THIRTEEN
Ibelieved that fish tacos were an abomination — fish did not belong in a taco — so Lilac had taken to making steak tacos on the same day for me. Galen always laughed at my inability to even look at a fish taco, but he unsurprisingly chose the steak tacos because he was a beef guy.
After I’d filled my stomach on tacos and chips, he walked me outside. He seemed perturbed.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Normally I could read him well, but he was a mystery this afternoon.
“Why do you think something’s wrong?” He backed me toward the wall of the bar. “Maybe I just want to make out with my fiancée.”
“You don’t have your make out face on.”
“I always have it on for you.” He grinned, as if to prove it, before leaning in for a kiss. It was almost chaste.
“Galen.”
The sigh he let loose was long and drawn out. “I just wish I’d been with you when you went to Declan’s house,” he admitted, throwing me.
“Why?”
“Because it must have been jarring to see your mother in that mural.”
“It was. That’s not why you wish you would have been with me, though.”
“Oh, really?” He cocked an eyebrow.
“You’re worried Julian flirted with me.”
Surprise registered on his face before he turned sheepish. “Sorry. That’s probably a little too alpha for you.” At least he didn’t deny it.
“You’re not worried that he’s going to try to steal me,” I said. “You’re worried you’ve never had a little brother, and shifters are territorial by nature. You think he’s going to turn this into a competition.”
“I didn’t say that,” he countered.
“You didn’t have to. I’m familiar with how shifters work. I’ve done a lot of research.”
That nudged a crooked smile out of him. “Is that so?”
“You know I don’t like being in the dark.”
“Yes, you’re a busybody.”
I glared at him. “I don’t like being in the dark,” I repeated, correcting him. “There’s a difference.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” He glanced away, then back at me. “I trust you. Heck, I trust him. It’s just a weird situation. You’re right. I am concerned that I’ve missed something and he’s actually a bad guy.”
“He’s not.” I shook my head. “I think he’s struggling with the same things you are. You can’t force a bond. It needs to grow organically. It won’t be easy to get there, but if you both put in the effort, it’ll happen.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’m a sunshine girl.”
He burst out laughing. “You’re a rampant complainer. You’re spoiled. You’re a good person and I wouldn’t change anything about you. You are not, however, a sunshine girl.”
“I could be if I wanted to.”
“That’s not who you are. I’m good with that. I’m not a sunshine guy. We fit perfectly.”
I grumbled. “I could be a sunshine girl. I choose not to be because that would ruin my street cred.”
