I reluctantly accepted the glass from her as I heard heavy footsteps and voices on the stairs. I was hit by a mix of relief and nerves. I was glad I wasn’t going to be spending too much time alone with this woman I’d just met, but I was going to have to face Gage. I promised myself I wouldn’t be jealous no matter how close he was to Marni. I also reminded myself to tread carefully. Even if Hunter already knew my true feelings about Gage, I still had to hide them from our host.
Chet emerged first. “Couldn’t wait for the rest of us to start drinking?” He winked. He’d been much friendlier toward me since our conversation in the kitchen. I was hoping it lasted.
“Ladies should always go first.” Jocelyn sipped a drink identical to mine. “Nice to see you though.”
“Nice to see you too.” Chet smiled. Evidently they knew each other. I wished I had a better understanding of how all these relationships worked and fit together.
I watched as Semi and a few Dires I hadn’t met walked in. They were followed by Gage and Marni. My eyes went immediately to Gage’s face. He still looked like my Gage. He nodded at me before continuing into the room. I forced myself to stay calm. I wasn’t allowed to get upset. What was he supposed to do? Come over and hug me? Still, his quick glance left me feeling empty. Even anger would have been better than the emotionless look. Was it an act for Hunter, or were his feelings for me really gone?
“Miss me, Firefly?” Hunter put an arm around me. Had I been so distracted that I’d missed his entrance?
“Of course.” I played along. I was grateful for his arm at the moment. I needed something to anchor me so I wouldn’t fall over. The events of the past few days were starting to take their toll. I was still in a partial state of shock, and Gage’s brush off made it even worse.
Jocelyn broke what was starting to feel like an uncomfortable silence. I’d never been in such a quiet, yet crowded room. “It’s nice to have all of you here. Please help yourself to drinks, we have plenty of meat.”
Meat. So Isaac and Jocelyn were probably shifters too? Or were they just catering to Hunter’s pack?
“Do you happen to have anything more appropriate for Mary Anne?” Hunter asked. I would have told him not to worry, but I was starving. I hadn’t eaten much of anything for days.
“Of course. Are you vegetarian, or do you eat some meat?” She tapped her manicured nails on the bar top.
“Vegetarian?” Semi asked. “You think Hunter chose a mate who won’t eat meat?”
Jocelyn waved him off. “Men choose their women for various reasons.”
“I eat meat. I just prefer it cooked.”
Several people laughed. Jocelyn smiled. “Of course. How about I whip you up a stir fry with chicken and vegetables then?”
“You don’t have to go through all that trouble. If you have eggs or something I can make that.”
“You want an omelet then?”
“I don’t want you going to any trouble for me.” Honestly, I wanted to sink into the ground and disappear. I was so sick of everything. I wanted to escape this nightmare.
“It’s no trouble. I’m going to have some too.” She smiled reassuringly.
“Ok, then an omelet sounds great.”
“Mushrooms? Peppers?”
“Perfect.” I smiled, trying to express my appreciation. “Can I help?”
“Sure.” She headed toward the kitchen. “I don’t get much help with the cooking.”
“That’s because she won’t let me in there. Don’t let her fool you,” Isaac called.
I laughed. It felt good to laugh.
The kitchen wasn’t far from the living area, but a few columns separated it. I relaxed as I helped Jocelyn chop up some peppers. It was such a normal activity that it almost made me forget about the craziness of my life.
“You’ve got a good man.”
Her words broke the normalcy. Having anyone talking about ‘my man’ brought reality crashing back. “Oh. Thanks.”
“I mean it.” She tossed some egg shells into the garbage disposal in the sink. “There aren’t too many men like him out there.”
“What about Isaac? Is he a good one?” I wanted to push the conversation off of me. If I didn’t she was going to discover the truth.
“He’s great. A wonderful mate. A little rough around the edges, but that just makes a man a better lover, right?” She winked.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Talking about lovers, what’s Hunter like?” She looked right at me.
I went back to the peppers. “He’s great of course.”
“Come on. You can do better than that.”