Page 124 of Heart of Dawn
But first, meeting the parents…
“We’re sorry it’s taken so long to arrange this,” Jasper Bloom said.
Ori’s dad shared the same skin tone as his son, but had raven black hair and brown eyes, half-moon spectacles sitting on the tip of his nose.
Nova, his mum, had the same scarlet hair, the curled tresses brushing her shoulders, but her complexion was a lighter shade than her husband and son’s. She kept her green eyes on the table, less friendly than Jasper, having only said hello to me so far.
“It’s alright,” I answered. “We’ve all been busy. Time just gets away from you.”
A frosty Nova sipped her equally frosty Vodka Flower while Ori went to get the food from his hut.
God, what a pretty spot. Right on the beach, facing the ocean, gentle waves licking the shore. A little way out in the water was a tall rock, about twenty feet tall, palm trees growing from the top of it. Apparently, you could swim out to it and climb a natural staircase inside to the summit.
We’d have to climb that at some point.
For now, I tried breaking the ice. “These are so good.” I sipped my Vodka Flower.
True. Cold, smooth, and with a slight sweetness that hit all the right spots.
Nova glanced at me, giving me nothing. I suppose saving the world didn’t give her son a free pass at being with a man.
I kept a lid on my anger overthat. For Ori’s sake.
“Tell us about your life as alpha,” Jasper said, trying his best.
We spoke about my life, my family. Nova didn’t respond, only looking up when Orion brought some light Faery nibbles to the table. He didn’t want to do a full dinner party in case shit kicked off.
It better not…
Ori finally joined us after his dad finished discussing Faery politics with me.
I stroked my man’s back as he sat beside me, catching his mum’s attention. No outward reaction on her face, per se, but if her jaw were any tighter, she’d be spitting teeth.
“These look lovely, son,” Jasper praised the colorful picky bits—cheese, salad items, puffy pastry things resembling vol-au-vents, and various canapés.
“Thanks, Papa. Enjoy.”
“You’re the best, cherrypie.” I kissed his cheek.
Jasper smiled, while Nova made no effort to pick up her cutlery.
“You good?”I asked my mate.
“Not really.”
“Shouldn’t have kissed you.”
We were the only bonded mates to have this special form of mental communication.
“I’m not ashamed of us or myself,”he returned.“Kiss away.”
He really did make me proud every single day.
I went for another round of Crack the Ice. “What about you, Mrs. Bloom?”
She looked at me. “What about me?”
“Do you?—”
