She leaned back a little so she could look at him.“I’ll be the judge of that.Are you ready to tell us what happened to you?You were gone for too long.”
“I’ll tell you everything.”He glanced at Taylor, who was still standing there.There were no signs of Jacob, thankfully.Ben liked the guy, but he wanted to be alone with his parents right now.Well, with them and Taylor.He was family, too.
“But first, let me introduce you to someone,” he continued, gently extracting himself from his parents’ arms and gesturing at Taylor.“Taylor, these are my parents, Anthony and Sylvia.Mom, Dad, this is Taylor, my mate.”
* * * *
AND JUST LIKE THAT, Taylor had been thrown to the wolves.He’d thought he’d stay out of the way and give Ben and his parents time and space to reunite without having to deal with him, but he’d been thwarted by Jacob showing them where to find Ben.Now, he was at the center of everyone’s attention, and he had to resist the urge to flee.
He wanted to be there for his mate.Ben needed him, but even more than that, there was no reason for him to run.It still wasn’t easy to be under the spotlight like this and have Ben’s parents both look at him as if he’d suddenly grown a second head.
He hadn’t.He was just their son’s mate.
“Your mate?”Ben’s mother asked.
“My mate,” Ben confirmed.“We met a few weeks ago.He and his pride have been keeping me safe.”
Sylvia frowned.“So you have something to be kept safe from.What’s going on, Ben?What happened to you?Where were you all this time?”
Ben sighed.Taylor knew that he didn’t want to talk about his time with Jimmy, but they’d expected Ben’s parents to have questions.Anyone would.
“Why don’t we sit down?”Taylor suggested, taking the heat off his mate for a few moments.He gestured at the couches and armchairs.“I can get you something to drink and eat.We bought snacks.”
Sylvia waved Taylor’s words away.“I’m not hungry.What happened to you, Ben?”she asked again, her attention fully on her son.
Taylor wasn’t offended that he was being dismissed.He wouldn’t have expected anything else from a mother who hadn’t known that her son was alive for months.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Taylor,” Anthony said, offering Taylor his hand.
Taylor shook it, relieved when Anthony didn’t squeeze too hard to show him who was boss.He didn’t know what to think of Ben’s parents yet.He wanted them to like him, but Ben was the most important person here.In the end, what his parents thought of Taylor didn’t matter.Taylor was Ben’s mate, andthatwas what mattered.
It was important to both of them.
“I’m sorry to interrupt again,” Jacob said from the still-open door.
Taylor turned to him and glared.Jacob didn’t seem to notice, though.More people were pushing past him, walking into the room as if they belonged there.Taylor stared, astonished, as the living room filled with enough people to make it feel a little cramped.
That wasn’t all.All of these people tried to get to Ben.They wanted to hug him and talk to him.From Ben’s expression, it was clear that he was overwhelmed, but before Taylor could say anything, he took over.
“What’s this?”Ben asked, turning to his parents.“I told the two of you to come, not to bring the entire family with you.”
“You really thought you were going to keep us away?”a tall woman holding a baby asked.
She reached over to hug Ben while holding the child with her other arm.Ben shook his head, but he went easily.Their gesture spoke of familiarity.Ben leaned closer to the baby, kissing their forehead.Taylor was pretty sure it was a girl because her shirt was pink, but what did he know?
“I knew I wouldn’t be able to, but I thought I’d have more time,” Ben said.
The woman frowned.“What does that mean?Why do you need more time?”
Ben looked up.His gaze caught with Taylor’s, who nodded at him.Whatever Ben wanted, he should do.Taylor could deal with it.
Ben sighed and gestured at the couches.“Why don’t you sit down?”
“Only if you promise you’re going to tell us what happened.You were gone formonths.We thought you were dead.”
“Justine,” Sylvia snapped.
The woman holding the baby—Justine, apparently—turned to Sylvia.“What?It’s true.He justvanished, and we couldn’t find him.Even the police couldn’t.”
