She felt tears fill her eyes at the sight of her father's happiness. "I will be as soon as my father stops embarrassing me by being molested at the damn dinner table."
Doran stepped away from her father, breathing hard. Both men looked dazed. Doran recovered first and eased her father back into his chair before sitting down beside him. He looked at her. "Father?"
"Yes. You had the honor of kissing my father, Chris Wilson, the most wonderful dad in the world," she announced proudly.
"Oh, baby girl." Her dad was smiling, but there was a hesitation in his eyes. She knew she had to nip his worry in the bud before he blew up into an anxiety-ridden mess.
"Don't you for one moment think you are betraying mother. You know for a fact that she'd only want you to be happy."
Her father's face cleared. "You're right. She'd probably try to talk both of us into the bedroom."
"La la la la la la," she yelled, covering her ears. Everyone laughed at her antics. She knew both of her parents had been free spirits when they met; having her hadn't changed that fact.
Doran looked from her, to her father, to his brother, then back to her. He clutched at his chest. "I'm a father," he whispered. He smiled at her. "I swear I will do everything in my power to ensure your happiness."
Her father inhaled, his lower lip trembling at Doran's declaration. He then stood. "Dinner was amazing, thank you for inviting me." He looked down at Doran. "We're leaving." She groaned at her father's obvious intentions.
Doran shot out of his chair like a jack in a box. "We will, of course, see you in the morning."
"Maybe," her father murmured.
"Gods above," Doran whispered, before both men practically ran from the room.
"Never. Never in all my years have I ever seen him so flustered." Brennus howled his laughter.
Meryn's expression became thoughtful. "So, if Ari is mated to Brie, and Brie's dad is mated to Uncle Doran, what's that make me and Ari?"
Ari looked at his brother. "Cousins?"
Rex beamed out at the room. "The adorable menace is my baby cousin!"
"I can still call you hot right?" Meryn asked.
Rex nodded as Aiden growled the word, 'No!'
"Much better," Amelia murmured as she sat back.
Brie realized she was right. This was much better than wallowing in despair. She stood and held out her hand to Ari. "Like father, like daughter." She raised an eyebrow at him.
Ari, much like Doran, shot out of his chair. "Goodnight," he said simply. He scooped her up in his arms and ran from the room, leaving catcalls and whistles in their wake.
Chapter Six
Once they were outside, Ari set her down on her feet. "We have a couple options."
"For what?" Because there was only one thing she was thinking of, and if that's what he was referring to, options were always good.
"We can return to my rooms at the Lionhart estate or head to the Unit Warrior villa."
Oh, that's what he meant.
"Since I've already seen the Lionhart estate, we can go to the Warrior villa. I just need to grab my clothes from your parent's place."
"That won't be a problem," Ari smiled, then reached down and took her hand. "Why the shift in attitude. Wasn't I your 'supposed' mate?"
"I'm not sure. Earlier, when I was feeling like my head was about to explode, just being in your arms made everything feel safer. That kind of comfort can be an aphrodisiac, and I found myself craving you more. If Fate, or whatever, feels like we'd be a perfect match, I'm going to throw caution to the wind and just try this out. I mean, Fate can't choose worse than I've chosen for myself over the years."
Ari frowned. "I'm ecstatic that you have accepted our mating, but I'm not sure how I feel regarding the 'it can't get any worse' mentality."