Page 8 of Pucking With My Head

“They are fungus!” I laughed loudly. “I have no desire to eat random moss I find in the woods or lick the mildew off my shower wall. I am not friends with the fungi!”

Cullen looked horrified, but then burst into laughter.

We drove through a nice part of town, far nicer than any area I had been in. I knew Joey’s fathers did well for themselves, considering one was a lawyer, another a doctor, and the third a restaurant owner. I just hadn’t realizedhownice of an area they lived in.

Every house had massive, well-manicured lawns and their own private gates.

We pulled up outside a particularly large property, and like magic, the gate opened.

“Do you press a button to open the gate, or does it just know to do that?” I asked, amazed by their fancy-pants technology.

Cullen glanced at the gate as he turned into the long driveway. “Our cars have chips in them that the gate recognizes and lets us in.”

“Fancy,” I said, suppressing a gasp as the house came into sight. It was gigantic, modern, and gray.

I resisted the urge to say anything as we pulled up outside the house and Cullen got out, rushing over to my side to open my door before I had the chance to do so.

Quietly thanking him, I slid out of the seat.

“Bethany!” Joey’s excited shout reached my ears only a second before a small body hurtled into mine. Arms wrapping around me, the child beamed excitedly.

“Hi! Looks like you’re happy to see me.” I smiled. Her grin was infectious.

“I am! You are way cooler than the other girl my dads get to babysit.”

I chuckled as she grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the entrance. Jensen was standing at the door, arms crossed, aloving smile on his face as he watched his daughter drag me into the house.

“Hi,” I greeted him breathlessly.

“Hey, thank you so much for this,” he said, nodding to Joey, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“My pleasure.”

Now that I was in their house, all I could think about was how strong their scents were. It was overpowering, but in the best way. Having both of their scents mixing together in one space was a heady experience. There was also a subtle hint of parchment in the air. Gideon’s scent.

“She hasn’t eaten yet,” Cullen said gruffly from the doorway.

“You need to eat.” Jensen frowned. “Give her a card. She and Joey can get takeout.”

Next to me, Joey gasped. “Pizza!” she cried in excitement.

“Don’t get too excited, munchkin,” Jensen admonished. “What if Bethany doesn’t like pizza?”

Joey’s face fell. “Oh, well, that would be sad. But we can order different food?”

Jensen was clearly holding back a laugh.

“Well”—I squeezed her hand as I beamed down at her—“I happen tolovepizza.”

Joey’s face broke out into a wide grin as she started bouncing on the spot. “Yes!” she cried excitedly, her little curls bouncing around crazily as she did so.

“That’s good,” Jensen agreed. “I hesitated to mention it, but if you didn’t like pizza, I was going to be convinced you were a psychopath, and I wasn’t sure we should have a psychopath looking after our daughter.”

“Pizza is a very good litmus test for psychopaths,” I agreed, keeping my tone serious.

“Thankfully, in this house, we all like pizza, so you’re safe.” Jensen laughed.

“Is there anything else I need to know—bedtime? Routine? Homework?”

---