Page 189 of Taken By the Fae

Tristan sighs, his brows furrowed. “Was that necessary?”

She whirls on him and says one word: “Max.”

His eyes soften, and he nods, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and guiding me toward the door while the team of fae who followed us here come in and prepare to destroy this facility too. “Let’s go home.”

ChapterFifty-One

“You’re what?” Mom shrieks, her eyes wide as she stands in front of me.

A few days after Tristan became human, I meet my parents at an Italian restaurant downtown for lunch to share the news of my engagement.

Tristan stayed at the hotel with Skylar, who’s meeting with the seelie king later today to make her knight position official. Elijah is with our grandparents, and as much as I miss him, I’m happy to have some time with my parents.

Dad swallows hard, his eyes glassy. “Congratulations, kiddo.”

Mom turns to him. “You’re too calm. Why aren’t you freaking out? Our daughter is getting married!”

He smiles, wrapping his arm around Mom’s shoulders, and leans in to kiss her cheek. “Because I already knew.” Dad laughs at my wide-eyed expression. “I spoke to Tristan on the phone before he bought the ring.”

Holy shit.

I blink, trying to force back the tears. Just when I thought I couldn’t love Tristan any more.

Mom reaches for my hand and lifts it so she can look at the ring. She sucks in a breath. “Oh, honey, it’s beautiful.”

“I’m in love with it,” I say with a smile, staring at it myself. I’ve barely taken my eyes off it since Tristan slid it onto my finger.

We haven’t set a date for the wedding yet, deciding it best to wait until we have a better handle on the situation with the Experiment and Tristan adapts to being human. He still owns and operates the Westbrook Hotel, considering it’s always been a mostly human business, and—on paper—my bookstore that will be open for business next month, once I graduate.

That said, there’s an ongoing battle with the Experiment to deal with before I can think about dresses and flowers. That’s not to say Allison hasn’t been sending wedding idea photos since we told her we were engaged, because she hasn’t stopped.

She and Oliver, along with Skylar and Nikolai, are no longer staying in Tristan’s guest rooms since we announced our engagement. I’ve barely spent any time at the dorm, which has worked out so that Oliver can stay with Allison to finish out the semester. For someone who knew nothing about the fae not too long ago, he’s handling that part exceptionally well. The grief surrounding Max’s death is another story, but Allison assures me each day is a little easier for him. It probably helps that exams are looming, giving him plenty of distraction in the form of final assignments and studying.

Needing a slight distraction of my own, I spend the afternoon with my parents, allowing myself not to think about the fae, and enjoy seeing them for the first time in too long. Today, I’m going to breathe, smile, and just be human.

After lunch, the three of us walk along the downtown shopping district.

Mom squeals when she spots a bridal shop. “Let’s go in!”

I press my lips together, shaking my head. “Mom, no. Come on, we haven’t even set a date yet.”

She waves me off. “It’s never too early to look.”

I look to Dad for help, but he just shrugs, laughing at Mom’s sparkle-eyed excitement. “Humor your poor mother, kiddo. She won’t give up until you do, and we both know it.”

I glance back and forth between them and sigh. “All right, fine.”

Mom’s eyes light up immediately, and we walk into the store, being greeted by an employee who asks if she can help us find ‘something special.’

Mom nods. “Our daughter just got engaged,” she says, beaming. “We’re looking for the perfect dress.”

The store clerk smiles and leads us deeper into the store. “Can I offer anyone champagne?”

“That would be lovely,” Mom answers before Dad or I have a chance to say anything. We exchange amused glances and say nothing, letting Mom have her excited mother-of-the-bride moment.

The store clerk ushers me into a more private part of the changing room. “When’s your big day?”

I bite my lip. “We haven’t set the date yet. I wasn’t looking to go dress shopping for a while, but my mom saw your store and insisted we come in.”

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