“You won’t be,” she said, her gaze locking on his. “I just want a little more time with you and the peace I find with you before I have to deal with family drama. My sisters are confident they’ll come around, but I’m not.” Astra stopped talking, her eyes sad. “But I’m more worried about what you’ll do if they become too huge of a pain in the ass.”
“You won’t lose me because of your parents,” Rune said.
“I hope not.”
“No, you won’t. It may take a while, but they’ll grow to adore me. I can be extremely charming when I put my mind to it.”
Astra smiled again. “Oh, I’m very familiar with that aspect of your personality. But you might decide I’m not worth putting up with their bullshit until they come to that conclusion.”
He kissed her. “Being with you is worth facing the fires of Hell.”
“Don’t tell my mother that,” she quipped. “Or she’ll try to arrange it.”
Sensing it was time to change the subject, he asked, “Are you sure about the charm thing? Because I’m happy to demonstrate it again.”
“Hmmm. Maybe I do need a bit of reminding.”
When his lips touched hers, Rune did his best to ignore the unease that still plagued him.
Astra was a strong, independent woman. A mythological warrior. Why was she so worried about his reaction to her parents? Did she think he was that weak?
She was extremely close to her parents and sisters. He didn’t want to become the wedge between them because it would damage his relationship with her.
He shoved the thoughts out of his mind and focused on the woman in his arms. Tonight, she was the only thing that mattered.
For now.
* * *
A few hours later, Rune tried to rescue the food he’d been preparing earlier but it was a lost cause. They ended up ordering dinner from a local sushi restaurant that stayed open late on the weekends.
Since it was nearly ten at night, their food arrived within a half hour. Astra carried everything into the living room, and they sat around the coffee table and shared pieces of sushi and edamame.
After a few moments, Rune got up and returned with wine and a roll of paper towels.
“Don’t tell Claudia we’re eating in here,” he said, his expression guilty.
Astra laughed. “Are you afraid of my sister-in-law?”
“Absolutely. She’s a demigoddess. She might zap me or something.”
She continued to laugh. “She’s a sweetheart. And she knows that you want to live in your house, not exist in a museum.” When he gave her a flat stare, she sighed. “Fine, I promise I won’t say anything.”
“Good.”
They ate in silence for a little while, enjoying the wine and the sushi. Finally, when she was full, Astra put her chopsticks down and picked up her glass of wine.
“Do you like my house?” he asked her.
“Yes. It’s very you without being a complete bachelor pad.”
He hid his wince. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”
“Oh?” She took a sip of wine.
“I was wondering if you’d consider moving in with me.”
Astra choked and started coughing. Rune took the wineglass from her hand and grabbed a paper towel. She took it from him to dab her mouth and then her eyes.
