“That works with what the three of us came up with. We had to tell everyone something.” Spencer added in the gaps.
Nick remembered his research? That was surprising. But it could be useful. I was still curious about Rosalind and me going to another world.
However, I’d ask him about it another time.
I smoothed Spencer’s hair with my hand. “How are you doing?”
“I have my father back.” His eyes went misty. “Oh. Before I forget. Your shoes.”
Spencer handed me a box with a brand-new pair of pale gold ballet flats that matched the dress.
“Thank you.” I kissed him and sat down on the chaise as he slipped them on my feet. His eyes met mine, and my core warmed at the sheer devoted sexiness of the motion.
“I got this for you.” Still on his knees in front of me, he pulled a little ring box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a gold band with three emeralds and several smaller clear stones. It was big and fancy, but at the same time, classy.
“Spencer, it’s beautiful,” I breathed. We ordered rings for each other but kept them a surprise.
“Just like you.” He slipped it onto my right hand.
We talked about which finger I wanted to wear it on. I liked how here you wore your rings on whatever fingers you wanted. It made sense if you had rings from multiple mates.
“Here.” I handed him a box. “Evan helped me choose it.” It was a titanium wedding band engraved with the Greek key design, set in a larger gold band. I slid it onto his finger.
“Darling, I love it.” Spencer leaned in and kissed me.
“Um, I have something else.” I handed him a box. Inside was a tie tack that matched my necklace. I pinned it on his tie. “Perfect.”
Spencer kissed me again. “I love it. I have something for you, too. Though you don’t have to wear any of it today. I think your jewelry choices are perfect. My grandfather brought it, per our mating agreement.”
He got out a beautiful carved box and opened it. I sucked in a breath as I took in all the pieces of jewelry in it, some quite lovely and others…
“A family as old as ours had a lot of heirloom pieces. Some are more interesting than others,” Spencer laughed. “We keep them in the family by passing them around. It’s not an insult. It actually means they accept you, because they might be ugly, but they’re part of our heritage. One day you can pass some of them on as gifts to other family members.”
I held up a hideous bejeweled broach that looked like it should be in a museum. “Like this?”
“Yes.” His eyes crinkled as he smiled.
A blue stone caught my eye. I fished out a delicate bangle with blue stones. “This. I’ll wear this.”
Because I needed something blue. I meant to get a blue thong and had forgotten. Not to mention, Evan had surprised me with a beautiful gold bra and panty set.
“A lovely choice. This was my yiayia’s, and it means a lot that it was included.” Spencer slid it onto my arm.
“Thank you.” I kissed him. I’d look through everything later. “You know, I think it’s a little silly that you give me all these things and I don’t give you anything other than a ring and a small piece of jewelry. I’d like to get you a hedgehog, when you’re ready,” I offered. What else did you get the billionaire who had everything?
Okay, I knew it was about transferring assets and tradition. The alpha showed they could take proper care of a mate, and the gifts were supposed to let the mate know that they were wanted by the alpha’s family. Jewelry was historically a way to amass money of one’s own. But still…
Leaning in, he gave me another kiss. “That sounds perfect. I think I’d love a pet hedgehog. I actually wanted to get you something special, just from me. What do you think of this?”
Taking out his phone, he showed me something that looked a lot like a small version of our guest house.
“Is that a chicken coop?” I asked.
“Yes, this company makes chicken coops that match your home or guest house so that they’re not eyesores. Since Brennan brought up chicken coop appearance, I thought this would be the perfect compromise. I admit, the spaceship ones are cute, though they seem difficult to clean,” he explained.
A chicken coop. “I love it.”
“There’s a service that will care for our chickens when we’re away. I should see if they’ll take care of hedgehogs,” he added. “They’re calledChicken Tenders.”
