“Absolutely not!” Elise said, standing with her hands on her hips. “There is no way I’m letting you just waltz up to an army of evil shifters and wizards who torture and kill people with no remorse.”

“I’m not walking right up to them. I’m sneaking up to them. They won’t even know I’m there.”

“The answer is no,” Elise said, trying to keep her voice from shaking with emotion. She could hardly believe that her son was sitting there with a straight face, asking to walk right into the lions’ den. Literally, the lions’ den! There were lion shifters in Saul’s army, after all. Or so she’d been told. Nick crossed his arms and gave her a defiant look—the same look he used to give her as a toddler when she told him he could not have ice-cream for dinner.

“I’m a dragon. I can do whatever I want,” he declared.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elise saw Holden wince, then frantically shake his head “no” at the boy. Elise walked right up to her son, grabbed his left earlobe, and twisted it hard.

“Ow! Mom!” he protested, pulling away.

“Dragon or not, I am still your mother and you still live in my house. If you want me to continue to put a roof over your head and to feed that dragon appetite of yours, you will do as I say. Do you understand?”

Nick whimpered and nodded his head.

“Now go to your room. I want to have a word with Holden.”

Nick scurried off to his room, suddenly happy for the chance to get away from his mother’s presence. Elise turned her gaze sharply on Holden, who winced again.

“Elise,” he said. But she held up her hand and shook her head.

“No. I’ll do the talking. And let’s go to my bedroom where we’re out of Nick’s earshot. I guarantee you he has his ear pressed up against his bedroom door right now to listen.”

Holden followed Elise to her bedroom without another word, shutting the door behind him as Elise whirled to face him. The sight of him in her room, leaning easily against the closed door, took her breath away. For a moment, she forgot to be angry. His bicep muscles flexed slightly as he looked over at her with intense, searching eyes. Elise had a crazy impulse to rush across the room and throw her arms around him, kissing him with abandon. There was just something so sensual about having him in her bedroom. She should have known better than to bring him in here.

She pushed away her thoughts of romance and tried to remember that he was only in here because she needed to make it very clear to him that she was not okay with his putting ideas of grand adventures into her son’s head. She was here to protect Nicky, not to think about how sexy Holden’s muscles looked in the soft light of her bedroom.

“What were you thinking?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips again and trying to look as stern as possible. But she must not have made a very imposing figure, because she saw a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“Oh, am I allowed to talk now?” he asked.

“No! Yes! I don’t know!” Elise said, frustrated at how flustered she felt. “I just can’t believe you would even put an idea like that in Nick’s head.”

Holden let out a measured breath, not responding right away. Elise balled her fingers into fists and tried not to cry. She’d never been much of a crier. As a single mother, tears had not been a luxury she could afford. She’d had to remain strong for her son. But this week had been too much for her, and she’d found herself constantly on the verge of breaking down.

“I’m sorry,” Holden said. “I only thought that—”

“You didn’t think. That’s the problem,” Elise interrupted. “You didn’t think about the fact that you were asking my son, the only family I have, to put himself in harm’s way.”

“It’s not exactly like that,” Holden protested.

“No? Then what exactly is it like?”

Elise could feel herself losing control of her emotions. She knew it would be better for her sanity right now if she just told Holden to leave and spent a few hours alone, composing herself. But she was too angry and irrational to do the smart thing at the moment. As if it hadn’t been a shock enough learning that her son was a dragon, and that there were evil dragons and wizards out there who would love nothing more than to kill off him and every other good shifter, Holden was actually suggesting that her son sneak up on Saul’s army and spy on them.

Elise reached over to steady herself on the headboard of her bed. She’d felt sick to her stomach when she sat there and listened to Nick describe the secret tunnel he’d been playing in for years without her knowledge. The tunnel itself wasn’t a big deal, but knowing that there was now a group of crazed, evil shifters and wizards on the other end of that tunnel was enough to make Elise’s heart stop. Here she had been, working her ass off at the diner to make ends meet, not knowing that her son was spending hours in danger of being discovered by some very violent people. Elise knew she couldn’t have known, and yet she felt like a failure as a mother.

And now, Holden, who had sworn he would protect Nick, was suggesting that the boy sneak back through the tunnel to spy on Saul’s men. He wanted Nick to take pictures of Saul’s operations, and to eavesdrop on what the soldiers were saying. As though asking a twelve-year-old boy to spy on coldblooded killers was no big deal.

“I’m sorry, Elise,” Holden was saying again. “I wouldn’t have asked you if I thought there was a high likelihood that he would be caught. He’s a ghoster, so they can’t smell him. Shifters ‘see’ with their noses more than their eyes. As long as he was careful, there’s virtually no chance he’d be caught.”

“Don’t you get it, Holden?” Elise asked sitting down on her bed and putting her face in her hands. “He’s twelve. You can’t put that kind of responsibility on him. You can’t ask him to walk into such a dangerous situation, no matter how small the chances that he’ll be caught. He’s too young. And you swore to protect him!”

Holden was silent for a long time. Finally, he walked over and sat on the bed next to Elise. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and took in a deep breath, exhaling it slowly.

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have thought it through more clearly, and I should have asked you before bringing it up with him. I got so excited about the possibility of getting the upper hand on Saul that I wasn’t thinking straight.”

Elise mumbled out something that sounded like “It’s okay,” but she was finding it hard to speak. Holden’s arm around her was so warm and strong, and it made her feel so safe. She couldn’t stay angry at him when he held her like that. She wanted to pull away, to tell him that she couldn’t handle being this close to him, and that they couldn’t have a future together. After all, hadn’t he just proven to her that he didn’t take her son’s safety as seriously as she did? Why would she even consider a relationship with someone who might just leave, or might put her son in harm’s way?

A little voice in her head told her that no one would ever take her son’s safety as seriously as her, because she took it a little too seriously. And perhaps that was true. Perhaps she was overprotective. But Nicky was all she had, and just the thought of anything happening to him made it hard to breathe.

Elise stood up abruptly. This was all too much for her. Too many confusing, mixed emotions were swirling through her mind right now.

“I can’t be with you like that,” she said firmly, crossing her arms and giving Holden a defiant look. He wasn’t looking for an argument, though.

“I’m sorry,” he said in a weary tone. “I didn’t mean to imply anything by putting my arm around you. I just wanted to comfort you, as a friend. I’m not exactly looking for romance, either, but I do care about you as a person. And about Nick, too. He’s a shifter, and you’re his mom. That makes you both my family, in a sense. We stand by each other in the shifter world, and we take care of each other.”

Elise kept her arms crossed and frowned. Holden had spoken the perfect response. They were to remain friends, and that was it. He cared about her in a strictly platonic way, and wanted Nick to be taken care of. That’s exactly what Elise wanted, so why did she feel a rush of disappointment at his words?

“You okay?” he asked.

She forced the frown away. “Yeah. Just a long day. Long week, really.”

Holden nodded. “You’ve had a bit of an intense week, that’s for sure. Do you work tonight?”

“No. Thank god I’m actually not on the schedule tonight. I’m so on edge right now that I’d probably lose it on the first customer who complained about something stupid like having to wait more than two seconds to get a refill on their drink.”

Holden laughed. The sound filled Elise with warmth, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“Why don’t you go out to dinner with me?” Holden asked. “As friends of course. But I think you could benefit from a night where someone is refilling your drink rather than the other way around. You deserve a bit of a break.”

“With Nick, too?” Elise asked.

“He can come if you want him to,” Holden said. “But he could also go spend some time with Violet tonight, and you could have a real break for once. A real, adult dinner out. Violet’s been working today on researching the location of the dragon ruby, and I bet Nick could help. It might make him feel a little better if he had a way to help out with the war effort. He really just wants to do something that matters, you know?”

Elise bit her lip, stalling for time. The thought of going to dinner with Holden alone sent a thrill through her whole body, which was exactly why she thought it was a bad idea to go. She didn’t trust herself alone with him. How could she sit across from him for an entire dinner, looking into those soulful green eyes, and not feel any kind of desire? Her mind was screaming at her to say no, but her heart managed to get a hold of her mouth first, and she found herself saying, “That sounds great.”

Which was how, an hour later, Elise found herself sitting in a booth across from Holden at Blackstone’s only Italian restaurant. She peered at the sticky, laminated menu that had a bit of crusted pasta sauce on one corner, trying to figure out what she could order that wouldn’t be too difficult to eat in a ladylike manner.

It’s not a date, she told herself. But she still found herself opting for a chicken dish with bowtie pasta in a white lemon sauce. She wanted to steer clear of long spaghetti or red sauce, both of which would have made it difficult to eat without getting food all over her face or shirt. Holden seemed to have no such qualms, and ordered the spaghetti and meatballs. Elise felt another twinge of sadness as she reminded herself that they were only here as friends. What was wrong with her? She should be happy that they were both on the same page, and not interested in a romance.

Her phone buzzed on the table, mercifully distracting her with an incoming text from Nick.

“Sorry,” Elise said. “I’m not trying to be rude by using my phone at the table, but I want to make sure I’m available if Nick needs me.”

Holden waved his hand to tell her to go ahead, then reached for a slice of bread from the basket in the middle of the table. Elise was beginning to see that all dragon shifters had enormous appetites. She’d never met a man who could pack away food like Holden, and yet still maintain such a fit, muscular physique. Elise wanted to groan, thinking about how much Nick already ate—and he wasn’t even an official teenager yet. Keeping the refrigerator stocked was a constant problem.

Elise unlocked her phone and glanced over the text message, then smiled. She should have known that Nick would be asking about food.

“He wants to know if he can order pizza,” Elise said with a small laugh. “Apparently Violet said he has to get permission from me first before she’ll let him have junk food for dinner.”

Holden laughed. “That sounds like Violet. She’s a big proponent of healthy eating. Gets mad at me anytime I stock the freezer with ice-cream.”

Elise chuckled, but couldn’t stop herself from feeling a bit jealous at the reminder that Holden and Violet lived together. He’d assured her they were only work colleagues, and, besides, Elise had no claim to Holden. But she still hated the thought of him potentially looking at another woman with desire.

“What’s it like, living with a wizard?” Elise asked. She tried to keep her voice casual, and she tried to tell herself that she was genuinely curious about what life with a wizard was like. But if she was honest with herself, she knew she was just grasping for some sort of reassurance that Holden really did view Violet as just a friend.

Holden shrugged, oblivious to Elise’s underlying reason for the question. “It’s not that different from living with anyone else, I suppose. Occasionally she does stupid shit like use magic spells to make the coffee table levitate or stuff like that. And she’ll cast invisibility spells on herself to try to hide and spook me when I don’t know she’s there, but I don’t startle easily and now I half-expect her to jump out and yell ‘boo’ at any given time. She’s kind of lost the element of surprise there.”

Elise frowned. She wasn’t sure how to take Holden’s response. Did Violet joke around with Holden to flirt, or was it just friendly fun?

“You okay?” Holden asked, breaking into Elise’s thoughts. “You’re looking awfully serious over there.”

Elise forced a smile onto her face. What was wrong with her? She was sitting here overanalyzing a man she had no intention of dating, anyway.

“I’m great,” she said. “Still just winding down from the long week, I guess.”

Holden seemed to accept this explanation at face value. “You know what you need? A nice big glass of wine?”

“Holden, no. It’s fine, really.” Truthfully, Elise would have loved to drink a glass or two of wine right about then. Her nerves could use a little bit of calming down. But she wasn’t sure whether Holden was intending to pay for dinner or not, and she couldn’t afford to buy a bottle of wine right now, even if they were splitting the cost. Tips had been a bit low this week, and she’d missed an entire shift the night she discovered that Nick was a dragon shifter.

“I insist,” Holden said, raising his hand to flag down their server. And then, almost as though he knew the reason for Elise’s hesitation, he winked at her and said. “My treat.”

Elise’s cheeks burned and she looked down at the napkin in her lap. She hated always feeling so strapped for cash. She worked so hard, but finances were always so tight.

“I can pay you back next week,” she offered weakly, forcing herself to look up and meet Holden’s eyes. He looked back at her like she’d lost her mind.

“My treat,” he repeated. “That means I’m treating you to dinner as a gift. Don’t offer to pay people back for gifts. That’s rude. And silly. And besides after all the chaos I caused between you and Nick tonight, the least I could do is buy you some damn pasta and wine.”

Elise sighed. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “You really don’t have to do that.”

“And you don’t have to continue being nice to me after I so irresponsibly suggested that your son go spy on an army of evil villains, but here we are. We all do things we don’t have to do, Elise. It’s called friendship. We’re friends, right?”

“Right,” Elise said, smiling over at him. The server arrived, then, and Holden turned his attention to ordering their wine. While he discussed with the server which Pinot Noirs were available, Elise let the word “friendship” roll around in her mind. It was such a happy word, and yet, she couldn’t keep down the disappointment she felt at knowing that friendship was all she had with Holden.

She wanted more, but she couldn’t. Not when Nick needed her to be strong. Elise set her face in determined line and reached for a piece of bread. Nick mattered more than anything, and she would always put him first. But she couldn’t help it if her heart beat faster every time Holden looked up at her and smiled. All she could do was smile back at him and remind herself over and over that they were only here as friends.

When the bottle of wine arrived, Elise had never in her life been so glad to gulp down a glass of red.