“No. I’m afraid of letting him down, of thinking he’ll be disappointed in me. He would never criticize me for being with you and Bram. Or stop loving me. Papa, too. But I might feel it inside that I let them down.”
“It’s all good, baby.” I patted my shoulder. “We’ll go to my shimmer first and get that out of the way before announcing our arrangement to your herd.”
My shoulders relaxed. I hadn’t realized how stiffly I’d been holding myself.
Seth and I stayed up late waiting for Bram to come home. We both did take short naps. We had spent our first night together at his Animals apartment, but after that, the three of us spent most of our time at our hotel.
Bram arrived at two thirty in the morning. Once he’d showered, we all got into bed. Bram seemed wired from work, a little unsettled, and wanted to talk, which was fine with us. I wanted us all to make love, of course, but we had all day tomorrow to accomplish that.
“I had a lot of time to think at work. So…um…”
“It’s okay. We’ve talked a lot. You can tell us anything. Does this have to do with your pack again?” I asked.
“No. It’s, well, when do I meet your families? Is it too soon to ask?”
“Not at all.” Seth caught my gaze and grinned. “The bond is working well. You must’ve sensed Indy and me talking about this subject earlier.”
“You were?”
I nodded. “We’ve decided to go to Seth’s shimmer first and announce our mating.”
Silence.
“What are you thinking, Bram?” I asked.
“When?”
“Well,” Seth began, “we have this room until the end of next week.”
“Then you’re leaving, right?” Bram asked.
“Right.” I watched Bram’s face go tight. I’d spoken too quickly without context.
“And will I go with you?”
“Wait.” I put my hand on his arm. “Let me finish. Of course we aren’t leaving you, sweetheart.”
Bram let out a relieved sigh.
Seth continued for me. “It’s not something we want to inform our families about through text or over the phone.”
“I know, but…”
“But what?” I asked.
“You haven’t actually—officially—invited me.”
Seth and I both let out sounds of surprise.
“We haven’t?” I reached across Bram and smacked Seth’s chest. “I thought we had.”
He looked pained. “Me, too.”
“You’re cordially, personally, and lovingly invited,” I finished.
Bram leaned into me. “You’re funny.”
“Not funny. We mean it.”
