Page 9 of A Lady's Heart
The wolves were her friends, and they were only looking out for her. And if she truly was taking control of her life that meant not worrying about what others thought of her plans.
“Ignore them,” Mandy ordered. “I’ve got some good news to share.”
Justin turned his attention on her as if she were the only one in the room. “Good news is always good.”
Mandy nodded. “My divorce papers came.”
His eyes widened in approval. “Well, congratulations.”
“I’ve been waiting for them to go through. I know according to shifter law he’s been out of my life for a while, but I wanted to make sure there were no further legal entanglements.”
Because the one thing she could trust Ainsworth to do was mess up her life any way he could, the vindictive bastard. Not just her life, but her family’s.
Justin’s fingers twitched on the table where they lay only inches from hers. “I’m pleased for you. So…what does this mean? What are your plans?”
She kept her gaze fixed on the coffee cup to avoid letting him read her thoughts. “Plans?”
“Are you moving? Getting a job?”
He seemed to have a whole lot of other unasked questions hovering on the tip of his tongue. The control he showed leaving them unasked impressed her. “I have no plans on getting a job immediately, but I have put some things in motion for down the road.” Her email to family. “In the meantime, I’ve made a list.”
“Hmm.” He examined her face. “A bucket list?”
“Not as big and shiny as that. It’s probably silly, but there are a lot of ordinary things I’ve never gotten a chance to try.” She smiled at him. “I think you know that I grew up in fairly fancy circumstances.”
“LadyAmanda.” He nodded, then looked a little sheepish. “You know I researched both you and Todd thoroughly this past summer.”
Oh. She considered for a moment, glancing toward the wolves out of the corner of her eye. “Does that mean you know my secrets?”
He shook his head. “I know your family has a title—a gift from the bears of the UK, and I know you’ve been estranged from them for eight years. I don’t know why, but I’d assume it had something to do with Todd.”
He was far too astute. “Right on all counts, but I’m not ready to talk about that yet. The point is I went from Lady Amanda, to Lord and Lady Ainsworth, because when Todd and I married, he had very grandiose plans, which meant again living a particular lifestyle.”
“And you want more of the simple life?”
She nodded. “Definitely. And I want it to be new and fresh, which is why I asked everyone to call me Mandy. I’m reclaiming myself, in a way.”
Warm fingers wrapped around hers, and he gave a brief squeeze before letting go. “Good for you.”
He was so easy to talk with when he wasn’t being bossy and growly. Although, she secretly liked that side of him too.
“And that’s where my list comes in. Living in the pack house gave me a safe place to adjust to my new world, and now I feel as if the time is right for me to start going through the items I’ve noted.”
“I’d say it was more than time. You deserve to enjoy some common, everyday pleasures.”
He was being careful. Cautious, which was exactly what she needed to boost her confidence. “Would you like to see it? My list?”
The muffin in Justin’s hand stuttered to a stop inches from his mouth.
“I’d be honoured.” He put down the food and reached for the paper she slid across the table, glancing toward the wolf pair who were craning their necks in the hopes of catching a glimpse.
Justin made a show of holding the paper in the perfect way that they could almost, but not quite, see it.
Mandy laughed softly. “You’re mean.”
“Just wait. They’re gonna find themselves a pair of eagle shifters to do their spying next,” Justin whispered.
“I told you we should’ve made that pair of bird shifters stay in our territory,” Evan grumbled as he got to his feet.
