Page 46 of Claiming Her Cougar
“We’re going shopping tomorrow,” Daphne says.“We could meet for dinner and then go over.”
Mallory nods.“That works if it’s okay with the guys.”She looks to me like I’m not going to agree with anything she suggests that enables us to spend time together.
“Yeah, sounds good,” I say.
“Oh, why don’t you guys come over tonight and help decorate the tree!”Daphne suggests, doing a clappy-clappy-excited-bounce thing.
“It’s your first Christmas tree,” I remind her.“Don’t you want to be all romantic and junk with just the two of you?”I figure this is one of those romance milestones couples celebrate.I look to Logan for confirmation, and he just shrugs.
The moms have just been listening.Very unlike them.I almost forgot they were there.Aunt Holly nudges Mom and says, “Remember how we used to decorate each other’s trees before we had kids?”
Mom laughs.“Yes!You could tell when the liquor kicked in.I oversaw the tinsel and at first, I’d be very deliberate and place it strand by strand.As the eggnog kicked in, I’d start being less meticulous.By the fourth cup of Grammy Morgan’s eggnog, I’d be throwing it on the tree in big globs.”
I laugh.“You still do that!”
“I fix it once I sober up,” Mom protests with a giggle.
“Anyway,” Aunt Holly says, “decorating with couple friends is fun.”
“Oh, we’re not a couple,” Mallory rushes to say.
“Okay, dear,” Aunt Holly says with a whatever-you-say tone to her voice and a smirk.
Mallory shoots me a glance, and I just shrug.I know Aunt Holly can smell the pheromones we’re putting off since she’s a cougar shifter like I am.Mom and Daphne are human, so they don’t have that clue.Logan, as a golden eagle shifter, doesn’t have a super keen sense of smell, but nothing escapes his notice.
“Thank you,” Mallory says, “but I really just want to stay home tonight.”She softens her rejection with a smile.“It’s been a long week, and we’ll be going shopping tomorrow and to the farm tomorrow night, so I need tonight to recharge.”
“I’m not being a third wheel, so I’m out,” I say.
“Maybe we can see it tomorrow before we go to the farm?”Mallory suggests.She’s good at being tactful.I tend to be too blunt.
“That’s a good idea, I guess,” Daphne concedes.“Speaking of letting you recharge…we should probably head out.Sorry to have just dropped in randomly.We didn’t realize this was your rink.I can’t get over how small of a world it is!”
We all chuckle.For once, I’m grateful that this world is small and there are all these connections and ties between me and Mallory.
“I know Mike still talks with your dad, Mallory,” Aunt Holly says.“I’m surprised they never made the connection.”
Mallory giggles.“I’m not surprised.With the way Dad laser focuses on things, random connections like that wouldn’t occur to him.”
Aunt Holly winks.“Sounds like Robert hasn’t changed then.His hyper-focus was legendary in law school.We used to try to break his concentration when he was reading case law, and it was impossible.The only thing that would do it was your mother walking into the library.It was like radar.She’d walk in, and suddenly she was the focus of his attention.”
“Really?That’s so sweet.I never think about them back in college or dating.They’re just Mom and Dad.”I love the soft expression Mallory’s face has, and I hope to inspire that look one day.
“Well, we should go,” Aunt Holly says.She’s my favorite aunt.“Great seeing you, Mallory.You’ll be at the company party on Friday?”
“I will.Looking forward to it.Are ugly sweaters really okay?”
“More than okay.We encourage them!”Mom bounces on her toes.What is it with everyone being all bouncy today?First Daphne and now Mom.Maybe it’s a human thing?“Are you going to wear one?We have a contest.”
“Maybe.Still thinking about it.”Mallory grins.She has a mischievous twinkle in her eye that I can’t wait to get to the bottom of.Can’t wait to get to her bottom.
Okay, Liam, stop that train of thought before your thoughts become evident to everyone.I feel Liam Jr.stirring, and without the cold of an ice rink to help keep things tame or a cup to keep things contained down there, we’re going to have a situation.I fidget and glide away to snag a puck, hoping being in motion will disguise things.Skating with the start of a hard-on isn’t that comfortable, but neither is having an erection in front of your mother.Lesser of two evils and all that.
I feel Logan’s gaze follow me as I skate and, when I glance his way, his smirk tells me he knows exactly why I started skating.Jerk.
“Liam, I’ll leave your keys under the front seat?”Mom asks.“I borrowed his truck to carry the trees,” she tells Mallory.
“Yeah, that’s fine.”I weave my way through cones with the puck on my stick.The concentration it takes is helping resolve my issue south of the equator.
