“Music is fine, thanks.” She sent her a grateful smile for changing the subject.
The next couple of hours were spent in relative comfortable silence, and Olivia occupied herself with watching the scenery and finishing off her bag of sandwiches. Soon, they passed a sign that welcomed them to the town of Mystic Port, Connecticut.
“Let’s grab lunch before we go to the cottage,” Sloane suggested. “I’m starving.”
“Same,” Olivia said.
They stopped at a restaurant by the water and as soon as Jacob pulled into a parking spot, Eli quickly exited and rushed to her side, opening the door for her.
“Thank you, you really don’t have to do that,” she said.
He didn’t say a word, but held the door open and even helped her out. The contact of their hands was brief, but even as she walked away, Olivia could still feel the warmth of his skin like a brand.
“Brr…” Olivia rubbed her arms as she shivered. The hostess had sat them on the outside patio, and though it was a beautiful sunny day, the breeze from the Atlantic was freezing. “I should have worn a sweat—” She stopped short as Eli reached over to drape his jacket over her shoulders. That delicious mix of rum, spices and leather hit her nose. It drove her she-wolf crazy, and it rolled around, reveling in being surrounded by their mate’s smell.
“Th-thanks,” she stammered, feeling her skin—and other parts of her—warm. Throughout lunch, he barely spoke but he remained attentive to her needs. He also didn’t bat an eyelash when she ordered three entrees. He even pushed his plate of fries at her.
After eating, they headed to the cottage rental, which was only a few blocks away from the restaurant. Jacob explained it was owned by the human widow of a Lycan from the Connecticut clan and it was fully stocked with food and all the necessities so they wouldn’t even have to go into town. They weren’t expecting trouble all the way out here, but it was better to take precautions so as not to alert anyone in the Boston clan that they were coming.
Jacob wasn’t exaggerating about the size of the “cottage.” It was more like a mansion, with a huge living room that opened up into a sizable deck that led to the beach and overlooked the ocean.
“There’s two bedrooms upstairs and three downstairs,” Jacob said.
“You guys should take one of the upstairs rooms,” Olivia said. At least that way, they’d be far away from the rest of the house. A hallway just off the living area had three doors, which she assumed were the downstairs bedrooms. “I’ll take that first one,” she said. “I’m gonna freshen up, if that’s okay with you guys?”
Sloane nodded. “Yeah, we should all rest and then we can go over our plan during dinner.”
As she said, Olivia entered the first bedroom on the right. It was nicely sized, done up in a nautical theme in blues and whites. The queen bed in the middle looked cozy, so she dropped her bag on the floor then proceeded to take her shoes off and sprawled on top of the bed. While she wasn’t sleepy, the trip definitely made her tired.
A knock on the door made her sit up. “Yes?”
“It’s me,” came Sloane’s voice from behind the door. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
“Hey,” Sloane said as she entered. “Just came to check on you. Is your room okay?”
“It’s great,” she said. “Too bad we’re only staying the night. I’ve been working for a month straight without a break. I could use a vacation.”
“I know right? I was going crazy being trapped in Jacob’s studio. Sooooo,” Sloane began as she sat down at the edge of the bed. “I just wanted to say sorry about Jacob been an idiot.”
Olivia chuckled. “First of all, I’ve known him all his life so I’m used to it. And next, you definitely don’t have to apologize for him.”
“I know.” Sloane picked a piece of lint off her shirt. “But, he’s not wrong.”
“About?”
“You and Eli.” She cocked her head to the side, as if she were gauging her reaction.
“Oh. I mean … that’s not … I don’t?—”
“You guys are True Mates.” Sloane bounced up and down on the mattress. “Can I say something about that?”
“Yes?” It sounded like she would anyway, no matter what Olivia said.
“Eli’s like my brother so I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that you’re his True Mate and having my niece or nephew, plus we’re pregnant at the same time. If you guys hooked up that night we went to Blood Moon, then we’ll probably give birth days apart.”
Olivia placed her palm over her belly. “It’s only been a little over a day since I found out.”
