able to stop himself from taking her up on her offer for a sleepover. We need to do this right, he told his grumpy bear.
She climbed into her truck, closed the door, then stuck her head out the window as she started the engine. Flashing him a saucy grin, she waved and pulled out of the space. He took a step back and returned her wave, watching the truck as it left the parking lot and then turned down the road, disappearing into the distance.
A void opened up in his chest at the realization he was alone, which was then filled with regret. Should he have taken her up on her offer? Did it really matter since they’d already been intimate?
His bear, of course, wanted to be with her. It pressed its giant white furry paws against his chest, as if trying to get him to let it out so he could go after J.D.
Absolutely not, he told the creature. Just be patient.
It pouted at him and sulked in the corner.
It was only rational and logical that he should get to know her first. And that she get to know him. The real him.
From out of nowhere, a deep-seated fear gripped him at the realization. To quote his mate, he didn’t want to ‘fuck this up’ either. But there were so many things J.D. didn’t know about him.
And what she did know wasn’t even the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Underneath the surface was a continent-sized jumble of personal, not to mention familial, issues she had no clue about.
Had he forgotten about what he left behind? His duties and his history? Just because he’d crossed the Atlantic, it didn’t mean they didn’t exist. If—no, when—she did find out, well …
He would have to ease her into it, and just hope and pray that it wouldn’t send her running in the opposite direction.
Chapter Four
J.D. hummed to herself as she waited for noon to roll around the next day. Damon had said it was fine to bring him along, of course. Not that she would have cared either way, because she probably would have bullied or blackmailed him if he’d said the opposite or ask the real boss, AKA Anna Victoria, for permission.
As she sat on the couch fiddling with her phone, a notification popped up indicating she had gotten a text message. A groan escaped her mouth when she saw the name.
Roy Jorell.
The message summary began with, Happy Turkey Day! What are you.…
Ugh. He was the last person she wanted to think about right now. But before she could swipe it away, a phone call came in. Her heart sped up, wondering if it was Cam, but another name flashed on the caller ID, one that made her pause before taking it. “Darcey?”
“H-hey, J.D.” The swan shifter sounded just as surprised. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Happy Thanksgiving,” she said. “What’s up? How’ve you been?”
“I’m good.” There was a pause. “I know this is out of blue. Me calling you that is. And I wasn’t sure if you wanted to talk to me, but I wanted to say sorry about last night.”
“Sorry? Hun, whaddaya got to be sorry about? If anything, it should be Anders apologizing.” She still didn’t like the way Anders spoke to Cam. Her cat, too, wanted to reach out and swipe at him.
“Yes, that too. I’ll talk to him about that.” Her tone turned somber. “I mean, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Cam and me. Gabriel explained that you and Cam were mates, and if I had known—”
“Hold on, Darce,” she interrupted. “There’s nothing for you to apologize for. It was in the past, before he and I met. And it’s not like I was waiting around for him to come along.”
“I know. But you looked so pissed last night.”
“Only because I was blindsided. Everyone seemed to know that you and Cam went out except me. And really, I don’t have any right to complain; Cam and I only met an hour before that, so it’s not like we had time to talk about who we dated in the past. So please, Darcey, don’t feel bad at all. I don’t want things to be awkward between us, because I consider you a good friend. One of the few female friends I have.”
“Oh, J.D., you don’t know how happy that makes me.” She sniffled. “Sorry. Pregnancy hormones.”
“Don’t worry about it. How are you feeling, by the way? And tell me all about your trip and meeting your family.”