“You’re coming with me to Sunday dinner, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “Yup. The next one and every other one after that.”
EPILOGUE
JACK
The Spaghetti Bowl was full of people in the middle of eating a very delicious dinner. In any other crowd, such a good meal would have resulted in a quiet meal.
There was never anything quiet about the Ledger family. Jack was quickly learning to recognize that.
He scanned the room, taking in all of his mate’s relatives. Her parents, her siblings, and siblings-in-law, her nieces and nephews, and aunts and uncles.
They were all gathered in the restaurant tonight to meet him.
Of course, he had been living in Half Moon Key for a long time, and he knew all of these people, but tonight was different. Special.
Tonight, he was meeting them in the official capacity as Nora’s boyfriend. No one in the room knew that they were also mates in every sense of the shifter world now.
That was a secret they had to keep, but there were important people in their lives who knew the truth about them, and the bond that was so solid now that they had recognized each other.
Jack explained his belated fated mate sense to Mrs. Francis, and though she was the oldest person in Half Moon Key, she claimed to have no clue what the issue with the mate sense could be.
Parker and Mason admitted to having the same issue, but Cohen was as tight-lipped as Mrs. Francis about it.
No matter how much Jack wanted to push because his writer's brain didn’t like being faced with a mystery he couldn’t solve, there would be no getting an answer out of Cohen or Mrs. Francis … if an answer was even to be had.
In the end, he and Nora agreed that it didn’t matter. They were fated to be together, and fate had made sure to throw them together at just the right time, and neither of them could be angry aboutthat.
“Are you okay?” Nora asked, rubbing his back.
“Yup, perfectly fine.” He tore into a piece of fresh garlic bread.
“This isn’t too much for you?” Her eyes were so beautiful and sparkling that he couldn’t wait to get her home.
There was some stuff to take care of beforethat, though.
Cassie rapped the table with her knuckles, calling for silence. Jack was pretty amazed that the entire Ledger family was immediately quiet, intently waiting for Cassie to speak.
“Well, welcome all to our weekly Sunday dinner, but as you know, this is a bit of a special one because our wallflower is a flower no more.”
Nora rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay. Enough with the jokes. I’m shy in front of some people. I get it.”
“You’re our gem, Nora,” Cassie said, surprising the hell out of his mate. “I know I’ve always given you a hard time, but that is only because I was so scared that you would let life pass you by. You’re smart as hell, sweet, and pretty. You’re kind, and your heart is loving and gentle. I didn’t want you to miss out on life, but it turns out I was just being the overprotective big sister.”
“No one has ever accused you of beingthat,” their brother Adam piped up, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from his wife.
“As I was saying,” Cassie shot her brother a loving glare as only siblings can do. “You found your place right here, Nora. And your family loves you, and Jack loves you.”
“That’s why the Ledger family has decided to fire you,” Mrs. Ledger said with tears in her eyes, her smile bright and wide.
“What?” Nora gasped. “You can’t fire me.”
“Sure, we can. You’re fired, kiddo,” Mr. Ledger laughed.
Jack stood, taking a deep breath. “They’re firing you because I asked them to. You see, Nora, love, you have a new job.”
“I do?” she gasped again, her blush so deep and red that Jack thought she might pass out from all of the attention on her. He squeezed her hand, and her regular coloring returned. She always drew strength from him in public situations, and he loved it.