“But I want to find out what she says,” Yvette whined.
“Another time.”
Now, Allison stood beside Christopher and looked at the woman in front of them. Her hair was soft and long. It was dark brown with a streak of blonde, but that meant nothing because she changed it all of the time. Allison knew that because the dragon brothers had told her many times. Allison had seen pictures of Mrs. Monster before, but Raya looked different in real life.
Prettier.
Sadder.
“It’s nice to see you,” Raya smiled at her son. “It’s been too long.”
“It’s only been a few weeks,” Christopher said.
“It feels like longer,” she said. “And it seems as though I’ve missed a lot.” Raya turned her attention toward Allison. “Hello,” she held out her hand, “I’m Raya Monster, Christopher’s mother.”
“I know,” Allison said. Then she blushed, shaking her head. She reached for Raya’s hand. “I’m sorry, what I meant to say was that I know who you are because the guys talk about you all of the time.”
She’d heard stories of Raya and what a wonderful mom she’d been. She knew that Raya was brave and loyal and that she’d had to raise all three of the triplets on her own. Her husband had gone missing years before. Everyone knew he was dead, but nobody knew what had happened.
“What’s your name, dear?”
“Allison.”
“Allison, it’s lovely to meet you,” Raya said. “I’m a bit surprised we’ve never met before, but it’s wonderful to see you now.”
“That’s because every time you’ve come by the office, I’ve been locked away working on a project,” Allison said.
“Interesting,” Raya nodded. She reached for the necklace she was wearing and started touching the stone on it.
“That’s a pretty necklace,” Allison said.
“Thank you.”
Raya turned to Christopher, and she raised an eyebrow, as though she wanted to ask him what James and Yvette had said “congratulations” about, but Declan, Zoa, and Brian chose that moment to appear.
“Mom!” Zoa hurried over and wrapped her arms around Raya. The dragon mother’s expression softened as she hugged Zoa.
“Hello, dear.”
“It’s so good to see you. I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I usually don’t make it to these things,” Raya acknowledged, “but I had a feeling I needed to be here tonight. Christopher was just about to share something with us.”
“He was?” Zoa turned, along with Brian and Declan, and they all looked at Christopher.
Wow, no pressure.
Christopher didn’t seem to mind, though. If anything, he seemed to enjoy the fact that they were all together. Allison loved that about him. Christopher truly was a good man. He was a decent, hardworking dragon who cared about the people around him.
“Mom, Brian, Declan, Zoa: I’m glad you’re all here. I’ve asked Allison to marry me. She’s my mate.” Christopher gestured to Allison and smiled brightly, and Allison thought her heart might melt. He was so damn cute.
Zoa, Brian, and Declan all started laughing. Declan and Brian each handed Zoa some money.
“What’s going on?” Allison asked.
“The guys bet me that you’d get together with Christopher on New Year’s,” Zoa said. “I said it would be Christmas, though. It had to be.”
“Oh,” Allison said.