Aurelia let a sly smile curl at the corner of her mouth. "I think Krystal and Zaden have us all beat in the public displays department."
I shrugged, feigning modesty. "It’s the dragon genes. They come with exhibitionist tendencies."
Erin deadpanned, "That checks out."
Rissa steered things back. "So how’s the new co-parenting arrangement?"
I paused, considering. "Surprisingly functional. Zaden’s still banned from helping with school projects unless I want Bryce to show up at the science fair with a Tesla coil or a bomb."
Aurelia cackled. "Classic Zaden."
The table rocked with laughter. For a few minutes, all the old fractures in my life seemed far away.
Frankie finished her drink, eyed the empty pitcher, then stood. "I’ll get the next round and tell Kenneth to stop watering the pours."
She threaded her way toward the bar, hips swaying, as Skye watched her go with a pensive look.
The minute Frankie was out of earshot, Skye leaned in, dropping her voice to a confidential murmur. "Is she going to be okay with Chance being here?"
I blinked. "Chance?" I twisted around and scanned the bar. I’d been so locked in on the booth I hadn’t noticed the other end of the place. Sure enough. The men had arrived. All of them, at the far end by the shuffleboard, their bodies arranged in a clumsy tableau of forced-casual. Now that I saw them, the mating bond surged. How had I missed that? I studied the drink in my hand. Damn, he wasn't watering the pours at all. I was already buzzed, and wolves took a bit for alcohol to work.
Zaden and Ashton stood closest to the tap, Nathan and Gavin behind them like bodyguards. Drake leaned against the wall, already working the room with a lazy charm, and there, at the edge of the group, was Chance.
He looked the same as always, tall, dark, a little too serious, but his focus was all for Frankie, following her every step with a hunger he didn’t bother to hide.
"Oh boy," I said, grinning despite myself. "I guess we’ll find out."
Rissa followed my gaze and snorted. "He’s been sitting there for thirty minutes, not drinking, just watching. It’s getting weird."
Aurelia raised her eyebrows. "At least he’s not setting things on fire."
"Yet," added Tavi.
Erin watched with the clinical detachment of a scientist observing a potentially explosive experiment. "How long since they talked?"
"Ten years," Skye said. "Since before the hibernation."
I sipped my gin and tonic, feeling the chill of the ice and the warmth of my friends. "Well. If we need to bail Frankie out, we can always call in the wolves."
Tavi perked up. "Are they here, too?"
I scanned the bar again. Sure enough, Nathan and Gavin weren’t the only wolves in the place. There was a small constellation of familiar faces at the pool table, pack members out for the night.
Frankie returned, carrying a tray of drinks with a flourish that earned her a cheer. She slid a whiskey in front of Rissa, set down another round of gin and tonics for the rest, and dropped an espresso martini in front of Aurelia, who accepted it with queenly grace.
She ignored the bar behind her, but I saw the twitch at the corner of her mouth. Oh, yeah. She’d noticed Chance, and she was making him suffer.
The next hour blurred in a pleasant way. There was dancing, mostly Tavi and Skye, who commandeered the touch-screen jukebox and loaded it with every embarrassing girl-power anthem from the last thirty years. Rissa convinced the bartender to invent a new cocktail and named it "The Blackout," and by the second round, even Erin let her hair down.
I kept my eyes on Frankie, who worked the table but never once looked toward the shuffleboard. Every so often, I’d catch Chance’s gaze flickering over, then dropping to his hands.
Aurelia picked up on it, too. She leaned close. "Are you going to play matchmaker?"
I shrugged. "She’d kill me."
"Not if you did it right," said Aurelia. "Sneaky."
I looked at Frankie, then at Chance, and felt a thrill of possibility that I hadn’t let myself feel in a long time.
