Seduced by a Shifter(25)

Tess shrugged indifferently. “Well, if you’ve seen a Victoria’s Secret catalog in the last six years you probably saw me.”

“Or an SI swimsuit edition,” Joe happily supplied.

“Or scanned the Internet for hot chicks,” Scott announced.

Willow’s tongue glued itself to the roof of her mouth. Yeesh. What the hell was Ben doing kissing me when this woman was free to flirt with him?

To all this Tess only rolled her eyes. “I do have a brain as well, boys. I’m not just a body.”

“And you keep that stupid look on your face, Scott. Caleb will take great delight in knocking it off,” Rome murmured.

At Willow’s confusion, Tess held up her left hand. “My fiancé, Caleb Bennett. Which is why Kaylie and I are here. Tonight is my wedding shower and we’ve come to pick you up.”

Any relief Willow felt at hearing Tess was engaged to the big guy she’d met her first night here dried up at the idea of joining a bunch of unknown women for a wedding shower. She turned wide eyes to Kaylie, seeking help. “But I. That is. Um. I don’t...”

Kaylie waved a hand through the air, dismissing any reason Willow tried frantically to dredge up. “Nothing you could think of will keep us from transporting you to an evening filled with females, fun, food, and games.”

“Count me in!” Scott said.

Rome reached out and smacked the back of Scott’s head. “Idiot.”

Tess looped an arm under Willow’s. “You must have cabin fever by now. Besides, our mom is an amazing cook and if the spread she’s laying out is anything like she did for Kaylie’s, well, let’s just say I’m salivating already.”

Willow glanced up at Rome, half-expecting a refusal or a grudging submission as he did with Ben. But she was surprised yet again. “I think it’s a great idea.”

Willow gaped. “You do?”

“Sure. You’ll be safe with them and you won’t get into any trouble.”

Kaylie snickered under her breath. “So he thinks.”

Tess patted Willow’s arm when she jerked. “The trouble part, hon, not the safety part. Now let’s get out of the cold. You people are weird, standing here, freezing perfectly good body parts off.”

Willow had to admit the tips of her ears were long numb, and she was starving. Yet before she could agree, Scott bounded up the stairs, hollering at them to wait until he got Willow’s phone.

While Scott was gone, Rome eyed the three women. “Two hours, ladies. I’ll be down to pick Willow up in two hours.”

“Hah. You don’t even know where we’re going.” Kaylie chortled. “And it’s three hours.”

Willow mentally cringed, thinking two hours was plenty of time to feel like an interloper.

Rome rattled off an address and the sisters frowned in unison. “How’d you know?” Kaylie complained. “Did Dean call you?”

Rome just smirked and held up two fingers. “Two hours.”

“Two and a half,” Kaylie negotiated, eyes narrowing in determination. “You have to allow for travel and introduction time.”

Rome’s lips twitched. “Fine.”

Scott reappeared and bounced down the stairs. “Keep this with you at all times.” He handed Willow a phone, one of those fancy touch-screen ones, and a pair of gloves. “The screen is heat sensitive rather than touch sensitive, so you don’t accidentally start a call or app. The tips of these gloves conduct and amplify the heat in your fingertips which allows you to use the phone while keeping your hands warm.”

Both women were visibly impressed by the gloves while Willow felt overwhelmed by everything going on. “I don’t know how to work one of these phones.”

“I’ve got one very similar,” Kaylie informed her. “Tess can drive and I’ll show you on the way.”





Chapter Nine


Willow quickly lost track of what name belonged to which face at Tess’s wedding shower. The only three she could remember, beyond the sisters, was their mother, Ruth, a pretty brunette named Dr. Jackie Chavez, and an outgoing middle-aged waitress named Penny. Everyone else was a blur. Warm and welcoming, but a blur nonetheless.

As Tess predicted, Ruth had laid out an elaborate feast. There was chicken salad that could be mounded into huge croissants, hot wings, coconut shrimp, some type of warm chicken dip, a seven-layer dip, a vegetable tray, cheesecake, carrot cake, and round fudge balls dipped in a hard white candy coating. Once upon a time Willow would have never allowed herself near the decadent spread, but today she took a plate and, following everyone’s example, piled high.

They played silly shower games such as wrapping each other in toilet paper to make a wedding dress, drank wine—although Willow refrained as the few times she’d imbibed she’d come out the loser—and ate.