“That might not be a bad idea,” Silver said as Clay and Flint walked up to us.
“What might not?” Clay asked.
“Duncan coming to work at Silverback Securities.”
“We could certainly use someone to even answer the phones,” Flint said. “It’s nice to meet you, Duncan.”
“Hi, Flint,” I replied. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
“Where’s Slate?”
“Inside with Mica,” Silver said. “I came out to let everyone know that Ma and Dad are on their way.”
“Shit,” Flint said before walking off toward the house. Clay had managed to convince him to carry the cake, it seemed.
“Did you need my help with something?” I asked. Charlie wrapped his arm around mine and started walking toward the house.
“No. We go in and wait. Once Joyce gets here, she’s going to gush over me and the twins I’m carrying and won’t tell her what they are. And she’s going to hug and squeeze you until you feel like you’re going to suffocate.” I glanced back toward Clay, who nodded at me. “Then we sit and let our mates do all the things for us. Because it’s just easier. If we try to do anything, we’ll get physically picked up and relocated to the nearest seating place and told to stay there and relax.”
I wanted to argue, but not only was Charlie pregnant and that just seemed wrong, but he was tugging on my arm much harder than I would have thought. Silver was there on his other side,and when we got to the door, he quickly opened it. Charlie went in, pulling me behind him. Immediately, I looked for Clay.
“I’m not far behind, sweetie.”
I relaxed, and although I liked Charlie a lot, I really wanted my mate.
“Hey, Duncan. It’s nice to see that Clay finally let you out of the house.”
“Shut up, Slate,” Clay said. He was beside me now. “Don’t listen to him. He is the youngest and gets away with things he shouldn’t when it comes to Ma. And because you’re new, he’s going to try it with you.” Clay turned and glared at his brother, who actually looked embarrassed. But not only was Clay glaring, so were Silver and Flint.
“Sorry, Duncan. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Then don’t say it,” Silver said before he looked at me. “Duncan, this is Slate, the baby of the family.”
“Hi,” I said quietly. I moved just a bit closer to Clay. He leaned down and kissed me on the side of the head.
“Let me put this down, and I’ll introduce you to Mica.” Clay took the large bowl to the kitchen and set it on the center island.
“So you and Clay, huh?” Slate asked.
“Yeah. We matched on the Mate Match app.”
Slate shook his head. “Never in a million years would you catch me on there,” he said before he walked toward the kitchen.
Charlie grabbed my arm again and smirked. “He says that now, but it was Joyce that signed Silver up. With you and Clay being matched and Flint finding his mate by accident, I don’t think she’ll let him avoid finding his mate for very long.”
I leaned close. “I didn’t see anyone with Flint.”
Charlie shook his head. “From what I’ve heard, she’s human, and although she seemed really interested in Flint, he’s not bothered to reach out or anything like that.”
“She’s a client,” Flint said from across the room. He scowled and then went out back.
“Don’t mind him,” Clay said as he came back to me. “He’s getting a lot of pressure from Ma because first Silver, then me, and now him.”
“I didn’t say anything to upset him, did I?”
“No, sweetie. He’s just not ready to give up his bachelor lifestyle, I guess. It has nothing to do with you though, and please don’t let his surliness worry you.”
I nodded.
