He faced her, resting his weight on his elbow, but their fingers remained intertwined.
“To stay with you always.”
Her eyes were both warm and a little afraid as she looked up at him. “You don’t think it’s too soon to discuss anything permanent?”
“As far as I’m concerned, this is permanent.”
Astra smiled. “I meant living together or…” She trailed off.
“Marriage?” he asked.
Pink stained her cheeks. It was probably the only time he would ever see her blush, he realized.
“Yes, marriage,” she replied, her voice brisk. “Not that I’m asking.”
“Me, either,” he said.
Her gaze sharpened until it was nearly lethal. “I’m glad that’s settled then.”
“At least not until I’ve met your parents and asked your dad for his blessing. I’m an old-fashioned guy. There’s a procedure to follow here.”
Her mouth fell open. “Ask for my father’s blessing?” she repeated, her voice high. “I’m forty-five years old. I don’t need his blessing for anything in my life, much less the man I choose to marry.”
Rune shrugged. “That may be, but it’s important to me.”
She sighed. “Well, there’s probably something I should tell you, then.”
His brows lifted and he waited.
“My parents have a…tendency to test the men or women we bring home,” she finally said.
“Test how?”
“Well, in some cases, it’s literal.” Astra grimaced. “There was a guy Sylvie dated in high school and Mom gave him an I.Q. test.”
Rune bit back a smile.
“One of Sirena’s boyfriends ended up strapped to a chair for a polygraph test.”
His brows rose higher, but he still kept quiet.
“Dad just likes to challenge the men to a physical confrontation.”
Rune laughed lightly. “So, your parents are a handful?” he asked.
Astra sighed. “It goes deeper than that. Sometimes I worry that they’re actually nuts, and they hide it too well for others to tell.”
“Have you mentioned me to your parents?” he asked, laughing.
“Yeah, laugh now,” she said. “They know that I’m seeing someone that I care for a great deal and that we’re growing closer, but I haven’t given them any details about you.”
“What about your sisters? Surely, they’ve said something.” His brother had been gone for decades now, but Rune still remembered how he couldn’t keep his mouth shut when it came to the women Rune dated when he was still human.
Astra smiled. “They know I’ll retaliate if they rat me out.” Her smile faded. “They both like you a great deal.”
He still hadn’t met Sirena yet.
Unease speared through Rune’s chest. “I’ll have to meet your parents sometime, Astra. I can’t be hidden away like a dirty secret.”
