Page 28 of Fearless as an Eagle

Alex, Riley, and I burst out laughing at her expression. It’s the funniest, cutest thing I’ve ever seen.Damn, my mate is adorable. I can’t wait to show her off to my family.

Mia glares at all of us and is about to say something when Mason walks back into the room.

“Mom says congratulations and welcome to the family. She can’t wait to meet you,” he says as he wraps his arm around Mia’s waist and kisses the top of her head. “Speaking of which, when is Momma T requesting our presence?”

“Tonight?” I grimace.

“You have fun with that. I’m out!” Alex says, pointing to the door. I roll my eyes at him but he just snickers before giving Mia a hug. “I’m proud of you,” he whispers to her, even though he knows we could all hear him. He gives the illusion that it’s some kind of secret between them.

“Thanks,” she whispers back.

Once everyone says their goodbyes, and Alex leaves, Mia turns to me and says, “So on a scale ofthis is awesometokill me now, how bad is this gonna be?”

“I’m almost certain you’ll survive,” I tell her with an unsure smile and a shrug.

“Oh, yeah. I can see that.” She laughs as she shakes her head. “How long do I have until we leave?”

“I don’t know, an hour? Maybe two. Why?”

“Because I can’t meet your family looking likethis.” She waves her hand up and down her body but I see nothing wrong with the way she looks.

“Uhhh… Someone help me out here? What’s wrong with the way you are now? I think you’re beautiful,” I say, not sure what kind of trap I’ve just walked into.

“And I love you for that, but this is not meet the family clothes. I’ve gotta take a shower and do my hair and makeup. Mason, I’m taking over your bathroom.”

“Of course, love. Anything you need,” he agrees readily.

“Good boy.” She pats his cheek and snickers.

“Hey, that’s my line.”

She just giggles in response before noticing me and Riley staring at her. “What? What’s wrong with you?”

“You love us?” Riley says in awe.

“What? Uhh… N-oo. It’s just an expression. Gosh.”

“I love you too,” he tells her with the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face. Seriously, that’s gotta hurt.

“You do?” she gasps.

“Of course, I do. Why wouldn’t I?” he teases her.

Her face lights up. Like, she fuckingglows. And I wish I would have said it first. That I was the one to make her look at me like that.

“I love you, too,Cuore Mio,” I tell her, not expecting the tears I see shinning in her eyes.

“We all love you, Little Bird. How could we not?” Mason agrees.

She blinks and a tear falls down her cheek. “I love you, too. All of you. I never expected it, but I can’t deny it’s true,” she admits with a watery laugh.

“Don’t cry, baby. I can’t stand to see you cry,” I say as I cup her cheek, wiping the tears away with my thumb.

“Ugh! Sorry! I’m a mess. I’m just so happy. At least you made me crybeforeI did my makeup.” She chuckles before leaning up on her toes and kissing me on my lips. It’s a chaste kiss, just a brush of the lips. There one second and gone the next before she’s moving on to Riley then Mason before finally rushing off toward the stairs to apparently get dolled up for my family. I should probably thank them for that. I have yet to see her dressed up. I’m not sure how she’s going to top her everyday beauty, but I look forward to seeing it.

“I gotta go work on this project,” Mason mumbles distractedly as he walks away.

“Did you know he had a project he’s working on?” Riley asks with a furrowed brow.

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