It was an inner voice that only ever spoke up on really important matters, and it had never been wrong. It was the voice that had told her that she should become a vet when she was a child; it was the voice that had told her to take the opportunity to start her own clinic; and now it was the voice that was telling her that she could trust Ethan. Maybe not as to whether or not he could actually turn into a pegasus, but she knew that she could trust him to be safe.
“Sounds good,” she said, standing up, her overfull stomach protesting at the movement.
Ethan’s eyes widened slightly, even as he also stood. “You’re sure?”
“Let’s do it,” she said decisively, throwing down a sizeable tip on the table amongst the piles of empty plates. They’d done a remarkable job getting through all that food, all things considered.
Ethan threw down his own tip – a tip large enough to make Chloe’s eyebrows rise, though she supposed that hehadhad a food-related awakening of sorts that deserved payment in kind. It had to be nice, having the kind of money to just do that kind of thing.
“My car is just down the road, if you’re happy to take it,” Ethan said, a slight tone of questioning in his voice. His meaning was clear:Do you trust me?
Chloe nodded. “Lead the way.”
Chapter 7
Our mate is coming back to our domicile in order to bask in our glory. Truly, this is the grandest of all days.
Ethan did his best to keep his wince internal.She’s coming back to our temporary accommodation to work out whether I’ve got a few screws loose. Don’t go booking the honeymoon suite just yet.
But the pegasus wouldn’t be denied, frolicking blissfully in the metaphorical meadows of Ethan’s mind, while Ethan himself just tried to concentrate on keeping his car on the road.
His conversation with Chloe could’ve gone better… but it also could’ve gone much,muchworse. All in all, the fact that she apparently trusted him enough to come back with him and judge his honesty for herself was more than he could’ve reasonably hoped for.
Ethan had never even thought all that hard about finding his mate in the past, beyond how it would be a feather in his cap to both become CEO and to have found his mate – it would make the family and the company look good. The thought of finding his mate for its own sake had never occurred to him… but now,he had to admit, it was very quickly becoming something of great interest to him.
He glanced over at where Chloe was seated next to him, looking a bit flushed. Was the car too warm?
He opened the windows a little, letting the crisp mountain air swirl through the car. Chloe smiled gratefully.
“Thanks,” she said, and his heart quickened a little in response to that single word, his pegasus doing a little fluttering somersault through the air.
He’d never quite felt this way before. To actually want to go out of your way to do little things to make someone happy, for no other reason than that you wanted them to be happy? No ulterior motives, no attempts at networking or looking for weaknesses to exploit – just wanting to do things for that person because they werethem?
“No problem,” he said gruffly, trying to keep his tone casual.
“So, did you enjoy the lunch?” Chloe asked, a teasing edge to her voice. “I couldn’t quite tell.”
She was clearly poking fun at him, and normally he would’ve bristled, but he found that he didn’t mind it at all when it was her.
“Somehow I managed to get through it,” he said airily. “But don’t go expecting a repeat performance.”
“Noted,” Chloe said with a grin. “I’ll make sure to boil you up some tofu next time. Extra bland, no seasoning.”
“Sounds great,” he said with a straight face, even as his pegasus rejoiced at the wordsnext time. And he wasn’t even joking, not really – Chloe could make him the blandest, most stultifyingly boring meal in the world, and he’d eat it up happily, because she had made it for him.
He’d always had a pretty low opinion of love in general and the mate bond in particular, given that he’d seen what it had done to colleagues who had previously been at the top of theirgame, ruthless, unstoppable – but now, he finally thought he understood. All of that other stuff just didn’t seem as important anymore.
Not that he didn’t want to clear his name and get back in the game – of course he did. But it wasn’t all-consuming in the way it had been even just this morning. There was a life beyond the shiny corridors he’d spent most of his life walking down – and, for the first time, he was insatiably curious as to what it could look like.
And as to what it couldtastelike. Ethan had never experienced food like the delicious meals served up at the diner before. Before this, the most flavorful thing he allowed himself was steamed chicken, with, perhaps, asmallamount of salt on it.
Food wasn’t for enjoying – it was for powering gym sessions and making sure he didn’t fall asleep at his desk pulling yet another all-nighter. It was a huge bother to have to eat – he’d once thought that if he could just suck nutrients up in a tube, he’d do that and waste less time.
But now…
Ethan had to suppress a shiver at the memory of the fried, salty, carb-y, tangy, meatydeliciousnesshe’d just experienced. And the chocolate thickshakes – he was pretty sure he could have one for every meal, and never get sick of it.
If you’re quite done drinking imaginary slurries,his pegasus sneered,I do believe that you are neglecting your mate.
