There was an awkward pause for a moment, and then the blond-haired friend of Jacquelyn’s looked at him poignantly and asked “So why Coldspring, Texas?”
Fane cocked his head to the side, just like he would do in his wolf form. “Scuzaţi-mă (excuse me)?” he asked. “I do not understand the question.”
“Why did you choose to come to our little blink-of-an-eye town?” Jen asked, speaking slowly, as if to a child.
Jacquelyn elbowed her, which made Fane smile.
“Oh, I see. Well, honestly, I’m not sure. When I applied for the exchange program they sent me several candidates for my host family. I read about them and something about the Henrys felt right. I don’t know if I explained it right, but that is only how I know to say it,” Fane answered.
“Your English is very good,” Jacquelyn’s other friend, the brunette, stated.
“Da (yes), my parents have always spoken both Romanian and English to me. They thought it would be foolish to think I would only need to know Romanian language and culture,” Fane explained to her.
“So you have studied American culture as well?” Mrs. Henry asked.
“Da. American culture is quite different from mine. What I have been taught by teachers has not always stood true in real life.”
“Okay,” Lilly said firmly. “Enough of the Spanish inquisition. Girls, let’s briefly introduce ourselves and be on our way so Fane can get settled in.”
Lilly simply introduced herself from where she sat. “Fane, my name is Lilly Pierce and I’m Jacque’s mom. I own a bookstore on the square downtown to which you are most welcome anytime to study or chat. Please call me Lilly, as I am not my mother. She was Ms. Pierce. I am so glad to know you.”
“Meu doamnă, acesta este un onoruri,” Fane said, bowing ever so slightly.
“In your language I said,' my lady, it is an honor',” Fane translated.
Jen stood up and held out her hand. “I’m Jennifer Adams, a.k.a. Jen. I am also seventeen and a senior. Glad to know ya,” she said as he took her hand.
To her surprise, he did not shake it. He simply brought her hand to his lips, just barely laying them on the top of it.
Fane looked up at Jen after lightly kissing her hand and said, “Sa o placere sa te cunosc.”
Jen looked slightly dazed and confused.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Fane translated.
Sally stood up, gently pushing the hazy-looking Jen back down to the couch and then held out her hand.
“I’m Sally Morgan, seventeen, senior, and it’s nice to meet you,” she said with natural cheer.
Again, Fane took her hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a feather soft kiss on the top of it. Then he repeated what he'd said to Jen. “Sa o placere sa te cunosc.”
Sally sat down next to Jen and, when Jacquelyn made no move to stand up, Jen reached over and pinched the back of her arm.
“Oww!” Jacque yelped.
She glared at her friend but finally caught on to what Sally was silently telling her.
Standing up to introduce herself, Jacque began to speak, and for a moment her mouth wouldn’t spit out what her brain was telling her to say. “Oh, um, I, um...” Good grief, Jacque thought to herself, spit it out already. “I’m Jacque, seventeen, and a senior as well. Lilly is my mom.” She made no move to give Fane her hand.
The surprise on her face was obvious when he reached out and took her hand anyway. Fane bowed over as he brought it to his lips, and this time they lingered there.
As he held her hand to his mouth he took in her scent and found to his pleasure she smelled of cotton candy and fresh snow, an odd, but strangely familiar combination. He tried not to growl possessively, but couldn’t quite suppress the urge completely. Fane knew Jacquelyn had heard him because she tensed even more.
He lifted his eyes to hers and just as he had said to Sally and Jen, he told her, “Sa o placere sa te cunosc.
The only difference was as he spoke to her with his mouth he also sent her a message with his thoughts.
“I am so honored to finally meet you, my Luna,” he told her. “We have much to learn about each other.”