The problem was, she was laughing so hard that I couldn’t tell if she actuallylikedthe gift or not. Was she offended? Did she think I was pathetic?
“This is amazing!”
My shoulders sagged with relief.
Clover plucked a candy out of the box and shoved it into her mouth, humming with glee as she did. “Glitteryanddelicious.”
“They seemed veryyou.”
“Were they the most expensive there?” she asked, cocking her brow.
“Not at all, those were the gold-encrusted chocolates.”
She laughed again and plucked out another sweet. “Want one?”
I’d never tried ruby chocolate before, preferring dark chocolate, but I didn’t want to turn it down and accidentally offend her again.
“Sure.” I reached for it, but Clover’s smile widened and she shook her head, offering the chocolate from her fingertips. I sucked in a breath and bent to eat it from her hand like a fucking dog, trying to ignore the way my heart pounded and my cock stirred.
Clover purred, looking utterly satisfied. “Good boy. It seems you’re learning.”
Good boy.
Those words shouldn’t have affected me, but my fucking god, they did.
“Have you thought about letting me take you out? I assume the answer is no, but…” The words were more pleading than I’d like, but the tone seemed to soften her further. “We can get something Forest can use immediately, and it’s nearing dinner time if you’re still hungry after your ice cream.”
“You probably have something in this mountain he can use right now.”
“Yes, but I want to do this right. You can pick something you know he’d love.”
She considered for a few agonizing seconds, leaving me hanging in a tortuous purgatory. “Only my dessert stomach is full. I suppose I should eat something with a few more nutrients.”
Thank god.
“I’ll call a car service—” I caught the pursing of her lips. “What’s wrong with a service? They’re still trying to get the glitter out of my car, so I can’t drive.”
“But I have a car. You can be my passenger princess.”
My first instinct was to balk, but this was likely a test I’d fail if I did so. “Do I get to wear a crown?”
I preened internally over getting a smile out of her with my question.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to find one that can fit your ego.”
Ouch. I deserved it, but still. “You’d be surprised what you can find when you’re willing to pay for customization.”
Though she rolled her eyes, she still smiled again. “Come on, I’m parked in your driveway. You’re in charge of navigation.”
I frantically hunted down the addresses of some fashionable baby boutiques so I could fulfill my role. If my pack was going to be obsessed with this woman, then I needed to get to know her and figure out what her true motivations were. I knew what Ithoughtthey were, but the others wouldn’t listen without proof. Clover would either confirm my suspicions or get started on proving me wrong. In the meantime, I couldn’t deny that spending time inhaling her maddening peony scent would be a pleasant way to spend an evening.
Settling into her passenger seat, I pushed the chair back to accommodate my legs and admired the sleek beauty of her car. She didn’t say much as I gave her directions and tried to subtly hold on to the door handle as she glided through traffic. Clover wasn’t a particularly dangerous driver, but she definitely knew where she wanted to go.
We pulled to a stop in front of a classic baby boutique.
“Parker, this looks bougie as fuck.”
“That’s because it is. Children deserve high-quality items.”
