“No. That’s okay. I… I can do this.” She takes a deep breath. “I just haven’t dated, haven’t seen a man besides your father without clothes on since… ever.”
“Ever?”
“Other than on TV. Or that one time when we were at the zoo and the streaker streaked by us.”
“That was my first naked man sighting, too.” I shudder at the not-pleasant memory.
“I lost my virginity on my wedding night, Amie,” Mom goes on, “I haven’t been with anyone but Dad. Nothing past second base with anyone else. But I guess I am single, so…”
I blink away my surprise. I’ve never asked her about her history pre-Dad. She’s never divulged it. Mom has always been open with me and my sister on the sex topic and I guess I just assumed she had a sex life before my father – or maybe more accurate to say I didn’t really ponder the thought at all. Because you don’t typically imagine your parents having sex. And I don’t really want to, of course.
This is girlfriend territory she and I are in right now and though Mom, Ivy, and me are all very close and friend-like with one another, this is new aspect of girlfriend territory for us.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, Mom.”
“I want to. I just don’t know if I want to… yet.”
“Then make that clear,” I say. “Maybe push him off about tonight, but make it known you’re open to… something else? A coffee or a drink sometime?”
Her mouth twitches in contemplation.
“We’ll come with you; help you unload.”
“Maybe that’d be good,” she whispers.
“That’s what we’ll do. I’ll get a chance to see your apartment, too. And he can come so that leaves him with the notion that you’re open, but you’re not going to be alone with him.”
Mom empties her lungs with a gust. “Good, okay.”
“Okay.” I reach for the door and push it open.
“Though part of me thinks it’d be fun to be kidnapped,” she mutters behind me.
I laugh and we head back to the table arm in arm.
***
Cade comes to us with dessert that we didn’t order, serving Mom a slice of pie with three dollops of whipped cream, telling her it’s his favorite. He gives me a thick slice of strawberry cheesecake and doesn’t give anything to Lorenzo or Mason. Cade flashes a sexy grin as he leans over Lorenzo to give Mom her pie.
“I can’t possibly,” I say, holding my belly.
“I’ll get you a to-go container?” Cade offers.
“Thank you so much. Perfect.”
“I’ll have mine here,” Mom says. “You two can go on ahead. I’ll be fine.”
“Um…” What?
“Go ahead, Amelia,” Mom pushes.
“I thought you wanted to show me your apartment tonight.”
“Lots of time for that.” She waves dismissively.
“She’s in good hands,” Lorenzo assures.
That’s what I’m afraid of. I give her a quizzical look and she gives me one of reassurance. Okay, I guess.
To summarize, two shapeshifters are helping my mother move and both are acting like they want to date her, one looking a little smug about the fact that he’s going to get alone-time with her tonight since the other has to work.
It's been entertaining to watch Mom observe the competitive ping-pong between the two men who are clearly friends but who are both interested in asking my mother out.
Mason and Lorenzo argue over the bill, but before it goes too far, Cade announces he’s covered it.
I thank him and hug Mom goodbye. I wave to other smiling faces that are watching us leave.
***
“Tell me about Lorenzo and Cade,” I request when Mason gets in the truck after having opened and closed the passenger door for me.
“Cade is a single, unmated alpha. He’s Roxy’s uncle.”
“He seems nice.”
“He is,” Mason replies.
“What about Lorenzo?”
“He’s the same position as me in the last generation council-wise. Second born alpha from that council’s calendar year. Also Roxy’s uncle on the other side of her family. A great man. Excellent mentor.”
“So… neither are looking to mate my mother for life?” I ask.
He snickers as he starts the truck.
“He could be looking for companionship that could turn out to be lifelong – difficult to say. He lost his wife about seven years ago. He was hollow for a long time after that. This is the first time I’ve seen him show interest in anyone.”
“Interesting, I note. “Will one of them try to kidnap my mother and then bite her neck?”
“Cade hasn’t mated. He dates, but he’s never identified a woman as his. He seems interested in your mother, but he didn’t identify her as his fated mate or the evening would’ve gone differently.”
“Is that normal? He’s what… in his late thirties, early forties?”
“It’s not unheard of. Some alphas don’t find their perfect other half; though most do.”
“Hm.”
“If Cade identified your mother as his, he’d have done it on sight and scent. There’s no birth order waiting period with non-council alphas.”