Chapter 12
Thankfully, we don’t run into anyone we know on our way to the restaurant.
I know most of the guests have cleared out since the wedding is over, but my parents are still here, and so are some of our pack members, including Doc, Alpha Declan, and their mates.
They stayed because Drexel was still recovering, but after last night, I’m sure they’ll be leaving soon too.
I’m not ready for our little bubble to be intruded on, but I know my parents won’t stay away for much longer.
I’m lucky they haven’t been blowing up my phone since Ashley and Maxwell tied the knot.
If I hadn’t been her man of honor, blessing their union, I’m sure everyone would’ve seen me as the jilted fiancé. Gag.
It seems both of us were idiots. The things we feared would happen didn’t.
Ashley’s father didn’t disown her or Maxwell.
Though he didn’t fully celebrate the match, he seemed to accept it and even gave her away at the wedding.
When I asked her why they were jumping into it so fast, she said, “It’s spur of the moment, I know, but he’s not getting any younger and life’s too short not to take risks.
Besides, why let all our efforts go to waste? ” I couldn’t help but agree with her.
I know I won’t have any problems with my parents once they find out about me and Rex.
They’ve always loved Rex like another son, and with them being mates they’ll understand our haste.
Especially since Rex has kept it to himself for so long and denied his instincts.
I’m just a teensy bit selfish, wanting to keep him all to myself for a bit before sharing that we’ve bonded.
We’re seated at the same table we were at on our first day here, and I can’t help but feel like we’ve come full circle.
Though it’s a different outcome than either of us thought it’d be.
I’m his and he’s mine. After we order, I take his hand in mine, holding it on top the table.
I’ve become obsessed with holding his hand since I’m allowed to do it now.
I don’t care who sees or if they judge me for being with someone else when I was supposed to marry Ashley.
I’m proud to call Rex mine, and I’ll spend the rest of our lives showing him off.
When our food arrives and I see the giant T-bone steak they place in front of Rex, I can’t help but grin. “There’s the carnivore I know and love.”
Instead of telling me to fuck off like he normally would, he says, “Love you too.”
Picking up my fork, I stab it into the linguine alle vongole and take a bite, moaning at the flavor. “Fuck, that’s decadent.”
Rex licks his lips as his eyes heat. “I’d love to be that noodle you just sucked into your mouth.”
Choking on the bite I just took, I immediately start coughing, smacking a hand on the table. When I finally manage to swallow, my eyes are watering. Glaring at him, I ask, “Why do you do this to me?”
He has the nerve to laugh. Fucker. “Sorry, baby. Maybe I should’ve waited until you swallowed.” Jesus Christ, why does everything he says sound like an innuendo now?
Probably because sex is all we can think about now that we’re allowed to be open about our feelings for each other.
His voice in my head is a balm to my soul.
I’ll never tire of hearing it. And he’s right.
Sex is all I can think about when it comes to him.
But I also think about our future and what it’ll look like.
Suddenly, I’m hit with a vision. His vision of our future.
One of a house on pack lands we’ve both designed, where I’m chasing two kids around the yard while he watches from the porch post he’s leaning against. It’s picture perfect and makes my heart swell with joy.
Lifting our twined hands, I kiss the back of his and say, “I want that. All of it.”
Drexel grins at me and says, “I had an architect draw up blueprints for my dream house. When we get home, we can go over them together and change whatever you like so we’re both happy.”
“I’d love that. And in the meantime, I’ll move in with you. Your place is bigger than mine.”
He nods. “I’ll have to unpack my things and cancel my transfer.”
My voice goes screechy again when I question, “Transfer? What the hell are you talking about?”
He winces, and I tell myself to calm down.
“I was planning to leave Asphalt Bay and move to Rockydale after the wedding. It would’ve been too hard to see you with Ashley while I was suffering from mate-sickness.
I thought gaining some distance would help me manage better, but this week proved me wrong.
” It hurts to know he was going to leave without a word, but I can’t blame him.
He had his reasons, and now all we can do is move past it.
“I understand. I’m not going to hold it against you. You were only doing what you thought was best for yourself, and I can’t fault you for that.”
All the tension seeps out of him, and he smiles. “Thank you.”
Before I can ask him when he wants to leave since I extended the booking on his cabin and not the honeymoon one while waiting for him to recover, I hear my mother’s voice from across the restaurant. “Jareth, honey, there you are!”
Damn . . . there goes our alone time.
Rex snickers behind his hand, and I narrow my eyes at him. “Zip it.”
Turning, I smile at my mother when she reaches us. “Hi, Mom.”
She leans down to hug me and says, “I have been looking all over for you. Where’s your phone?”
“Dead. I forgot to plug it in last night, so I left it charging in Drexel’s cabin.” I had other things on my mind at the time.
At the mention of him, she turns to Drexel and says, “I’m so glad to see you’ve recovered, honey.”
“Thank you.”
Turning her attention back to me, she says, “Your father and I are heading home tomorrow morning and want to have dinner with you tonight before we go.”
Looking at Drexel, I ask, “Want to have dinner with my family tonight, babe?”
With a grin he says, “Sure. We can leave tomorrow, too, if you want.”
I shake my head. “Nope. Now that you’re back to fighting strength, there’s one more thing I want to do before we leave.”
He groans and bangs his head on the table. “Please tell me you didn’t book another excursion.”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” Zip-lining opens back up tomorrow, and I signed us up when I extended the cabin booking in the hopes he’d wake up in time for us to do it before we leave.
My mother says, “Okay, explain. What is going on with you two?”
Rex turns to her and says, “I may have told a teensy white lie when I said my mate was happily married.”
I see the moment she realizes exactly what he means, because her expression goes from confused to shocked to full of remorse, and she pulls him into a hug. “Oh honey, what you must’ve gone through.”
Drexel pats her back and says, “I’m okay now. We’ve bonded.”
Her gaze shoots to the marks on my neck—that I have no idea how she missed because they’re blatantly obvious like the neon lights of Vegas—and she grins. “Congratulations.” Then turning back to Drexel, she tells him, “I’d welcome you to the family, but we all know you’ve always been part of it.”
“Thank you.”
She pats his shoulder, then says, “I’ll leave you to finish your meals. We’ll meet here at seven for dinner tonight. I’m off to track down your wayward father. He said something about golfing. Like the man has ever been golfing once in his life.”
Laughing, I say, “Bye, Mom, see you at dinner.”
When she’s gone, Drexel says, “Well, that went way better than I expected. I thought for sure she’d lecture me about lying to her and also for not telling you we were mates sooner.”
Shrugging, I say, “You know how she is. Ever since she met Dad, she’s always lived by the motto that when it comes to fate, everything happens as it was meant to.”
With a smile, he leans forward to peck a kiss to my lips and says, “I couldn’t agree more.”