Jace looked at Josiah and then Zahra and shrugged. “Okay.” He ran into the living room, leaped up, and landed on the couch.
Zahra shook her head. “What have I told you about jumping on the couch?”
“Not to because it messes them up and since I’m unemployed, I’ll be unable to buy a new one.”
“That’s right.”
“Sorry, Mom.”
Josiah laughed.
They went into the kitchen and she pulled out two bottles of Gold Peak Sweet Ice Tea and handed him one.
“What’s up?” she asked, as calmly as she could.
“Do you have a date for the gala?”
“Nope. I was going to go stag.”
“I don’t have a date, either. So, I was thinking that we could go together. Would you go to the gala with me?”
“Sure.”
He smirked. “That doesn’t sound overly enthusiastic.”
“Your invitation wasn’t overly romantic or enthusiastic, either. It sounded more like a business proposal.”
“Maybe I need to work on my delivery.”
Zahra nodded.
“Okay, let me try again.” He reached across the table and linked his fingers with hers. “Oh, Zahra, beautiful mother of my child, would you do me the very great honor of accompanying me to the pack gala?”
She smiled. “That’s a little better. I would love to decorate your arm.”
They both laughed and Jace came in to see what was so funny.
“Your Dad’s a goof. We were just talking about going to the pack gala, and since we’re both going, we may as well go together.”
“Do I have to go?”
“Not if you don’t want to. We’ll find someone for you to hang out with,” Zahra said.
She got on her phone to order the pizza, and Josiah went into the living room to play games with Jace.
Sipping her tea, she thought about the prospect of going to the gala with Josiah. Most of the time, men asked women to go to the gala with them only if they were serious about the relationship. Other than having sex with her, Josiah hadn’t given any indication that they had anything but a friendship, based on their mutual love for Jace.
Quit reading things into situations that aren’t there. All I’m going to do is end up hurting myself. Take the invitation at face value…both of us need a date and it’s convenient.
The doorbell rang and she peeked outside to make sure that it was the delivery person before unlocking the door.
Josiah grinned as Jace opened one of the pizza boxes and put it in front of him. “The whole thing is yours?”
“Yep. Mom always gets me a large for myself. I like Canadian bacon, mushrooms, and pineapple on mine, and I usually eat it all in one sitting.”
Josiah made a face and looked at Zahra. “He gets that from you.”
“I always thought he got that from your side of the family. My family eats normal pizza.”