Nine
Luke
“What is it this time?” Zion asked the second he answered the phone. That’s how me and my brothers have always been. Cut the pleasantries, just get straight to the point. No hi, how are you, how’s work, or any of that bullshit. The fact that I was calling him for the second week in a row told him all he needed to know: something was up.
“Uh… I kind of need a favor,” I said, sitting in my truck outside the clinic. I felt like an idiot for inviting Claire to the barbeque on the spot like that, but she was getting ready to say no and I couldn’t let her. I needed to spend time with her. I needed to get to know her better. So if that meant I’d have to drag her to my family’s backyard barbeque and make it a full-blown party just for her sake, so be it.
“Uh oh… What did you do?”
“I saw Claire again,” I said, knowing it was a one-way ticket to being teased again, but I didn’t even care. I needed to have something in place, I needed to have my story straight, and pains in the ass they may be, my brothers always had my back.
Zion whistled lowly, then sighed. “Okay, how bad is it?”
“Not bad,” I said defensively. “I just… sort of invited her to the thing this weekend?”
“Oh, that’s not that bad,” he said.
“And her four year-old.”
He chuckled. “I don’t think I’m the one you should be talking to. You know Molly is organizing this whole thing. If there’s a change to the guest list, she should know about it.”
I groaned. “Don’t make me do that. I’ll never hear the end of it. Can you just relay the message for me? I know it was just going to be us, but if there could be some more guests… You know, so it doesn’t seem like I panicked and invited her to a family get together.”
“Even though you totally did,” he snickered.
“Shut up. Are you going to help me out, or not?”
“Are you going to admit she’s your mate yet?”
“Zion, don’t make me kick your ass.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
I growled in response, but he was just laughing.
“All right, all right. I’ll tell Molly and Aiden. She’s been trying her damnedest to find out more about this girl to set you two up anyway, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.”
I groaned, dropping my head to the steering wheel. “Don’t say that. Now I’m terrified of bringing her around. Molly’s a menace when she’s got good intentions.”
Zion laughed, his deep rumbling chuckle tumbling through the phone. “I’ll be sure I tell her what you think of her helpfulness.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Of course I wouldn’t,” he said incredulously. “Do you think I want to be the one bearing that message? There’s a reason ‘don’t shoot the messenger’ is a phrase. Because people always shoot the messenger.”
“Only if the messenger deserves it,” I said with a grumble.
Zion just laughed at me again and clucked his tongue. “Don’t worry, bro. We’ll get everything sorted. It’ll be a full-blown summer shindig by the time this weekend rolls around. You just bring your lady friend and her little girl and let us worry about all the rest.”
I sighed, relief loosening the knot in my chest. It was going to be okay. I expected them to give me a hard time, but as usual, my family came through. With any luck, Claire wouldn’t have any clue that the whole thing was thrown together just to cover my slip-up.
And if I was really lucky, maybe Molly wouldn’t be all over her the moment she arrived talking me up and dropping far-too-obvious ‘hints’ about us ending up together. The woman was about as subtle as a bowling ball.
But I was grateful to have her in my corner. It was better than her being my opposition, that was for sure.
“Thanks, Zi,” I finally said after a few more slow breaths to completely clear away the nerves and tension. Now that that was out of the way, I could enjoy being excited about spending time with her again. I could relax and enjoy the anticipation of not knowing what was coming next.
I looked over at the pink bear coloring in my passenger seat and smiled. Whatever hoops I had to jump through, whatever ribbing I had to endure, whatever anxiety plagued me and nervousness taunted me, it was all going to be worth it to see those two girls again. Already in my mind I started thinking of them as my girls. Claire and Ella. Even their names filled me with this swell of happiness and hope. Thinking of that little girl watching me stitch up her bear made me ache with a longing I never knew I had. A longing to be a father, a provider, someone that was there to mend scraped knees and soothe tears. Someone that could make her giggle and feel safe.
She deserved it. She definitely deserved better than whatever piece of shit father she had now. And Claire deserved better too. She deserved the very best. I didn’t know if I was really it. I didn’t know if I could live up to what I thought she deserved, but I was damn well going to try.
“No worries,” Zion said, his tone a little more serious now. “Try not to worry too much. If she really is your mate, it’ll go best if you’re just yourself. Trust me.”
“Right,” I said. Easier said than done with your whole family surrounding you and watching your first date. But that was my own fault and it was something I’d have to deal with come Saturday.
Right now, I refused to worry. I felt a bubble of giddiness rising up inside of me and I wasn’t going to shove it down anymore. I was going to see Claire again on Saturday and nothing and no one was going to wipe this grin off my face until then.