“Sandra, this is Lance,” Annalia’s espresso-colored eyes met his and Lance’s chest puffed up.
All his protective instincts on high alert. Still, he was gratified to see his presence soothed her obviously frayed nerves as she pressed close to his side. Whatever these two wanted, it was obviously not what she wanted.
“So?” her sister scoffed, “We are your family, Anna. Let’s go.”
“Yes. This is none of your business,” the man added.
“Like Anna said, my name is Lance, Lance Jacosa, and if this concerns Annalia, it is very much my business,” he allowed a hint of his Tiger to lace his words.
Mine.
Eight
“Alright, everyone needs to calm down,” Anna pressed her side into Lance.
The feel of his big warm body near her made her resolve that much firmer. Sandra was always running roughshod over Anna, but not this time.
She couldn’t believe this was happening. Why was her sister even here? And Glenn? Since when did he even acknowledge Anna?
“This is family business, Anna, not his. Come on,” Sandra said in that same bored, annoyed voice that always grated on Annalia’s nerves.
“Well,” she put her hand in Lance’s, glad when he squeezed tightly, “he’s my family too. You’ve heard of Shifters? Well, I’m his mate.”
“What?” Glenn barked.
“Oh no, you did not go and tie yourself to some kind of animal,” Sandra screeched.
“I don’t know what you want from me,” Anna began.
“Want? We want you home with us. You haven’t even looked at the quarterly documents, much less signed them,” Sandra sniffed.
“You can’t even do the simple things we have asked of you. How many times did I tell you? Those documents are important! You can’t live up here on your own when you forget your obligations to your family. Now, you are coming back home,” Glenn said in a muffled voice.
He looked like he was going to burst that vein in his forehead if he didn’t calm down. But then again Glenn always was dramatic.
Anna looked to her sister for aid, but Sandra just nodded, agreeing with her husband. Her red-nailed hands dug into her too skinny hips, and Annalia noted how unhealthy she looked. Like plastic.
The sweet sister she’d loved when she was a baby didn’t exist anymore. Sandra was different now. Hard. All Botox and war paint.
There was nothing left underneath all that armor. Years of caring about money and keeping up with the Joneses had killed all her warmth. She didn’t know what love was. She certainly had none for her little sister.
“Did you ever love me?” Anna asked.
“What? Anna don’t be stupid. I took you in. Glenn did. We didn’t send you to foster care when we could have.”
“Hmm, you mean should have,” her husband added.
Pain gripped Annalia’s heart, followed by the rolling growl coming from Lance. His presence soothed her, but this was going to hurt no matter what. She’d hoped they cared even a little about her and her happiness. But right then, Sandra and Glenn tore apart every dream of a real family she’d ever had.
They’d done that with everything she wanted growing up. Especially, when she was little and dreamed of finding her true love.
“True love is for princesses, Anna, not chubby little girls.” Sandra’s past voice played in her mind.
“I don’t think you ever loved me,” Anna smiled sadly.
“You know, you have lost your mind! Thinking of you with this animal makes me sick! It’s a good thing I packed your apartment up,” Sandra grabbed a cigarette from her pocket and lit, “We are going now.”
Annalia covered her mouth and nose and backed up a step. Her sister always smoked around her, uncaring of the fact it triggered many of her allergies and led to a severe difficulty in breathing.
“Put that out,” Lance growled, but Sandra just laughed.
“As if I would listen to you. What are you, a dog?” she looked him up and down.
“No. He’s not. And are you serious? You emptied my apartment?” Anna glared at her sibling.
She’d been pushed too far this time. Sandra might be her older sister, but Annalia had paid her debt long ago. These people did not have an affectionate bone in their bodies. They just stood and glared scathingly at her. Like she was dirt.
“Now, look, you owe us, pudge,” her sister tried sweetness now, using the nickname she’d called her as a kid, which Anna hated by the way, “We paid for college and your first car-”
“You gave me your old car, and I had to have the engine and transmission rebuilt! And here,” she took her checkbook out of her purse and filled it out, thrusting it at her older, bitter sister, “This is the last payment I owe you for that college loan. Don’t worry Glenn, I included the bank interest like I always do! Now, leave me alone, and don’t ever come back here.”
“W-what about, Rory?” Sandra said.
Her sister looked doubtful for the first time in Annalia’s memory. She wondered why, but it was too little too late.
“My nephew can come see me anytime he likes,” she answered.
The little boy spent most of his time now with nannies and tutors. Thank goodness. He was smart and sensitive. Nothing like his parents.
“Look, Annalia, let’s discuss this privately,” Glenn tried.
“No,” she said, grateful again for Lance’s presence.
The big man’s warmth seeped through her clothes, chasing away the sudden chill Sandra and Glenn brought with them. There was something about the way he stood just there, behind her. Strong and silent, ready to jump in should she need him, but content to let her take care of things.
She had expected a more overbearing display of machismo. Something she didn’t think she could handle. This was her mess, and she needed to clean it up. Luckily for her, her mate gave her just what she needed.
“There is nothing else to say. Except goodbye,” she turned and looked up into Lance’s beautiful, clear eyes, ““I am going to live my life how I want, and that’s with you.”
She never thought blue could be so hot, and yet there was fire in his unwavering gaze. Like nothing she’d ever seen. So much heat and desire, and if she wasn’t mistaken, affection too.
Burning blue lava rocks, the kind people placed in outdoor fire pits. That was what his eyes reminded her of, and they pulled her in like a crystalline magnet.
She smiled widely. Noting at first the shock, then the gratitude as he dipped down to brush his lips against hers.
“Should we go talk now?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Lance said, “I’d like that.”
“Wait!” Sandra interrupted them, pulling a snarl from the big man holding her.
Annalia grinned and patted his chest. Turning round, she faced her sister.
“What is it?”
“Well, you see, Annalia, the truth is I lied,” she gasped, “all those years ago when mother and father died, they didn’t leave us nothing. Daddy didn’t lose it all.”
“What?” Anna gasped. She’d never fully understood how her father, who’d been a successful real estate mogul could have lost his entire estate just before he and his wife died in a horrible car accident.