“I know. It is so sad.”
“Do you think he wants you … now?”
Anna looked up and put down her tools. She was working on a brand-new piece of jewelry. Poppy didn’t know exactly who for, as her mother had said it was a recently commissioned piece. If her mother didn’t want to tell her, then she didn’t see a reason to pry.
“Poppy, what’s on your mind?” Anna asked.
“Nothing is on my mind. I’m just talking to you about a man who seems to dig you, that’s all.” She hated herself now.
“Lionel is a good man.”
“But?”
“But he is also another alpha, Poppy.”
“If you love him?”
“I will never love anyone but your father.” Anna stood. “I like Lionel. I do. I will never leave my pack though. Is this what this is about?”
No. What Poppy wanted to do was not talk about Klaus. “I guess,” she said.
“Honey, I know your place is here, and I would never do that to you. This is my pack, and … your father’s pack. My life is here. I wouldn’t leave my life for any man. Unless you’re trying to tell me that you and Greg—”
“No,” Poppy said. She had tried to wait for her mother to finish, but she was leaving it wide open. “Not Greg.”
“He’s a good-looking, young man. An alpha. I know you’d make one hell of an alpha’s mate.”
“You think so?” She didn’t have Greg in mind.
“Oh, yes. You’re smart, kind, patient. You’re beautiful. You’d make a perfect alpha’s mate.” Anna moved toward her, smiling and tucking some of her hair behind her ear. “Your father would be proud.”
They rarely talked about her father. Poppy knew it hurt her mother to even speak of him, so she always tried to avoid bringing him up.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“If you like Greg, then you have to go for it.”
“Mom, I don’t like Greg. It’s not like that.”
“Then who do you like?” Anna asked.
“No one. There is no one that I like, at all.” The lies were going to destroy her. She forced a smile to her lips. “I better go run these errands.” She held up the mail that had been delivered to them by accident.
Their postal man was a newly mated male, and well, accepting a mate and enjoying all the warm fuzzy feelings meant certain jobs went by the wayside.
She walked toward the door, wanting out of the conversation.
“Honey, you know you can talk to me about anything, don’t you?” Anna asked.
“Yeah, of course, Mom. I hope you know you can do the same with me. Well, not everything. I don’t need to know every single detail of everything.”
Anna started to laugh. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I won’t embarrass you with my escapades.”
She laughed as she left the shop.
Holding up the mail, she went by each shop, dropping off the letters. Everyone laughed as she held up the stack that had been delivered.
Mating was a beautiful thing.