Chapter 17
The next morning bright and early, Cristie walked into the restaurant. She greeted everyone she passed, and went right into the kitchen.
“Morning, Richie! Morning Remi!”
“Morning,” they both replied.
“Richie, did Remi tell you about all the beautiful things we bought for his house?”
“No. No, he did not. You bought some beautiful things?” Richie asked, focusing on Remi.
“All I did was pay for it. Cristie picked them out,” Remi said, flipping several different items he had sizzling on the grill top.
“What’d you get, Cristie?” Richie asked.
“A new sectional sofa with recliners on each end. And another separate recliner, too. And some new wooden blinds, in a dark oak color to offset the light camel color of the new furniture. And we got some new curtains, white, so they’ll offset the dark oak blinds.
And some new bath sheets for the bathrooms, and new shower curtains to match.
And we got new bedding for the bedrooms, and place mats for the kitchen table, and new dishes and baking sheets and cookie sheets and a couple of pie plates and even new stemless wine glasses.
I don’t think you saw those, Remi, I added them at the last minute.
And I’m really excited about the new coffee mugs that come with the new dishes. ”
“Sounds like y’all were busy,” Richie said, looking at Remi with his brows raised in question.
“We were, and then brought home takeout because it was late and we were tired,” Cristie said. ‘Oh, my gosh, it was so good.”
“It was good,” Remi agreed.
“Hmpf. Okay. Sounds like you’ll be all set up, now.”
“Seems like,” Remi said. He walked over to the coffee maker where a decanter he usually filled with coffee sat beneath the spout, steaming with the hot water and tea that had dripped into it.
He took the coffee filter he’d used to hold the tea leaves when he’d run the hot water over them out of the top of the decanter and threw it and the tea leaves away.
Then he reached for a pitcher he’d made a simple syrup in and filled a plastic quart bottle filled with ice one third of the way with the syrup, then added the hot mint tea.
He put the top on the bottle, then walked over to Cristie, pausing along the way to pick up a paper bag that had been warming under the lights.
“Here you go. Breakfast and your coffee.”
“Thanks,” Cristie said, holding up the plastic container and eyeing the drink inside it.
“Oh, I made you a different one to try. Here’s your original,” he said, going back and grabbing a second quart bottle and handing her that one, too.
“Thank you. That’s very thoughtful.”
“You’re welcome. I hope you like it.”
She smiled at them as she backed toward the door.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you I got a text from the furniture store this morning. They’re going to deliver your furniture and your blinds and all tomorrow right before lunch.
Your window sizes are some of the standard that they keep in stock, so the blinds are coming from the manufacturer today. ”
“Awesome,” Remi said. The inflection in his voice was not exactly what one would think of to match the word awesome. It wasn’t negative, it was just kind of flat — just a word, not really an emotion.
“Oh, I didn’t think about it, but you’ll be here until later in the afternoon.”
“It’s okay, we’ll work it out,” Remi said.
“No, you know what? I’ll let Alex know I need tomorrow off. I’ll go over to your place and wait for the delivery and make sure they get it set up right and all.”
“You don’t have to do that, Cristie.”
“Yes, I do. Besides, how much would I win if I bet that you still have the bags we brought home last night, right exactly in the same place you dropped them.”
He grinned sheepishly. “Probably a lot.”
“I’ll get it all put away and all the old stuff out and moved to some of the guest homes.”
“Not all of it. I might need some of it, cooking stuff and glasses or something.”
“I’ll look through it and see.”
“You really don’t have to.”
“I want to. It’s all settled. I’ll see to it. When you get home tomorrow, it’ll be like a new place. Exactly like you’re picturing in your mind. It’ll be just the place you can get away from everything and just be you.”
“Okay. If you really want to, far be it from me to stop you.”
“I’m excited. I can’t wait to get everything in its place!”
Remi laughed. “Glad you’re having fun.”
“I’ll see you later,” she said.
“Have a good day,” Remi said. “Enjoy your breakfast. I added a little extra for lunch, too.”
“You did? Thank you, Remi. I’ll see you later.”
He smiled as he watched her leave the restaurant.
“Am I correct in thinking she just decorated your house exactly like she wants it decorated?”
Remi glanced sideways at Richie. “Yep.”
“You two haven’t even settled everything between you, and she’s making your place hers.”
“Mmhmm.”
“Is she even aware she’s doing that?”
“I don’t know. But she is, and I’m just sitting back and letting her do it.”
“What if you two don’t work things out? Everything in your house will remind you of her.”
Remi shrugged. “I’ll worry about that later. Right now I’m just enjoying watching her build her nest at my house.”
Richie laughed. “It won’t be long, my friend. Won’t be long at all and she’ll be there with you in every sense of the word.”
“Lord, I hope so. It’s killing me,” Remi said. “I keep acting aloof, but it’s eating me alive.”
Richie patted him on the back. “The aloof is working. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. It’s got her jumping.”
“It’s not really an act, though. It’s me holding my Dragon back, trying to maintain control and give her space until she’s ready.”
“I get it. Good on you for being able to control him. I’m not sure I could if it was me.”
~~~
Cristie got to her office at the animal hospital and sat down at her desk to eat her breakfast and go through her emails and upcoming cases for the day.
She reached for one of the bottles of coffee that Remi had prepared for her, but didn’t really look to see which she picked up.
She flipped the spout with her thumb and brought the bottle to her lips, sipping what she expected to be iced coffee.
But it wasn’t. She pulled her attention away from the email she’d been reading to look at the quart bottle she was now holding up and looking at.
She turned the bottle up and took another drink, her eyes closing as she recognized the flavor.
The mint tea she so loved. He’d made her mint tea and even poured the hot tea over ice cubes to create the temperature variation she’d talked about last night.
She sat there blinking away tears that he’d done something so special for her.
Then her attention settled on the bag containing her breakfast. She reached for it quickly, opening it and taking out all of the food inside it.
When she finished unpacking the bag, she had her typical breakfast croissant, a container of moussaka, a container of kibbeh, and a container of kunafa.
She opened them all and sat at her desk sniffling while she cried a little.
“Morning, Cristie!” Alex called out as she went by.
Cristie didn’t answer, she just kept sitting there sniffling as she sipped her tea again, blinking away the slight dampness of tears.
Alex backed up and looked more closely at Cristie. “You alright?”
“Mmhmm.”
“You’re crying,” Alex pointed out.
“No, I’m sniffling.”
“Ahhh, okay. I see the difference,” Alex said.
Cristie nodded and sipped her tea again.
“What’s the difference?” Alex asked.
“You cry when somebody hurts you. You sniffle when you’ve been mean to somebody that you really, really love and they keep doing nice things for you anyway.”
Alex smiled to herself. “So, you’re feeling bad because you hurt someone who loves you.”
“I’m a bitch.”
“Yep. Most alphas are either an asshole or a bitch — regardless of species.”
“I shouldn’t have been so hateful to Remi. He’s really such a sweet, thoughtful male.”
“I think so.”
“He’s not a pushover, either. His Dragon is fierce and frightening, and he just keeps taking whatever I throw his way. I shouldn’t have treated him like I did.”
“He’s your mate, Cristie. He loves you. He’s trying to give you all the space you need to find your way back to him.”
“I know. And I want that, too. But I’m still scared to move forward with it.”
“Why?”
“Because he hurt me. He didn’t choose me.”
“He couldn’t. He already had somebody. He had to take care of that first.”
“But she left him. He could have come for me then.”
“Maybe she was hurting, even though it was her choice to leave. He felt that. It hurt him to hurt any female, much less two that he cared about, so he just froze where he was.”
Cristie finally looked up from the food she’d been fixated on. Her gaze narrowed as she focused on Alex. “You’ve been talking to somebody.”
“I have.”
She sighed. “I guess everybody is aware of the obvious connotations except me.”
“It’s hard to see through your emotions when you’re drowning in them.”
“Definitely.”
“Seems to me that your Panther stood up and together you did the right thing by going to pull him back to the safe side of sanity. So don’t be too hard on yourself. You didn’t completely forsake him.”
“I feel like we forsook each other.”
“Then why are you holding it against him if you both did, to some degree?”
Cristie shrugged. “Because I’m mean.”
“You’re not mean. You’re just a little hard-headed, a little bit demanding and hold people to certain standards. You know, like an alpha does.”
“I think I dropped the ball on this one. He’s not rude, but he’s still a little distant. He’s playing it safe, too. I may have pushed him too far.”
“He’s here, Cristie. If he’d given up, he’d have already left. There’s no reason to be here if you’re no longer his objective.”
Cristie sat in her chair, her gaze having shifted back to the food Remi had taken the time to pack for her. A few new tears spilled over her lashes and she sniffled again.