Chapter 4
four
MAYA
Everyone else acted surprisingly normal at the restaurant. Ethan was extremely good at putting people at ease, I learned, as he led the conversation on and off during dinner.
Our arms touched the whole time we were together, easing the slight discomfort that had returned in the time we were apart.
The food was decent, and the company was good. By the time we left, I was actually disappointed that I’d be going home alone.
That was life, though.
I’d driven separately, so I said goodbye to everyone at the front of the restaurant and headed out to my car on my own.
“Wait up,” Ethan called out, jogging over to me.
“What are you doing?” I asked as we reached my car together.
“Catching a ride with you. The rest of them snuggle all the time.” He shivered dramatically, as if he was horrified by that.
I lifted a brow, though my eyes were still concealed by the sunglasses we’d both been wearing since before we met up. “I don’t live anywhere near your pack’s land, remember?”
“Yeah, I was just going to have you drop me off on the dirt road. My wolf can get me home.”
“You think you can shift, and your wolf won’t insist on staying with me?” I asked skeptically.
“Probably?”
“Ethan.”
“Maya.”
“You’ve been nesting for how long?” I pressed.
“If you’re talking about the snacks, I’m not convinced that’s nesting.”
“Okay, you’ve been stockpiling snacks for how long?”
“A few years.”
“How many years?”
“Five. Or seven. Hard to say.”
“So you’ve been nesting for five to seven years, and we’re dodging a mate bond with mirrored sunglasses, but you think your wolf would probably walk away from me willingly.”
Ethan nodded. “Yup.”
“You are so full of it.” I shook my head, opening my door and taking the driver’s seat. “Go home with your pack.”
He waited for me to close the door, and leaned his forearms against the curve of metal above the window until I rolled the window down. “What if we go to my place and I make you dinner?”
“We just ate dinner.”
“Right.” He paused. “How about I let you raid my snacks. You think they’re yours anyway, right?”
“Do you eat them when you get hungry?”
His forehead wrinkled. “No. That would be wrong.”
“Then yes, I think it’s mine.”
“Okay, final offer,” Ethan said, his expression growing serious. “I will let you open as many of the bags of gummy candy in my stash as you want, and you can let them start hardening.”
“So it’s not a nesting stash, and it’s not for me, but I’m the only one who’s allowed to eat the candy in it?”
“Yup.” He didn’t bat an eye at the question.
“Bye, Ethan.” I started rolling up the window.
“Fine, I’ll admit whatever you want.” He stuck his hand through the window, basically forcing me to stop rolling it up.
I rolled it down.
“What do you want me to say, Muffin?”
“Just tell the truth.”
His arms rested on the window’s opening again, and he leaned his head inside the vehicle until our faces were only a few inches apart.
“The nesting stash is for you,” he said seriously. “I’m not ready to be alone right now. My wolf is driving me crazy. I’d rather watch you empty the hoard than go home by myself. Hell, I’d rather have my wolf sleep on your doorstep than go home alone.”
I let out a long breath.
I shouldn’t give in, but fuck, how was I supposed to argue? I didn’t want to go home alone either, and I didn’t want him to be in pain just because the universe decided he should be stuck with me.
I waved him toward me. “Get in, Cupcake.”
His whole face lit up. I wished I could see his eyes.
He was in the passenger seat in record time, and I pulled out of the parking lot with an inward sigh.
I was a sucker.
Ethan directed me toward his house, asking questions about the dress fitting and how it had gone.
He was so easy to talk to, it was ridiculous.
We were in the middle of a heated disagreement about whether Red Hots actually counted as candy when he unlocked the front door of his house and tugged me inside.
I ditched my shoes next to Ethan’s at the front door and took three steps inside. “Something that makes your mouth burn can’t really be considered—what the actual fuck?”
“What?” Ethan looked around for a threat.
“What is this?” I gestured to the house.
He looked at the living room in front of us. Then back at me. He was seriously confused. “A house?”
“This is a mini mansion, Cupcake.” I gestured to the sleek modern couches, expensive-looking fireplace, and fancy tile floors. Even the freaking wolf-sized doggy door on the far wall looked like it cost as much as my car. “What the hell was your real job?”
“Investment.” He shrugged. “And I don’t think a mini mansion is a real thing. This is just a house.”
“An expensive house.”
“Aren’t all houses expensive?”
I released his hand and strode past him, my hand landing on my hip when I saw the insanity that was his kitchen.
Gorgeous dark cabinets.
Expensive stone countertops.
Top of the line appliances.
Was it getting hot in there?
I fanned myself, because it definitely was.
“Are you getting horny for my kitchen?” Ethan sounded amused.
“Maybe. In my defense, it’s romancing me very effectively.”
“Should we get back in the car?”
“Probably.” I walked toward the fridge and smoothed my hand over the stainless steel with a sigh. “I miss being a real chef.”
“You went to culinary school. Pretty sure that makes you a real chef.”
“I know. It just doesn’t feel like it. When I was working in a restaurant, that felt like being a real chef. I miss the hustle, the noise, and the smells. Lord, the smells.” I inhaled, and I swear I could almost smell it still.
“Why don’t you go back?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it, Muffin.”
I shot him a look. “We’re not there yet.”
“Are we going to get there?”
“Beats me.” I walked to his monstrous pantry, opening the door and stepping inside.
His snack stash took up all but a small part of one shelf. He had a couple of boxes of pasta, and some rice. That was it.
“What do you eat?” I wondered.
“Sadness, mostly.”
I snorted.
“I don’t really cook. Eating alone makes me feel worse, so I usually mooch off the other guys. We used to do dinners as a pack every night, but our numbers dwindled as everyone paired off. Connor and I have been eating meals just the two of us.”
“Romantic,” I drawled.
“I know, right? I’m so jealous of Zoe.”
“As you should be.” I grabbed a few bags of gummy candy and started opening them up. It was kind of gross to just leave them open, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make for the perfect candy. “You didn’t tell me you have fuck-you money.”
“The money fucks me? I was not informed.”
“It’s just a saying.”
“I think I get the gist of it. And yeah, I guess I do.”
“How?”
“A bunch of drama happened when I was a kid, and I sided with my mom. My grandma was pissed about it, so she gave me all the money when she passed when I was seventeen. The stipulations prevented me from giving it to my mom or brother, so I invested it. When I started making money from the investments, I split it between the three of us.”
“So it’s generational wealth.”
“I guess.”
I nodded, putting the bags of candy back in the pantry and grabbing one I actually wanted to eat. “What was the drama?”
“It’s also complicated.”
“That’s fine. You don’t have to tell me.”
He shot me a small smile. “I was just warning you so you could take a seat if you want.”
Ah.
“Lead the way. I might get lost in here if I’m left to my own devices.”
He snorted. “It’s three thousand square feet, Muffin. I think you’ll manage.”
“My apartment is like seven hundred, and the house I grew up in was only nine hundred, so I wouldn’t bet on that.”
He put a hand on my back and guided me toward the couch. “On your right, you’ll see the hallway that leads to the front door. There’s a coat closet in the middle of it.”
“Ooh, fancy.”
“To your left, you’ll see a very nice sliding glass door that really screams, I live on a lake.”
“Very nice,” I agreed.
“In front of you, you’ll see an average-sized sectional with above average heart. It’s the definition of comfort.”
“Moves me to tears.” I lifted a hand to my eye and feigned wiping one away.