Leo fell against the couch, his body boneless. I gathered him up and laid us down easily.
“Are you excited for our date?” I asked him.
He hummed. “Very. Now I just need to figure out what to wear.”
I laughed. Though I was nervous to finally meet her and find out if she was our mate, I was excited and hopeful.
CHAPTER FIVE
HARPER
“And you’re sure you don’t mind?” I asked Kristen for the thousandth time.
“Very,” she said. “I love spending time with my niece.”
Said niece was in her room, grabbing her own dresses. She saw mommy getting dressed up and decided she wanted to join. “And you’re sure this outfit is cute?” I'd decided on a floor-length dress with a gray knit sweater on top to keep me warm in the chilly fall air.
“It’s great,” Kristen promised. “He’s going to eat you up,” she added with a small laugh.
I laughed. “Wolf joke? Really?” I had told her everything when I asked her.
She shrugged. “Maybe you can set me up with of his friends in the photos. They’re all so tall and attractive.”
She turned, looking at my jewelry, but her comment rubbed me the wrong way. Not that she’d said anything wrong, but thinking of any of the men in the photo with her—or anyone else—made my blood boil. I shook that feeling off; it was ridiculous. I probably just felt that way because all this time we'd beentalking, I couldn’t picture just one of them. Since I didn’t know who was who, it was easy to think of them all while chatting.
My mind kept trailing back to that call. When he said he’d called by accident, I thought he didn’t want to talk at all, but when he told me he was glad he did, I couldn’t help but blush. His voice was deep and grumbly, making me think he was the one with the beard, but who really knew? I could have asked earlier, but if I was honest with myself, the mystery of it all excited me. Thinking about all three of themexcitedme.
Something else held my thoughts. When I was hanging up the phone, I could have sworn I heard him say “we’llsee you there.” Thewestuck with me. Did it mean…
No. I must have misheard, or he must have misspoken. “These!” Kristen cried, pulling me from my thoughts. She held out a pair of small silver hoops. “They match the dress perfectly.”
I had to agree. I took the earrings and popped them in. My hair was half up so it showed them off nicely. Kristen had put on my makeup when she got here while Aria was napping, and it still looked great.
“Mom!” I heard Aria call as she ran towards my room, followed by heavy clicking on the floor. She ran in wearing the princess dress my mother bought her for Christmas last year. She had on the small plastic heels that went with them and carried her tiara.
“You look amazing!” I said, walking towards her to wrap her in a hug. “Do you need help with your tiara?” I asked.
“Yes, please,” she said.
“Come here, munchkin,” Kristen said, gesturing to Aria. She clacked over and turned around. I took that moment to gaze at myself. Though I liked to dress nice for work, this was different. Right now I looked hot. I’d always been a larger person, and getting pregnant only made my figure fuller. Though I had some new stretchmarks and a fuller belly, my body was still beautiful.
Once she was done, she ran to the mirror. “I look pretty like Mom,” Aria said, and my heart melted.
“Thanks, Ari,” I said, squatting to her level. “I’ll be gone tonight, but I'll see you in the morning, okay? Be good for Aunt Kristen.”
“I will,” she said. “Auntie Kristen promised pizza and movies!”
“That sounds like the best time,” I told her.
I kissed her forehead before grabbing my purse and checking myself in the mirror once more before leaving. When I went to my car I pulled up my GPS for directions to the restaurant he'd sent. It was uptown and very nice; one I’d never been to.
With a deep breath, I got going.
I pulled up to the restaurant and switched my car off. It was an upscale Indian place and looked way fancier than I expected. I worried I wasn’t wearing something nice enough, but it was too late to turn around. I shot out a text to let him know I was here, and he said he would meet me outside in the front.
I looked in the sun visor mirror one last time, cringing as I clocked the cheerios on my back seat. I really needed to clean my car. I grabbed my purse and got out, looking around. As I did, I saw a man with cropped blond hair in a black button-up and tan slacks. So,thiswas him. When our eyes met, he perked up, waving my way. I gave him a small smile and waved back.
“Jasper?” I said.
