Page 20 of The Manny's Fiery Dragon Bond

Gods, I wished I’d had this talk after speaking to Ollie. Or at least face to face with my son. But this was what I had.

“Oh,” Tavian said again, softer now.

“I didn’t believe it at first when Ollie told me, but… there’s no way he’s just a fling. Or even a casual relationship. I feel the same way for him that I did for your father,” I admitted. “Or close enough to recognize the signs now.”

If only I hadn’t been too stubborn to accept them immediately. Then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

“Then what are you waiting for? Go get him.”

“I fucked up,” I said quietly. “I thought I’d give him some space.”

“Space is not what he needs,” Tavian snapped. “If you rejected him, you need to go to him. Now. Take it from me—I waited too long. I thought I was giving Kier time. What I should’ve been doing was being honest with him. We could’ve saved so much time.”

Damn it. He was right. I hated that he was right. At five hundred years old, I shouldn’t be making rookie mistakes like this, and yet here I was, needing my kid to tell me what a bonehead I was being.

“Is he at your house now?” I asked. I was already reaching for my keys. I’d already wasted too much time, I refused to waste any more.

“No. He said he was heading to the bookstore. Try there.”

I knew the place well. I’d been going for years. What was new to me was that my mate enjoyed it too. Or maybe he was on an errand. I planned to find out which.

“Okay,” I said. We said our goodbyes. I closed my laptop and left to find my mousey mate.

After all this time, the idea of having someone at my side again… it was wild. The longest years of my life had been the ones spent alone. The ones without Chastain. Without anyone. Just me and my sons, and now they were grown.

Thankfully, even though it was a Sunday and the bookshop was usually packed, it was quiet. I blamed the beautiful day and was grateful for it. It made finding my mate easier. I instantly spotted Ollie through the window, curled into one of the comfy chairs, reading.

He looked up. Our eyes met. Then he looked away fast and sank deeper into the chair. He wasn’t happy to see me. If anything, my presence caused him pain.

Fuck. I really had screwed up.

I pushed through the front door, barely acknowledging the woman at the counter who normally greeted me with a smile. I didn’t stop, walking straight to my mate.

“Hello, Lord Malric,” Ollie said, still flipping pages. He wasn’t actually reading, though—I’d watched him flip two pages in five seconds. The “lord” was like a punch in the gut.

“Ollie, I’d like to talk.” To fix things, to make you see that I am worthy despite being a horrible mate.

He sighed. “I don’t want to talk. Eventually, we can have a discussion. But not today. I just want to be alone.”

“I respect that. I do. And I want to give you space—but I believe you. I believe we’re mates.” I had to at least get that out. He needed to know.

Ollie sucked in a breath and finally closed the book. He set it beside him.

“You do? You truly do?”

He didn’t fully believe me, and I understood why. I’d messed up so royally.

The hope in his eyes fueled me.

“Yes. I recognize the signs now. I spoke with a friend of mine. He confirmed it’s possible. Some people have two mates at the same time.So it’d not beyond the realm of possibility that I would have two years apart.” I shouldn’t have needed a friend to open my eyes. I should’ve trusted my feelings, trusted my mate. Past me was a jerk of a dragon, and I vowed to myself never to be that guy again.

“You talked to a friend?” Ollie’s face twisted, and he sank back into the chair, further away from me. “About me... about us… about what we did.” His cheeks were bright red. Adorable.

“Yes.” I figured it best not to linger on any details connected with me discussing our personal life with anyone not him. “And as soon as he confirmed it, everything clicked. I can’t control my dragon right now. It’s taking everything I have not to scoop you up and run.”

Ollie smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Did he still not believe me. That would be fair, given my behavior.

“What is it?”

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