Page 7 of A Dragon's Miracle (Fires of Fate)
Finn
“Is Ryan doing well?” my mom asked me as soon as I ended the phone call. “Did he like his lunch?”
“I'm sure he did.” I stretched out on our living room couch and watched her knit sweaters for charity that no one would ever wear because our winters didn’t get that cold. She liked knitting though, so I didn’t comment.
“I hope so,” my mom said absentmindedly before she looked at me. “How about you? Are you hungry? I could fix us something.”
“Thanks, Mom. I'm not hungry.”
“You look like you need something, though. I just can't put my finger on it.” She returned her attention to her half-knit sweater again as if it held all the answers.
“It's nothing, Mom.”
“Is it about Ryan?”
“What?” My eyebrows went up, giving me away, and she laughed.
“You can't fool your mother, son.”
“But I never told you that I...”
“That you like him?” She shook her head with a small smile. “You didn't have to tell me.”
I sighed and flopped on my back, thinking of the conversation I’d had with Zed. “Does everyone know?”
“Ryan might not.”
“He's taken anyway.”
My mother licked her lips. “I don't know about that.”
“What do you mean?”
“He hardly ever talks about his boyfriend and he never seems to be happy about going home to see him. It just seems a bit... odd, if you ask me.” She held the sweater up and inspected it as she continued speaking. “You know I'm one of the few lucky ones mated to someone I truly wanted to mate, but I've seen enough of my friends enter into matings they weren't big fans of. Whenever Ryan mentions his boyfriend, he looks like one of them.”
“Really?” I tried to remember how Ryan looked when he talked about his boyfriend, but all I could see looking back was my own jealousy.
I should have paid more attention.
My mother nodded. “I can tell when someone doesn't like their mate.”
Her words made me sit up. “You think Ryan doesn't like his boyfriend?” Then, maybe there really was a chance for me.
“That's what I think,” she confirmed.
“I talked to Zed earlier and he thought I should tell Ryan that I like him so he'll know he has another option if he wants to split from his boyfriend.”
“Sounds like good advice.”
I churned this over in my head. Could I really tell Ryan that I had feelings for him that ran deeper than friendship? “If he really doesn’t like his boyfriend, why’s he staying in a relationship with the guy?”
“I couldn’t tell you, but there’s lots of reasons people stick with things they don’t enjoy. Sometimes it’s just easier to hold on to what you’ve got than to risk it for something you’re not sure you can have.”
Huh. I chewed my lower lip, trying to make sense of her words. I wasn’t sure, but it sounded like she was also saying I should tell Ryan that I was an option.
But then she changed the topic and threw me for a temporary loop. “Since you mentioned Zed, we should have him and Lowen around for dinner again sometime soon, don't you think? Zed can bring his mate and his girl.”
That was a great idea! “Yeah, we should totally throw a dinner party. We should invite Adrian too. I haven't seen him in a while.”
