And I relax. Because she seems relaxed right now. Happy. And this makes me happy. Her handbag sounds off and her expression drops as she reaches into her bag and checks the screen of her old phone. Suddenly, the unhappy emotions are back as the smile slips from her face.
“What’s the matter, baby?” I ask, scanning the screen over her shoulder.
Gloria: I’m trying to get answers, but my brother is being evasive. I’ve got a call into Grandma. Stay tuned.
“Nothing,” she mutters and stuffs her phone back into her bag.
“Nothing?” I push.
She shakes her head and pulls her lips tight.
A familiar, but out of place scent hits me and before I can clock it, Amelia’s body goes rigid. I follow her eyes to the door.
Cicely is coming in with her sister Candy as well as Renee. Renee, the bartender I fucked at that motel, the bitch who showed at my place on my mating day.
Amelia and her are locking gazes and the animosity between them is instant.
Renee’s eyes move to mine and go warm. “Mason,” she greets.
Amelia moves closer to me, her warm hand landing on my thigh.
“You two know one another?” Candy asks.
And her question strikes me as fake.
“Yeah, we know one another,” she responds, eyes still on me, words dripping with innuendo.
My eyes dart to my mate. She flicks her hair to the side, and it takes a split second for me to realize she’s drawing attention to her claiming mark by this move, because the length of her hair is now over the opposite shoulder, the claiming mark on display. Looks like it’s good we sat in this position after all.
And it makes me want to pound my chest and roar with triumph.
“Barely,” I mutter.
To Cicely’s credit, she looks uncomfortable. And now I’m guessing she had no knowledge of Renee’s visit. Candy must have given her my address. Considering this is her second time here and there’s never been a reason for her to come by before, I’m extremely unhappy about it.
Cicely reads me, obviously, because she says, “Hey Amie, good to see you. We’ll leave you to your meal. C’mon, girls.”
Candy ignores her sister. “You’re Mason’s new mate? Great to meet you. Is this your mom? Hi, I’m Candy. Oh hey, Pops is comin’ in.”
Lorenzo comes in and looks to his two daughters, Cicely and Candy, and a smile spreads across his face. His eyes catch mine for a beat before they graze Amelia and then land on Kathleen. His eyes stay on Kathleen.
I give Cicely a hard stare and then I look toward the door.
“Hey Pop. Girls, I have a better idea. Follow me.”
“Something I said?” Lorenzo quips.
“Naw, Pops. See you later on.” Cicely kisses her father’s cheek and grabs Candy’s hand. “Let’s go. Renee…”
Renee’s got a sour look on her face, clearly unhappy about being pulled away, which is telling.
“Lorenzo,” I greet.
He approaches.
“Baby, this is Lorenzo. Lor, my Amie. This is her mom, Kathleen Brennan. Lorenzo is retired second alpha from our previous council.” I look to Kathleen. “Lor is one of our respected council elders.”
“Nice to meet you,” Amie reaches for his hand.
“Officially, yes. You saw me earlier.” He reaches out and squeezes Amie’s hand.
“Did I?” she asks.
“Well, my wolf. Grey with white over my muzzle.” He gestures to his face.
“Oh,” she whispers, but says nothing.
Lor turns to her mother.
“Lovely to meet you,” he says, taking Kathleen’s hand and not immediately letting go. “Full house tonight. Mind if I join you?” His eyes are on Kathleen’s face. She’s flushed pink again. He’s still got her hand.
The seat he typically sits at up at the bar is empty, as per usual – nobody takes Lor’s seat.
“Not a problem,” I say, catching sight of Cade in my periphery, eyeing our booth with eyebrows raised.
Kathleen moves over on her side of the bench as Lor takes off his coat and slides in.
“Elders?” Kathleen asks. “You don’t look elderly.”
“Why thank you, Kathy,” he says, eyes alight with mischief. “Any former council member is considered an elder, even if they’re not elderly. I just turned fifty-eight in February.”
“Fifty-eight must be the new thirty-eight,” I muse, teasing.
37
Amelia
I’d be sitting here fighting the urge to hide my emotions if I didn’t have this distraction right now. The distraction? Two wolf shifters vying for my mother’s attention. I was a little concerned at seeing the exchange between Mason and Roxy, then further miffed at seeing that bitchy redhead, but it didn’t last because Mason’s reaction to her made it very clear that he’s not interested. And the Roxy thing? She looked at him a lot like she did last time I was here. I think she’s hung up on him. I’d be hung up on him, too, if I saw him with another woman. I can’t exactly blame her. At least she’s not taking it out on me.