Epilogue #2
I take three strides forward and hug Mum tightly.
Her arms come around my waist, squeezing like she never wants to let go.
The hug probably doesn’t last as long as she wants it to, but I’m still hurt.
Forgiveness is going to take time, and probably a further explanation of what exactly she’s gone through.
I narrow my eyes at my brother as he returns. ‘You couldn’t warn me beforehand?’
There’s a tightness to his expression. ‘Look, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t risk you trying to prevent me from bringing Mum here. She needed to get away from Dad, and you two need a chance to reconnect.’
I’m not sure what I’d have done if I’d known about this in advance. Suggested she stay somewhere other than the estate, maybe. Not been willing to see her, probably. Perhaps it’s for the best that he’s done it this way.
‘Fair enough,’ I sign, some of the tension easing from my shoulders.
‘We good?’ he asks, eyebrows raised.
‘Yeah. Always.’ Milo and I might not agree on everything, but he’s the best brother a dragon could ask for—annoying spreadsheets and all.
As he takes a box from the back seat of his car, his movements far more relaxed now, I return to Raj’s side. I figure if Mum is going to be around for a while I should introduce them properly. ‘Raj, meet Oshun Ruwa. Mum, this is my bonded mate, Rajesh Puli.’
‘Bonded?’ Her eyes widen, then she smiles. ‘I’m delighted to meet you.’
He gives her a polite smile before focusing on me. ‘How do we feel about this? Because the bond is throwing all sorts at me.’
She looks at me with a combination of remorse and tentative hope in her eyes. I’ve always been able to read her emotions on her face, and there’s comfort in knowing that despite everything, that hasn’t changed.
‘I’m not sure yet,’ I sign, looking at Mum, ‘but we’re going to have plenty of time to reconnect.’
‘In that case…’ Raj turns his attention back to Mum and holds out his hand. Their handshake is polite on his side, warmer on hers.
It’ll take time and effort for Mum and me to rebuild our relationship, but I’m glad we’ll have this chance.
I pluck the strings of my Squier, the vibrations of the song forming a familiar rhythm.
It’s the last of my basses that I’m testing to ensure it’s perfectly tuned before I mount it on the wall with the others.
I’ve spent every spare moment since the warehouse fire cleaning them all up, restringing them, tuning them, polishing them…
basically making them fit for a dragon’s hoard again and removing any trace of Lance’s touch.
My dragon is thrilled with our new living arrangements because we now have a much bigger hoard room—what would have originally been a small dressing room when the house was built.
Ayo warded it to hell for me a few days ago, so it’s now my happy place where my beauties are secure and displayed to perfection for me to enjoy with my mate.
Admittedly the earplugs Raj put in an hour ago suggest I’ll be enjoying them alone more often than not, but he’s been sitting with me doing something on his laptop since he abandoned the rest of the unpacking.
It’ll probably take us a few days to figure out where to put everything, especially with it being our first time living together, but between me not having much stuff and Raj only seeming particular about his clothes and haircare products, I’m sure we’ll be fine.
By some miracle, we managed to rescue the sketch of the manor I did when I was a teenager.
It needed a new frame, and it’s still sooty and singed at the edges, but it’s now hanging in pride of place above the fireplace in the room we’ve designated our private living room for the moment.
Once we’re all settled in, I’m planning to ask Ayo if he can clean it up with magic without losing any of the original drawing.
Satisfied that the Squier is performing as it should, I lift the strap over my head and unplug the cable before mounting the bass in the final position on the wall. I tidy away my other equipment then sit next to Raj on the floor.
He removes the earplugs, a smile playing on his lips. ‘I like you this happy.’
I grin. ‘I’ve got a lot to be happy about.’
He sets his laptop aside and pulls me in for a kiss; something I’m more than willing to indulge him in.
There’s half an hour to go before I can take him downstairs for his surprise, but unfortunately the kiss doesn’t turn into sexy time on my hoard room floor.
We really have to make that a priority as soon as possible.
He pulls away and lifts his laptop back onto his lap, then clicks into an email that Ayo forwarded him—a very familiar one. ‘Anything you want to tell me?’
There’s no judgement in his hand movements, no strong emotion through the bond, but as I look at the speculative proposal I sent Ayo anonymously from my new company, I’m hit with guilt.
‘How did you know?’ I ask.
‘Ayo loved your ideas—’
I brighten. ‘He did?’
‘—but I wanted to check out the person behind them. I was concerned by the fact it was a newly registered firm and wanted to make sure it wasn’t someone trying to scam Ayo. It didn’t take long to find out it was you.’
‘Ah.’
He nudges my shoulder with his. ‘Why didn’t you tell me? Or approach Ayo directly, for that matter?’
Yep, this is where that guilty feeling is coming from. I really don’t like feeling this way, but Raj isn’t being unreasonable.
‘I wanted Ayo to make an unbiased decision based on my proposals, not the fact that he knows me. Yes, I’m qualified, and yes, my specialism has always been period property renovations and extensions, but I’m still young and relatively inexperienced, and this is a big project.
I know him well enough to guess that if he knew I wanted this, he’d make it happen regardless of whether it’s the right decision for him and the building. ’
Raj smiles. ‘You’re right that he’d rather hire someone he knows personally, but don’t underestimate his commitment to doing the right thing for his family’s ancestral home.
He not only has a lot of happy childhood memories here from when his parents were alive, he also wants the best for our pack—and that will only happen with the right renovation design. ’
I sigh. ‘I know how much this matters to him. Whenever we discussed magic, he often got distracted and went off on tangents about exactly how he envisions everyone living here. I wanted to help him make that happen in a way that’s sympathetic to the original features and character of the place.’
Raj clicks on the attachment to the email, which shows a 3D model of a section of the ground floor and how it could look, as well as a sample apartment design for the first floor.
‘I know these few rooms only represent a relatively small area, but it’s honestly the best design so far.
Ayo loves the way you’ve combined the Garden Room and the Smoking Room into a huge kitchen diner.
As soon as I saw that working fireplace next to the table, I mentally claimed the closest chair.
And using the other fireplace for the range is such a nice touch. ’
‘I’ll be honest; an interior designer will come up with a lot of the same ideas.’
It’s not my job to do those finishing touches, but I felt it was important to show an example of what a finished room could look like. It’s difficult for a lot of people to visualise how knocking two rooms into one will work for day-to-day living if the plan just shows empty spaces.
His hand movements are enthusiastic. ‘Maybe, but don’t underestimate the impact of this.
Ayo hadn’t even considered moving the kitchen to this part of the house, and he was beginning to wonder whether it was even possible to knock walls down and still retain the character.
I could see this becoming the hub of the house for our pack, and we’d definitely ditch that stuffy conference room for an unofficial meeting space with easy access to snacks. ’
Realistically, that might not be possible given the confidentiality some of their work requires, which is probably why the formal dining room was converted into a conference room by the previous task force.
Still, now doesn’t seem the time to spoil that particular fantasy.
I can easily incorporate a secure meeting space close to the kitchen into the final plans, or suggest they install a snack cupboard and coffee station instead.
‘The apartment is stunning too,’ he signs. ‘Ayo adores how you’ve worked with the positions of the existing walls and fireplaces but still been able to add in a bathroom and kitchenette.’
It means a lot that Ayo likes my designs that much. Even if these sample rooms and apartment don’t end up the way I’ve suggested, it’s a good representation of my design style.
‘Each apartment will likely be different in layout because of the current floor plan, and there will be hidden changes that require a lot of work, like pipe routes, but those are details I could work out with Ayo and Dante. And I know it would be a lot of work if Ayo does decide to hire me, but my current job doesn’t have long hours.
I can work around it until I finish in June. ’
A colourful fae named Trent reassigned me to Forest Flight Furniture for the remainder of my time on the work programme, and assured me that no one there would hold Lance’s downfall against me.
So far he’s been right. I sand and varnish tables all day, and although it’s only marginally better than lugging boxes around, it’ll leave me with plenty of spare brain capacity to work on Ayo’s project in my free time.
Raj leans over and kisses me. ‘You’ve obviously worked hard on this already. I’m impressed.’
My dragon preens at our mate’s praise, even though that side of me had absolutely nothing to do with it.