Chapter 197

YENA

Watching my adoptive mother embracing my giant husband right now was hilarious.

Tina did this to everyone she loved – and who knows why? – tried to show them how much she cared by embracing them in tight, smothering bear hugs. If I hadn’t known it before today, I knew now that she loved Nolan like family, because she appeared to be trying her best to strangle him to death.

The look on my Alpha’s face was what was killing me. Nolan didn’t know what to do, how to escape Tina politely and with dignity. So I sacrificed myself to save him, squishing between the two and taking the next big hug from Tina for myself.

“Oh, I was so very happy to hear from you, sweetheart! To what do we owe this visit?”

Tina released my bear hug and started playing with my hair, fluffing it up and pulling loose curls forward over my shoulders. I could tell she was admiring how long it had gotten.

“Well, we have something to invite you to,” I said vaguely. “But I’d rather wait to talk about it till we can all sit down together. Now, what smells so darn good?”

“Oh! I made all kinds of things. I didn’t know what you kids would be in the mood for, so I’ve got all sorts of offerings.” Tina smiled proudly. “As far as everyone getting together, dear, I’m afraid your father will not be joining us – he couldn’t steal away from work on such short notice. In fact, I only just got a hold of him a few minutes before you arrived.”

“Oh, well no worries.” I shrugged. “We’ll wait for Evan though, okay?”

“In the meantime,” Nolan interjected shyly, “I would be happy to get started on an appetizer.” He was eyeing the kitchen table longingly.

There were four places set, and several trays of food arranged in the center of the table already. Something that smelled suspiciously like pork chops was still cooking in the oven, too. And an apple pie was cooling on the windowsill behind the sink.

Nolan knew Tina well enough by now to know that she would always prefer her guests to be eating, and so would not find his impatience impolite at all.

She practically dragged him over to a seat at the table as soon he expressed his desire to begin partaking. And took the liberty of serving up several items onto his plate for him, too.

It was a very good thing, I realized as I watched Nolan start eating, that we came here after the old man’s funeral. My husband was in need of some comfort food, for sure. And Tina’s comfort food was the best.

“Now that your brother has joined us, will you please tell us whatever it is you’ve come here to announce?” Tina was brimming with anticipation.

Evan had showered and changed and was seated across the table from me, digging into his meal voraciously. He and Nolan were both eating like they had never eaten before. Tina couldn’t have been happier about their appetites.

“It’s not a big deal,” I said, wary now about what Tina might’ve started imagining my news to be. “I just want to invite you guys to a little ceremony Nolan and I have decided to have to renew our vows.”

“Ohh, isn’t that sweet.” Tina set down her flatware. “Yena, that’s lovely. When will you do this? And where?”

I shared with her the deets that Nolan and I had decided upon, and assured her it would be pretty relaxed, only a few of us; our family plus Lucy, and Nolan’s parents.

Tiny cooed over us some more, and her happiness might have been contagious. The meal was delicious, as well – of course. Soon the four of us were all in a contented mood, and stuffed full to the point of complaining about it.

Before I could say a word to Nolan about heading out, he surprised me by turning his attention to Evan and asking if my brother wouldn’t mind stepping outside with him for a moment to talk.

Evan played it cool and followed Nolan’s lead. But I knew him well enough to see that he was more than a little intimidated.

Tina and I watched the two men head off into and through the living room, listening to their footsteps and the sounds of the screen door opening and closing, with rapt curiosity.

I waited till we were in the limo heading back to the palace to ask Nolan what he’d been talking to Evan about.

He smiled smugly and answered, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Hmmm.” I glared at him. Trying to psychically command him to spill.

(It didn’t work.)

Nolan just winked at me mischievously.

“Alright,” I mumbled. “I suppose I shall have to trust you.”

He held his hand out, asking for mine.

I had a lap full of plastic food storage containers that I was cradling like a baby. Tina had made me take half the apple pie plus a dozen cookies and a few spare pork chops that I knew Nolan would probably finish off when we got home.

I set the containers on the seat next to me, making sure they were in a fairly secure spot and wouldn’t topple over. Then gave Nolan one of my hands.

He curled his long fingers between my own, brought my hand to his mouth, kissed it and said, “I suppose you shall.”

Evening found Nolan heavy-lidded and lazy. It was not a state I was used to seeing him in.

We wound up lounging in bed together, eating Tina’s leftovers and talking about our day, not really caring about the pie and cookie crumbs on the bedsheets or anything outside our closed and locked bedroom door.

It had been quite a day.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking tired before,” I told him.

Nolan chuckled. “Well, I don’t know that I have ever eaten that much food in one sitting.”

“Says the man currently polishing off a cold porkchop in bed.” I pointed my partially eaten chocolate chip cookie at the evidence in his hand.

He chewed and swallowed with his lips pressed closed against a guilty smile.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not judging. I love seeing you taking it easy for once in your life.”

Once we polished off the leftovers, Nolan and I dusted off the bed and resolved to lie back and rest our eyes for just a moment.

Over an hour later, we woke up in the dark.

The sun had set while we napped. I’m not sure which of us roused first and woke the other, but suddenly we were both up, checking the time and easing lights on groggily.

We drank water, took turns using the restroom, and then took a shower together. That started out slow, sweet and sleepy, but got both our hearts pounding some minutes in, once we’d cleaned the sleep from our eyes and teased and touched each other’s bodies a while.

When my fingertips started turning white and pruny, though, I found I really wanted to get dry and lazy-comfortable again, and Nolan was on board. I toweled off my hair and tied it into a side braid, then changed into one of his t-shirts. I didn’t bother with any bottoms.

When I met my husband in the bedroom once again, I found he was making up our bed with fresh sheets, naked.

“I love this,” I said, smiling at the scene before my eyes.

Nolan arched an eyebrow. “What, naked housekeeping?”

I laughed so hard I snorted a little. “Yes,” I said when I could compose myself again. “It’s a beautiful sight.”

He finished his work quickly, doing a very tidy job of pressing a fitted and then flat black satin sheet onto first one side of the bed, then the other. When both sheets were tucked tightly into place, he peeled back the edge of the fresh, crisp flat sheet and let it fall open.

The bed looked so pristine, cozy, and wonderfully inviting.

I dove in. Nolan was on top of me a second later, growling playfully and sniffing my hair compulsively.

I giggled under the tickle of his newly emerging scruff beard on my neck.

Then whispered, when his ear came close to my lips: “Bite me.”