Mel chomped on her biscuit, crumbs showering her plate. “Think again.”
He peered behind him at the red scooter leaning against the wall by the front door. “Maybe it’s time for you to buy a car like a real adult,wife.”
She narrowed her green eyes at him. “I like the exercise and the wind in my hair,husband.”
He chewed off a piece of bacon, which was no longer crispy after spending an hour in the warming oven. “No worries. Something tells me you’ll be changing your tune when it’s forty degrees outside and raining.”
“This is Austin, not Cognito. It’s not like we’re going to get buried in twelve feet of snow. A few chilly days out of the year won’t stop me. Besides, I own a raincoat.”
He kissed her temple before swaggering off. “We’ll see, Freckles.”
She glared at me with a look of annoyance. “He thinks he knows everything. I’m not a girly-girl. A little rain never hurt anyone.” After taking a quick sip of coffee, she wiped her finger beneath her eye and stared at the dark smudge on her fingertip. “I need to take a shower and get ready. Are we putting out your new line of earrings today?”
I cast my eyes down at my grey harem pants, which looked more like a skirt since the legs were so wide. “Maybe.”
I was proud of my jewelry, but launching a new line gave me butterflies. I’d spent weeks with my assistant on these earrings, and I wasn’t sure how they would sell since they were comprised of feathers and small beads. Most of my other pieces were quality gemstones, but what set these apart were the feathers, which had once belonged to Shifters. Would customers be willing to pay the asking price? Would they laugh?
“Not to hassle you, but I need to know whether to put them out or not,” Melody continued. “We’ve had that empty case on reserve for the past week, and people are excited to see what’s coming.”
I squared my shoulders and tamped down the urge to chicken out. “Go ahead and put them out if you want.”
“Well, gee… don’t get all happy on me now. Nervous?”
“Guilty as charged.”
She smiled warmly. “The mind boggles. You’re going to sell the heck out of those earrings, and you know it. Nobody else around here is selling feathers, and people will love the Shifter connection. It was such a good idea.”
I took her empty plate and turned away to rinse it in the sink. “Did you two finish packing for your trip?”
“I think so. Do you want to help me dye my hair tonight?”
I peered over my shoulder at her. “Since when do you need my help? You’ve been dying your hair since you were what… thirteen?”
She twisted her mouth to the side. “Because I’m dying it brown.”
My jaw slackened, and I shut off the water. I hadn’t seen Melody’s natural hair color in more than a decade, not unless you counted her roots showing in the past few weeks. “What do you mean you’re dying it brown?”
Mel broke apart a piece of bacon and gave me a sheepish look. “I’m about to formally meet his adoptive family, and I’m afraid I’ll embarrass him. They know all about me, but seeing me in the flesh with purple hair? They’ll think I’m immature and not serious about our relationship.”
“Then maybe you should dye it back to blue.”
She glared.
I dried my hands on a dish towel. “Mel, you have to be true to yourself. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. If you dye your hair and change your clothes, who will it be that they’re accepting? You or an impostor?”
She twirled a lock of loose hair around her finger. “It’s not just his parents I’m meeting. It’s everyone. Uncles, friends, cousins… I just want to make a good impression. All his uncles will be there, and I’m afraid of making Lakota look like a fool.”
“Who looks like a fool?” Lakota boomed from across the living room.
I nodded at Mel. “Your mate wants to dye her hair brown before the trip.”
He reached the end of the kitchen island and rested his elbows on it. His hair hung past his shoulders, shielding the edges of his face, but I could still see him giving Melody a pointed stare. “What’s she talking about?”
Melody’s right shoulder lifted in a subtle shrug, but she didn’t answer. Normally Mel didn’t care what the world thought about her. But she loved Lakota deeply, and family acceptance was everything among Shifters.
“Tell you what,” he said. “I’llhelp you dye it. We’ll swing by the drugstore after you get off work and pick up some purple dye. Your roots are showing.”
Mel raised her eyes toward him, tears glittering in the corners. “Don’t make this into a joke. Meeting your parents as your mate is a big deal. We mated without telling anyone, and that’s already left a bad impression with the whole family. Now they’re going to take one look at me and—”
