I forced myself to smile. “Well, I’m glad this vigilante is at least doing something.” My bright tone rang false to my own ears.
“Honey, I’m sorry we brought it up,” Anne said, glaring at George. “Did you know that doctor?”
“Mom,” Henry said sharply.
Another awkward silence fell. My heart was pounding, and I felt weirdly vulnerable and embarrassed. I doubted I was mentioned by name in the report, but I hated that anyone could just read about what happened to us. I knew the information needed to be out there, but I’d worked so hard to forget.
I caught Bear’s eye, hoping he would take a hint and change the subject, but he looked like he was miles away. I guessed it was up to me.
I took a deep breath and turned to Anne. “How did you and George meet?”
She looked mildly startled by the change in topic, but then she smiled widely. “Oh, we met at school. I briefly toyed with the idea of studying law. I took an intro to law class and was assigned a seat next to a soft-spoken man who didn’t say a single word to me all semester. I thought he was cute, but I usually went for more outgoing guys. The last day of class, he finally worked up the courage to ask me out.”
“And she turned me down,” George said, sitting back in his seat and crossing his arms.
“Wait, really?” I asked. My nerves began to settle.
“Oh yes. I had my sights set on the quarterback of the football team.” Anne waved her hand as if it was no big deal.
“And she got him,” George said with a scowl.
“I was quite the stunner back in the day, if you can believe it,” Anne said.
It wasn’t remotely hard to believe. Anne was still radiant in middle age with her blond hair, curvy figure, and soft laugh lines.
“Still a stunner now,” George said, kissing the back of her hand.
My insides melted at their sweetness.
“The quarterback and I were together for several rocky months,” she continued. “Everything crashed and burned in the spring when I found out he was cheating on me.”
“Burned is right,” Henry said, grinning.
“My little arsonist,” George added.
Anne rolled her eyes. “Stop exaggerating. I only set fire to the pair of the other woman’s underwear I found in his room. It’s not my fault the rest of his stuff happened to go up in flames.”
“Because you had put all his clothes in a pile on the floor,” George said.
“The details aren’t important. Anyway, George caught me as I was leaving the dorm?—”
“Escaping the scene of the crime,” Henry said.
Anne ignored her son’s comment. “He could tell something was wrong and invited me back to his dorm room. I ended up telling him everything. He was so outraged that a man would cheat on me.”
“I guess alphas aren’t all they’re cracked up to be,” George said. Then he grimaced, looking around the table. “No offense.”
“Nah, most of them are useless,” I said, letting out a squeak as Gray squeezed my leg. “What happened next?”
“My ex accused me of starting the fire, but George acted as my alibi. Which is saying something, as he is a stickler for following the rules.”
“Sounds like someone else I know,” I said, glancing over at Henry.
“He definitely showed me I had been missing out. I learned that quiet mencertainlyhave their virtues,” Anne said.
“Mom, please don’t say it like that,” Henry groaned.
“Why not?” Anne asked, a sparkle in her eye. “It’s not like Westin doesn’t know.”
