"Who do you think my mother is going to want to talk to more? Me or you?"
Dylan shrugged a shoulder. "That's fine. I wondered what your mother was like to inspire such fear in you."
"Fear?" he gasped. "Fear?"
She grinned and patted his chest as she walked by. "It's okay. Every man should still be a little afraid of his mother, even when he's grown. It means he understands women."
Clay stared after her as she sauntered down the hall. She was right about one thing, he was afraid of his mother.
But she was also wrong.
He didn't understand a damn thing about women.
Not trusting his mother or his sister, Rona, Clay followed her and grabbed her before they reached the end of the hall.
"Look, we can run away. She'll forget about me in a decade or two. It'll be fine."
Dylan laughed, louder this time, that magical sound filling the house.
"Stop being such a drama queen," she said, nudging him in the gut with her elbow. "It's going to be fine. I've met my share of mothers before. I promise I won't say anything to embarrass you."
"I'm not worried about you," he grumbled. "They live to embarrass me."
"They do not," she hissed back.
"Actually, hon, we do."
Dylan turned to face the woman speaking and realized that this must be Clay's sister because she had the same hair and eyes. Her features were large like her brother's but extremely striking.
She smiled and stepped forward, holding out her hand. "Hello. I'm Dylan. You're Clay's sister, right?"
The woman threw her head back and laughed, pressing a hand to her chest. "Hon, you don't have to say something like that for me to like you."
"I'm sorry?" Dylan asked, frowning in confusion.
The woman took her hand, her grip warm and firm. "I'm Sydney, Clay's mother."
"You're kidding," Dylan replied, glancing between the two of them. "You don't look old enough."
Suddenly, she found herself enveloped in a tight hug.
"Oh, Dylan. I think I'm going to just love you to pieces."
Clay interrupted. "Mom, if you don't let her go, she might fall to pieces. She's not one of Rona's trollings."
Since her ribs were creaking a little, Dylan didn't bother to speak up.
Sydney released her. "I apologize. I'm just so excited to see you." She wrapped an arm around Dylan's shoulders. "Now, where did you meet?"
Dylan glanced over her shoulder but Clay just shook his head at her as if there was no saving her now.
She was both amused and a little intimidated. "Um, well, we met through Mystical Matchmakers." Without an ounce of remorse, she threw Clay under the bus. "Your son was just telling me earlier that he was so grateful that you'd signed him up for the service. Especially since he met me."
Dylan shot him another look over her shoulder and suppressed a shiver at the promise of retribution in his eyes.
"I can't tell you how glad I am to hear that," Sydney said. "Let me introduce you to Clay's actual sister, Rona. She looks just like me, only prettier."
"Yeah, she got all the looks in the family," Clay said.
