Chapter Eighteen
Winston sighed as he found Tara hovering around the board game section. He didn’t carry many – they were an acquired taste, but sometimes people came in and liked to buy them as gifts. He just usually liked to keep them in alphabetical order, not the ‘Seymour standard.’
“Look, Tara,” he began in a gentle voice.
She looked up like a… well, a bunny in headlights and her nose twitched in agitation. He had to tread carefully lest she run off and start booking wedding singers.
“You seem like a perfectly… um,” he struggled for a word before setting on, “nice woman, but we are not getting married.”
Tara let out a short tinkle of laughter and Winston started to think that the whole mess was finally going to be resolved. Right up until she said, “I’m afraid you’re wrong, we are getting married.”
Winston looked to his wolf and even he was flummoxed about how to deal with her. A small, dark part of him wanted to shift to his beast and shake some sense into the damn bunny, but that was not the Wolfman way.
“We aren’t, Tara,” he tried again in the same gently, lulling voice.
Her nose scrunched in what could only be described as a stubborn way. “Yes, we are.”
“No, we’re not,” he said extremely slowly, enunciating every word.
“Yes, we are,” she replied in the same slow tone, which was actually quite maddening to listen to.
“No, we’re not,” he hissed through gritted teeth.
Yeah, he was about ready to throw patience and kindness out the window. His beast was getting restless and Winston just wanted Tara out of his store before she gave Avery the wrong idea again. While he was convinced that Avery was far too good for him, he at least wanted her to know he was available.
Tara sighed and gave him the same look he had seen on his mother’s face far too many times. It was a smile, but it was a stubborn, unreasonable smile that said ‘it’s my way or the highway.’
“No offense, but I’m more afraid of your mother than you.”
Winston struggled to control his temper and his animal. “We are not getting married because my mother’s scary!” he cried.
Tara face took on an almost pitying look. “Maybe it’s just for the best – for both of us.”
“No! It’s not for the best – we are not a couple!”
Was he speaking another fricking language?!
Tara gave him a shrewd look. “Because you want to be with that tall, blonde woman?”
“Ah, well…” He stammered in shock as she hit the nail on the damn head.
Yep, clearly he was a lot more obvious than he thought. To think, he had thought he had played it cool when Avery visited the store earlier. He should have known people would see through him – he’d never been cool in his life.
“She’s very beautiful,” murmured Tara, pouting slightly. “I imagine she can have anyone she wants.”
“Yeah,” he agreed slightly grumpily.
He didn’t imagine she said that to hurt him, more out of moroseness because she couldn’t have anybody she wanted. But whether or not Avery wanted to be with him was beside the point on this matter.
“We aren’t getting married,” he repeated firmly.
“Did you know your mom’s booked a wedding chapel?”
“What?!”
Jeez, Louise! It was like being stuck in an episode of The Twilight Zone.
*
“Hey, did you fall over or are you waiting for me?”
Aimee gave her a glum smile. Avery took in the piles of bags and suitcases, all of which had clothes sticking out of them. Her little sister was sitting on the floor in front of her door, looking more forlorn than The Little Match Girl.
“I’ve left home,” said Aimee.
“Jeez.”
“Can I stay here?”
“Ah… yeah, I guess.” Her lioness shrugged. Growing up with her sisters had been a nightmare – until she started booby-trapping her bedroom, but Aimee on her own would probably be acceptable. “You don’t mind the couch?”
She shook her head. “Will Wayne mind?” she asked shyly.
Avery slanted her a look. “As long as you don’t interfere with his love life, I doubt it.”
Aimee colored and Avery and her beast inwardly growled. She wasn’t sure how she felt about her twenty-year-old innocent sister crushing on the abrasive gator shifter.
“What did mom do when you told her?” asked Avery, thinking it better to change the subject.
Aimee cast her a furtive look. “Well… I’m sure she’ll be annoyed when she reads the note.”
Avery’s jaw all but hit the floor. “You left her a note?”
“Yep and hopefully she won’t get it until tomorrow.”
“Why tomorrow?”
“She has some big event on tonight, she won’t be home until late and hopefully she’ll be too hungover to do anything about me leaving until at least tomorrow evening.”
Aimee smiled nervously and Avery tried not to look too pitying.
“I look forward to finding out if that is true.”
Her sister huffed as she collapsed onto her new bed. “I don’t know why she’d be upset – she keeps telling me I’m a constant disappointment. You’d think she’d be glad I left.”
“Yeah, but leaving the pride to join the SEA is more of a disappointment to her.”
“Hard to believe I could disappoint her more,” muttered Aimee sullenly.
In the absence of any other idea what to do – they were not huggers, Avery tweaked her sister’s nose – just as she used to when Aimee was a kid. At least it roused a smile out of her.
Yep, little sis wanted to follow in her footsteps. Avery felt kind of proud about that. She just hoped Aimee was strong enough to stand up to their mother.
*
Alfie grunted as he surveyed their newest fighter.
“New guy looks good.”
“Yes,” murmured Kay.
He chuckled as the male threw himself against the bars. “He’ll make a good fighter.”
“Aha.”
Alfie motioned for the guards to take him away.
“Good luck,” whispered Kay.
He was going to need it.