Page 91 of Spellbound & Speechless
Mac shakes his head, the shock turning to a nervous smile. “No, no. Nothing like that.” He leads me through the crowd. “C’mon. I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” I walk faster, as fast as my heels will allow. “I like surprises!”
“Don’t get too excited about this one,” he grumbles under his breath.
The surprise is a woman, probably in her late 50s, and it only takes a moment to realize who she is. She must be Mac’s mom; she has the same crystal blue eyes.
My lips part as I look between the two of them.
Mac is supposed to introduce me, but he doesn’t get a chance to say anything before the older woman speaks.
“Sorry, I’m late,” she says. “My flight landed an hour ago, and Mac didn’t offer me a ride.”
I gasp. “Mac! How could you?”
He rolls his eyes. “Sorry, Ma. I was getting ready for mywedding.”
She sniffs haughtily. “I forgive you.” When she looks at me, there’s no warmth, no friendliness—but thereiscuriosity. She tilts her head to the side. “And you must be his mate.”
“Um…” I nod. “I’m Aspen. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“I guess I can say the same.” She looks around. “Nice patch of land you have here.”
“Oh, thank you! It’s been in my family for… well, I’m not exactly sure, but for a long time. At least as late as my maternal grandmother. This was once her home, but…” I shrug, stopping myself from saying more.
“That’s nice.” Her attention turns back to Mac. “Event is going well? No problems?”
“No problems,” he says, sounding like the stuffy man I first met outside the motel. He may actually bemorerigid now that his mother is here. “Should go off without a hitch.”
“Good.” She nods and walks away, dismissing herself. “I’ll keep an eye on things. Enjoy yourselves.”
Once she’s gone, I glare at Mac. “You didn’t want to give me a warning?”
He wears a half smile. “I told you it was a surprise.”
“Surprises are supposed to befun! Especially on our wedding day.”
“Meeting my mother wasn’t fun for you, huh?”
“No! I mean, it was! It’s just…” I poke his chest. “You are something else, you know that?”
“I know.” He captures my hand in his. “Sorry. I was nervous about her coming… and worried she wouldn’t show up at all. I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”
“I suppose I can understand that.”
“Her coming is a good sign, and I think she likes you.”
“That’s how she talks to people she likes?”
His lip lifts on one side. “Yeah. It kind of is.”
I’m not in the business of making people like me. Worshipping my goddess killed the people pleaser in me, but… there’s an exception. A new exception. I want Mac’s mom to like me. She’s his only family member here, and I want him to have someone.
“Youmusttell her she can sleep here tonight. I don’t want her at that motel. She shouldn’t be alone when the corrupt witch is out there.”
“She’s been fighting that witch longer than any of us, but… I will. I’ll tell her.”
“My sisters will make sure she’s accommodated for, so we can still have our night?—”
