Page 70 of To Spark a Dragon's Love
We’d been young when we got together and I suspected he might not love me in the way he said, but I didn’t complain. I thought if I stayed quiet, things would eventually smooth out. I never demanded more. Didn’t raise my voice.
Never stood up for myself.
I didn’t know if it was from the guilt that we were being forced into a wedding neither of us truly wanted or if I was just terrified of being a parent alone, but I never asked for more than he gave and I never forced him to tell me the truth.
I knew better now.
I deserved to be loved in the way I wanted and sometimes that meant voicing my concerns, but the younger parts of me still felt like a bitch for asking anything from Malachy.
The least I could do was plan a party for a bunch of supernatural beings to come celebrate the hero I was falling in love with.
“I didn’t know that silverware was actually supposed to be silver.” Ember stood buffing the spoons that’d sat in the drawers for years.
“Do you at least know which fork to use?” Amanda nudged her, teasing.
Ember was the only one sturdy enough to take the bump without stumbling, but she did eye the woman a little distrustfully before letting herself relax.
“I like Mandy. She’s fun,” Riley said as she helped me carry the clean linen to the tables.
We’d spent the morning airing and cleaning the great room. The tables were spaced out evenly to allow room for bigger bodies to navigate the walkways. I’d thought about leaving a place for dancing to add some fun to the evening, but Ember and Riley shot that idea down.
Apparently, I didn’t make a great playlist and no one liked my “Monster Mash” addition.
But the room was cleaned and dusted, even the high-strung chandelier. Thankfully Amanda had freakishly good balance for her size and she was great at climbing.
“Mandy’s awesome,” I told Riley, peeking out the window as we passed. Harper was in the yard doing handstands with the boys. “Her kids are amazing too.”
“And her family is coming to help out tonight?” Riley asked as she grabbed the other end of the white tablecloth to help me spread it across the table.
“Some of her cousins are coming out here permanently to help with the grounds,” I said. “But the chef and waitstaff are various shifters from the little mountain town down the road.”
“That’s good.” Riley fussed over the placement of the napkins, not raising her eyes to mine. “You’ll have a full house then.”
A stone clogged my throat that I swallowed as I nodded. “Yep.”
I already knew what was coming when she said, “I’ve been thinking—”
“You and Lucan should totally go. There’s no reason you have to stay.” I smiled as brightly as I could despite my stomach twisting with dread.
“Not now of course,” she said. “We’ll wait until things settle down and you get to know Amanda better. It’s just that I—and Lucan—feel like we’re getting in the way here.”
“You’re never in the way,” I hurried to say, stopping myself before I begged her to stay with me. We weren’t kids anymore. If she needed to go, I’d let her.
Riley smiled sadly. “Doesn’t it make you feel guilty that Malachy has to do all this himself? He keeps pushing Lucan away and it’s killing him. But I guess I understand why. No one else could do what he does. I’m glad he has you, though. And that things are getting better. Kieran said he flew over Boise the other day and the National Guard is letting traffic through again.”
“That’s amazing.” I turned away, grabbing more napkins to fold.
“Uh oh,” Riley said.
“What?” I glanced at the window to make sure Harper was still okay.
“I know this look.” Riley stepped into my field of vision, blocking the view outside. “You’re doing the whole ‘smile for everyone else when you’re dying inside’ thing. What’s going on?”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.” I took a step back.
“What’s wrong with Willow?” Ember pushed in the wheeled cart with silverware, eyes narrowing in my direction.
“Nothing,” I squeaked, a little too loud to be believable.
