He offered her a reassuring smile. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
His mom and dad always left the front door unlocked so Ramon pressed on the handle and the door opened. As soon as he stepped foot into the hallway, his mother was there, pulling him down for a kiss on the cheek.
“Mi hijo,” she said warmly. “I missed you.”
Ramon chuckled. “You just saw me the other day, Mama.”
“Is too long,” she said.
Then her eyes drifted to over Ramon’s shoulder and they widened. “Who is your friend?”
Ramon opened his mouth to reply, and it was at that moment that his father chose to come out into the hallway. “What’s going on out here? The tamales are getting cold.”
His father surveyed the scene then his eyes landed on Saffy. His nose twitched as he scented the air, and Ramon saw that his mother was doing the same thing.
Ramon’s father turned to him with a frown. “A lion shifter? Ramon, what’s going on here?”
Ramon pulled in a deep, calming breath then reached out to put his hand around Saffy’s shoulder. “Mom, dad, this is Saffy, my mate.”
His father looked on with genuine confusion, but his mother’s face lit up with what could only be described as glee.
“Ramon?” she questioned. “You met your mate?”
He nodded. “Yes, Mama.”
His mother stumbled forward, and Ramon waited with bated breath for what she would say—he was too afraid to look at his father’s reaction.
His mother came to a stop in front of Saffy then reached up, grabbed hold of her face and dragged her down for a big old kiss right on the lips. When she let her go, she was still smiling brightly and Saffy looked a little shell-shocked by the open display of affection.
“Mi hija,” his mother said.My daughter. “It’s so good to meet you.”
“Pleased to meet you too,” Saffy returned after a stunned moment.
It was then that Ramon glanced at his father. The confusion he’d seen earlier had disappeared from his face to be replaced with surprise and curiosity. He’d take it—it was better than open hostility. Better than he’d dared to hope for.
“How is this possible?” his father asked. “It’s like history repeating itself.”
His mother looked over her shoulder and glared at her husband.
“Carlos,” she said sternly. “Greet your new daughter properly.”
Ramon’s dad threw his mother a look of long-suffering exasperation that somehow managed to be full of affection. It was a look that he had seen on his father’s face hundreds of times in the past. Then his father stepped forward and took hold of Saffy’s hand.
“This has come as quite the surprise,” he said. “As I’m sure it did for you, too. Nonetheless, welcome to my home, and welcome to my family, my daughter.”
“Thank you, sir,” she whispered. “That means a lot to me.”
When tears filled his mate’s eyes, a lump rose in Ramon’s throat. He’d never been prouder to be called a Miguel, and he’d never been prouder of his parents.
“Thank you,” he said, struggling to speak around the lump in his throat. “Your acceptance means the world to me.”
His mom looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“Why wouldn’t we accept it? Saffy is your soul mate. It’s fate. That means she’s part of our family now, too.”
As his mother led the way into the dining room, Ramon slid his hand into Saffy’s and squeezed it gently, but he wasn’t sure if he did it to offer her comfort or because he needed it himself—probably a little bit of both. He only wished he had told his parents as soon as he and Saffy had met, then he could have called on his father to go to the salon when Mason and his friends had showed up. Perhaps then, she wouldn’t have got hurt. He should have trusted his parents to be as accepting and welcoming as he’d always known them to be. He hated that the reaction from Saffy’s parents had got him running scared and made him question how his own parents would react.
When he walked into the dining room, Ramon stopped short just inside the door.
