The groan out of the creature I’m dating is heavy, happier, and louder than any of the others have been all evening.
Guess he liked that little reference I made.
And I don’t feel nearly as worrisome about it as I did when I first thought it.
According to what my brother and his wife are saying, nothing about our situation is that preposterous. He listened to his instinct about them being together. Perhaps I should stop fighting so hard against mine.
Rather than get into the details of his noise, I insist he stay at the table to get to know my family better and saunter off to help Minnie. Cleaning away the impressive amount of sauce is done in her bathroom. She lets me properly tidy her curls and practices doing the same on the doll that looks just like her. It was a Christmas gift I saved all year to buy last year, but I needed her to have it. I need her growing up loving the hair on her head in a way that I didn’t learn to until much later in life. Having her mock what I’m doing helps us connect in a way, but it also teaches her as well as her mother how to handle something they are unfamiliar with. I’m blessed to have grown up in a building filled with different types of people, unknowingly versing me in so many types of hair; however, dealing with curls and curls on a mixed little girl at that, is a task my pediatric neurosurgeon sister-in-law still needs major assistance with. For her, brain surgery in two realms is literally easier than figuring out what to do with any type of hair, including her own.
Like always, I lose track of time playing with my adorable niece. What should’ve been a simple wash and clean turns into a makeshift beauty shop moment that involves teacups and her spilling the tea on life at private prep school.
And I totally needed to know that Clay is eating crayons during recess every day.
I’m not sure how long A.D. has been watching; however, the adoring stare I meet between refills tells me exactly what he’s thinking.
He wants us having children.
Soon.
Our departure from their home comes shortly after he interrupts our salon moment, and we’re not even out of the neighborhood when he asks, “Why didn’t you let your brothers take care of you, Tiny Toes?”
The search for the bag of fun-sized M&M’s in my tote immediately halts. “Excuse me?”
“All these hardships you deal with – well, dealt with. That shit is over now. You’re not going back to living off of refried beans and cutting bangs for rides to work ever. Again.”
“Okay, hold your shiny gold scales for just a fucking moment, dragonhole.” My body angles itself to face him better. “I don’t choose to have shit luck. That’s just a terrible gift from The Great Ones that I can’t seem to find the receipt for so I can return it. More importantly, I choose not to leach off my family because that’s not who I am. I’m not some poor – although I am poor – pathetic, useless, twat who doesn’t know how to fend for herself. I can take care of me! Maybe not always well and maybe that means my shoes have holes in them or that my tank tops and camis aren’t this stainless, but I figure out how to keep a roof over my head and some sort of calorie containing shit on my table!” There’s a brief pause for me to correct myself again. “Kitchen counter. I sold my table to pay my phone bill for a couple of months.”
“That,” A.D. viciously bites. “That’s the bullshit I’m talking about. You view others trying to help you as an insult when all your family has ever tried to do is provide for you when they knew you needed help. For Dragons Sake, some of the stories your brother told me about the strength you’ve shown were equally amazing as they were appalling. And you know what I learned from all of them?”
“My superhero cape size?”
“That your pride is your biggest problem.”
“And yours is just totally in control?”
It’s his turn to let guilt grace his expression.
“Don’t act like I’m the only one in this car afraid of asking for help.”
“I’m not afraid of asking.”
“Neither am I.”
“I don’t like it.”
“And neither do I.”
Silence stretches between us until we cruise onto the highway. Our change in road unfortunately doesn’t transition us to a different topic. “Anais, I think you are the most remarkable creature I’ve ever met.”
“I like compliments.”
“But-”
“Not. Interested.”
“But I am literally built to take care of you.”
His words furrow my brow.
“It is – no exaggeration – built into the fiber of my being to care for my Fated Mate. And not being able to kills me more than us being unbonded ever could.”
The unexpected confession renders me speechless.
“You want your independence? I get that. Believe me, Tiny Toes, I get that. I fought for my own over a hundred years. Proving myself, proving that I can handle whatever life spills on my blazer, is still a hard battle I fight against my big brother to this very fucking day. You have no idea how hard I tried to be the one to cover up the shit that happened at your salon that night only to be basically told I didn’t have what it took to clean up my own shit.”
His understanding of my inner turmoil shrinks me a bit in my seat.
“So, yeah, I fucking get it. I really do.”
Words to comfort him aren’t provided a pause to pop out.
“But I don’t want to take your control away from you. I don’t want you to suddenly become subservient and reliant on me for your every waking need; however, I cannot and will not let you live the way you were previously living. I promised that to Al as much as I promised it to myself.”
“What?!”
“And Gold.”
“I thought you two rarely agreed!”
“Seems like when it comes to you, we manage to agree a bit more.”
“Fucking seriously?!”
“You are ours to care for, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I know this week has been like an overdue vacation at a five-star resort for you between the dream service, the dream wardrobe, and listening to murder podcasts while relaxing in the pool, but I know that’s going to wear off soon if it hasn’t already, so shoot me your resumé, and I’ll submit it to the DL & Co. headhunter to see if there are any openings that are a good match for your skillset. To see if we can find you a job to love and that makes you more income than randomly babysitting your niece. And if there’s not, I’ve got a few favors to cash in – not to get you the job before you even try to go off on me about it – just to get you an interview. It’ll be your responsibility to charm them, although might I suggest a few less F bombs during the interviews themselves.” He shoots me a teasing smirk. “Should we get a swear jar for when we have kids?”