18. ~Celine~
Chapter 18
~Celine~
I sipped my coffee in the booth while Samara stared at me with sympathy.
“So how long did it take before he shifted back?” asked Samara.
“Oh, Mom was furious, so he shifted back pretty fast.”
“And what did he say to you?”
“Mom didn’t give him a chance to talk. She practically shoved him out of my bedroom and told me to get some sleep.”
“Then you woke up and tore out of there first thing?”
“Yep.” I sipped the coffee. “I texted Mom, though, and I could use some breakfast.”
“What’ll you have?”
I didn’t need to look at the menu. I’d tried everything on it, and it all was good. But I wanted a little comfort food after last night’s debacle.
“Give me the Cajun Eggs Benedict and don’t tell Joaquin I’m here, please. ”
She snickered. “Coming right up.”
Thankfully, the cafe was kicking, even at seven a.m. on a Saturday. My brother had made quite a reputation with the locals for having some of the best breakfast food and sandwiches in town.
I was enjoying my coffee when Diego entered the cafe, looked around, spotted me, grinned, and marched straight over.
“You’re in trouuuuuble,” he sang annoyingly as he slid into the booth across from me.
“What are you talking about?” I asked while my heart beat faster.
He snorted. “I could hear Mom and Dad arguing in the kitchen a little while ago.”
“What were they saying?”
Yes, I was a grown-ass adult, but even adults were usually terrified of their parents when they upset them. It wasn’t something you grew out of.
“Dad was pissed that you’d allowed some wolf in your bedroom, someone he didn’t know. And Mom told him it wasn’t his business. Then Dad said, ‘It sure as hell is my business.’” Diego was pretty good at doing our dad’s voice. “You were his daughter and that was his house, and you should know better to invite a stranger inside. Then Mom said you wouldn’t invite a stranger. And Dad said, ‘ Then why the hell haven’t I met him ?’”
“Hey, Diego,” said Samara with an empty tray in hand, having dropped another table’s plates at a booth. “You want breakfast?”
“Always. Give me two of the special on the board.”
Diego had always eaten a mountain of food at every meal. Fortunately for him, he had an insane metabolism because he was lean and fit as always .
“A coffee and large milk like usual?” she asked, completely unshocked by the pile of food he’d ordered. She knew him too well. “You got it.”
Then his gaze flitted across the room. “Samara, your professor is here.”
She instantly turned her head to the door where that same hot warlock strode toward the booth he’d sat in last time, his austere gaze meeting hers for a brief second.
“He’s not my professor,” she said in a low voice.
“Sure.” Diego chuckled. “Whatever you say.”
She huffed and left, aiming straight for the professor, who was pulling his laptop from his leather bag.
“So when had you actually planned to tell Dad about Ronan?”
Of course, Diego knew the only person I was hiding him from was Dad, not Mom.
“Soon. I just hadn’t planned on him finding out that way.”
“Yep. You totally bungled that shit, sis.”
“I know. You don’t have to rub it in.”
“Oh yes. I definitely do. This is classic. Little princess is in the hot seat for once and not me.”
“Don’t you have a guitar to strum or a girl to chase or something?”
Diego chuckled, not letting up. “Sneaking in bedrooms at night like teenagers.”
“I never allowed someone to sneak into my bedroom as a teenager, Diego. That was all you.”
“Oh yeah. I let lots of girls sneak in.”
“Shut up. Gross.”
He laughed as Samara delivered his coffee and a gallon-size glass of milk as well as my Cajun Eggs Benedict—a warm, crispy cheddar biscuit layered with andouille sausage cut lengthwise and topped with a perfectly poached egg and creamy, spicy hollandaise sauce.
“Yum. Let me have a bite.” He reached for my plate.
I smacked his hand with the back of my fork. “You have, like, a whole pig about to be served up to you.”
The special included a giant pork steak and sausage with two fried eggs, cheese grits, multigrain toast, and sliced avocado. I’d seen him eat the double-portion mound of food before.
“No worries.” He glanced sideways, then picked up his coffee and milk. “Think I’ll go hang at the coffee bar with Samara for a while.”
“Why? What did—?” I stopped short when I saw my parents walking across the café to my booth. “Shit.”
Diego laughed as he slid out of the booth, then pecked a kiss on Mom’s cheek as he passed them. He was obviously irritatingly gleeful I was on the chopping block for once instead of him.
I clasped my hands in my lap and exhaled a deep breath as Mom and Dad sat in the booth where Diego had just vacated.
I expected Mom to start. She was always the mediator when Dad’s wolf got out of hand. The interesting thing about this was that it usually involved Diego. Like the time he wrecked his brand-new Jeep they’d bought him or that time he and his wolf buddies decided to do some daredevil climbing on the Mississippi Bridge for fun and almost killed themselves.
My dad was typically calm and levelheaded, but when Alpha took the reins, he could be extremely intimidating.
Like last night. That was downright scary. By the time he busted through my door—literally—he was all twelve feet of snarling, angry wolf. I knew he’d never hurt me, but I was terrified he’d chase after Ronan and slice him to pieces.
Fortunately, he was happy enough that he was gone, and my mom practically ripped him a new asshole for going full wolf and breaking down my door like a maniac.
Right now, I was sitting across from my poised yet dour father. He laced his fingers on the table and spoke first.
“I’m sorry about last night.” He cleared his throat while my mother watched him expectantly. “I shouldn’t have burst into your room like that, and I apologize for my . . . beastly behavior.”
Mom nodded and then turned to me, all sympathy and concern. “Your father and I both want to respect your privacy. We know you’re an adult now. The other night shouldn’t have been handled the way it was, but neither of us knew you were seeing someone you might have over at the house.”
I was grateful Mom didn’t emphasize my bedroom in the house, but I could slowly feel a certain edge to this conversation that I didn’t like.
“Because you hadn’t introduced him,” Dad began, “I did feel the need to ask around.”
I crossed my arms. “And what did you find out?”
“Well, we know this guy Ronan is new in town. He’s running from a checkered past with multiple arrests for assault and at least one drunk and disorderly back in Texas. I also know that he’s a bit of a wanderer. Hasn’t held down the same job for long. Was caught up in the illegal wolf cage fighting ring in Austin.” He shook his head. “He doesn’t have a great reputation.”
“You don’t know him,” I snapped defensively .
“We don’t,” Mom agreed before adding, “but you’ve never been interested in a guy like him before, Celine.”
“No,” I scoffed. “I haven’t. I’ve only dated very safe, extremely nice guys who I wasn’t really attracted to.”
They both frowned, then Mom asked, “So you’re trying the exact opposite now? Are you testing yourself after what happened in high school? To see if maybe this is your type or something?”
“No.” I forced my voice to remain even and calm while a hornet’s nest of emotions swarmed in my belly. “I’m not testing myself. This isn’t an act of rebellion. And I’m not trying a different kind of guy, the bad boy, on for size. It’s none of those things. Ronan is a good man. He’s a good wolf. And yes, he had a shitty upbringing. He had no father, and his mother was killed in a car accident when he was twelve. So he’s probably not made a lot of good choices. But I care about him a lot. He’s my . . .” I paused to lick my lips. “He’s my boyfriend.”
I didn’t tell them he was my mate, the one marked by the Goddess as mine. Best not to overwhelm them too quickly. They both stared at me with mirroring concerned expressions.
Dad chimed in then. “We just want to be sure that you’re making the right decisions, sweetheart. You say he’s good, but we want to be sure he’s good enough for you.”
“I know what you’re both thinking,” I said softly. “I’m making some sort of self-destructive decision.”
“We don’t think you’d do this on purpose,” my mom assured me, which wasn’t reassuring at all. “We just want you to be safe.”
Swallowing hard, I sat straighter, steeling my spine. “I understand what this might look like. I understand you don’t quite trust me to make my own decisions when it comes to dating. ”
“It’s not that—” Mom started.
“It is,” I interjected. “And I understand. But my mistakes happened when I was sixteen. I’m twenty-four now. I’ve grown in my magic, and I can make the right decisions on my own. You need to trust that I know what’s best for me. I’m not going to stop dating him even if you disapprove of him.”
That had my dad scowling and clamping his jaw, his eyes rolling with gold. Alpha was definitely saying quite a few words in his head. Thankfully, he didn’t let Alpha speak. My mom reached over and placed a calming hand on his forearm.
“If you’re sure, then there’s nothing we can do to stop you.”
“That depends on—” Dad started, but Mom squeezed his forearm tight, and he clamped his jaw shut again. “We’d like to meet him,” she added gently.
“Of course,” I agreed. “I’d like that too.” Because he was going to be a part of this family one day. “When would you like to do that?”
Dad cleared his throat again and said, “Next Sunday at family dinner.”
“At the Cauldron?”
“Where else do we have family dinner?” he shot back.
My tummy flipped. “Well, that’s, um, that’s kind of a lot.”
“You just said he’s your boyfriend,” Dad continued, “which hurts since we didn’t even know he existed until last night.”
“Mateo,” Mom warned.
“I’m just saying she’s just told us he’s obviously important in her life. If that’s true, then he should meet the whole family.”
Dad was smiling now. It was that devious one I knew he wore when he and his wolf were in full agreement on something .
Taking Ronan to family dinner would be a test of his character. Dad was probably hoping it would scare him away. But they didn’t know my Ronan.
“Fine,” I agreed with a smile. “I’ll bring Ronan to family dinner next Sunday.”
“Okay then.” Mom clapped her hands and smiled. “That’s all settled.” She raised her hand to Samara. “We might as well order something and get some breakfast.”
“You haven’t even started yours,” Dad said, gesturing to my untouched plate with that glint of challenge in his eyes.
I wasn’t about to admit that I’d entirely lost my appetite, so I dug in, forcing myself to eat. I refused to show any signs of nervousness or concern that Ronan’s first meeting with my family would be my entire family. I hoped he was as brave as I believed him to be because he sure as hell would need some courage to handle the challenge of our crazy family dinner.