tomorrow morning. You can haul down the food and arrange it on the table. Just keep the foil on everything so it stays warm, and put the hot food on trivets.”
“What the heck is a trivet?”
“You’ll see. And don’t forget to plug in the slow cookers.”
“No problemo,” he said, getting in the elevator. “Lucian’s volunteering his oven warmer if you want to shove anything in there.”
“How about my head?”
Chapter 7
Silver and Logan
That night, I began prepping cold dishes like potato salad, Caesar salad, and deviled eggs. Max kept slinking around my legs in hopes that I’d drop something on the floor, so I locked him in the cat room to keep all his black hairs away from the food. Logan was still over at Leo’s, gathering the desserts and taking them downstairs.
When a knock sounded at the door, I tossed the knife in the sink and wiped off my hands. My hair smelled like pie, my clothes had mayo stains, and my feet were killing me. When I opened the front door, my gaze drifted down to an adorable little blonde in a red-and-black dress.
“Rose, you’re not supposed to be up here by yourself. Your daddy told you not to ride the elevators alone.”
“It’s okay. He gave me permission,” she said. Rose had a better vocabulary than Sunny’s twins, mostly because she was always trying to imitate the way her father spoke. “I have a present for you.”
I noticed her hands were hiding something behind her back, and those big brown eyes were sparkling with anticipation. Rose handed me a thick piece of red construction paper folded in half. On the front, she’d colored a green Christmas tree and tried to draw a star at the top, which looked more like a nuclear explosion.
When I opened it up, the inside simply said: I LOVE YOU. The letters were distorted and extra big. Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes, and I bent down and gave her a big hug.
“This is so pretty, Rose. Thank you.”
