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“And baklava!” Mom shares in his excitement.

Gram leans in so only I can hear her, and whispers, “I’m going to go join the old fuddy duddies. You nail this one down while you still can.” She jerks her thumb over her shoulder in Colby’s direction.

“Gram,” I whisper back. “We’re just friends.”

“You sure are a lot friendlier now than you were a few weeks ago.” She gives me a knowing glance, then she hustles after my parents.

Now it’s just me, Helen, Ruthie, and Colby, standing in the short line to see Susan Mawry. To my shock, Colby reaches into his robes and pulls out a copy of Susan’s book.

Noticing my surprise, he explains, “I saw some authors would be here and wanted to be prepared. Plus, a werewolf and a fae princess? Yes, please.”

“Right? Oh, my gosh. It was so good!” Helen raves, waving her hands around. “Did you love the part where he stayed in his wolf form for that steamy kiss?”

Colby’s eyebrows raise. “I haven’t started it yet, but now I’m even more excited to read it.”

I snort a laugh. The vision of this large, muscular athlete curled up on a sofa reading werewolf smut is too much.

“We could read it together,” Colby says, his voice low and rumbly.

When my face breaks into a furious blush, he winks at me. The rascal.

It’s our turn to see Susan, and she looks fantastic with her fake fangs and braided, black hair. She even went all out by dripping fake blood on her white dress and wearing red contact lenses.

“Oh goodness! That’s the cutest little hobbit ever!” Susan says, her eyes going big and round as she takes in Ruthie’s cuteness.

“Tanks!” Ruthie says, grabbing one of the lollipops on Susan’s table, unwrapping it, and sticking it into her mouth before anyone can take it away from her. Something tells me big-brother-Colby wouldn’t have taken it away, anyway.

Susan’s eyes move to Colby and even with the red lenses, I see how they inspect him with an appreciative glance. Colby can hide his appearance with Gandalf robes, but he still oozes masculine charm and swagger.

“And hello, Gandalf.” Susan winks, reaching her hand out in front of Colby like she’s waiting for him to kiss it. Instead, he hands her a copy of her own book. “Would love it if you could make it out to Colby, your number 2 fan. I think Helen here is number 1.” I can’t see his face, but I can tell he’s smiling by the sound of his voice.

Helen rushes forward. “I totally am! I absolutely loved The Werewolf and the Wings.”

Susan smiles at Helen quickly then turns her attention on Colby again. “There are some hot scenes in this book. Did you enjoy them?” she purrs, finally taking the book from him, making sure to overlap their hands in the process.

The burning sensation coiling throughout my body is a strange experience, and something I’m unfamiliar with. I feel oddly protective of Colby. He’s just trying to get a book signed and she’s treating him like a cone from the ice cream truck on a very hot day. Cool it, Susan.

Yes, it’s the urge to protect that’s running through my body. I’m almost positive. Even though I don’t get sweaty when I feel protective over my siblings. And I’ve never been on the verge of slapping someone in their defense.

Colby, however, appears completely unaffected by the woman’s obvious come-on. Which almost irritates me more. Should he be slapping her away? Gandalf would.

I remember our conversation at Pancake Palace about how all the female attention gets old. He’s probably just being nice. For the first time, I see how suffocating all the attention must be. Here I am, on the opposite end of the spectrum, desperately trying to get Dexter’s attention. But I hadn’t stopped and wondered how it must feel to constantly be in the spotlight. It’s something that would be fun at first but would get old really quickly. And as an introvert, that kind of attention would be my worst nightmare.

Susan signs Colby’s book, keeping her eyes pinned on him the whole time. Then she kisses it, leaving a red lipstick mark right by where her name is now imprinted.

Helen clears her throat, a subtle reminder that she also has a book she wants signed. Susan finally looks at her. She smiles at my sister, but it’s much less enthusiastic than the treatment she gave Colby. Suddenly, the urge to read her book disintegrates completely. Which is unfortunate, because one doesn’t often get the opportunity to read a whimsical—but sexy—romance between a shifter and a fairy.

We spend another few hours walking around the convention. Helen doesn’t seem upset by Susan’s behavior, so I don’t bring it up. Ruthie, who at first was delighted by the costumes and fun booths to look at, is growing bored with the whole thing.

“Cowby. I wanna go home.” She pouts, reaching her arms upward so he’ll pick her up.

He happily obliges, lifting her onto his shoulders. She smiles, happy for the time being. “I should probably get this one home; she’s been on her hairy feet a lot today.”

Me and Helen snicker, and I notice that there’s only hair on one foot after she ripped the chunk off the other one earlier.

Colby shifts on his feet, appearing uncomfortable, maybe even awkward. “We’re having a cookout tonight, burgers. It’s just my dad, his girlfriend, Ruthie and myself. I thought you all might want to come over?”

“To your house?” Helen’s voice comes out high-pitched and way too excited.