Page 72 of Outnumbered

Sighing, I shook my head. “Sorry, I overreacted. I should have just ignored her.”

He shrugged. “I think you handled it fine. No blood was shed and the only thing that was lost was her dignity.”

I noticed Riddick and Triston each had bags in their hands. “What are you guys buying?”

“Oh, just a few things for the apartment,” he said.

“Hello, Your Highness,” the seller greeted, distracting me from the other two and refocusing me on the delicious smelling food before us.

“Can we have four, please?” I requested and set the money Triston had given me on the counter.

“Make it eight,” Caleb amended and set more money down.

“Right away,” the man said and nodded, turning to grab the meat from the grill. They were spiral cut meat with a wooden skewer pushed through the center and covered in seasoning.

“Thank you,” I said as I took two of the skewers.

Caleb carried the other six and distributed them two each to Triston and Riddick who had walked over to join us.

Taking a bite, I immediately closed my eyes and moaned. It was seasoned to perfection! “So good,” I whispered around the hot food in my mouth.

“This is delicious,” Triston agreed.

“I need to learn to make this,” I said and opened my eyes.

Caleb, Riddick, and Triston had all already consumed their sticks and tossed their skewers into the trash.

“I know how to cook them,” Caleb said. “I just never think about making them.”

“Dinner tonight,” I said with a nod. “That’s when you should make them.”

He chuckled and looped his arm around my waist. “Anything for you.”

“In that case, I would like a house with a wraparound porch, a porch swing on each side of the house, and a balcony that goes all the way around the top floor so everyone can walk out of their rooms and onto the balcony to hang out together,” I joked as we continued down to look at more stalls.

“Noted,” he said with a nod. “Do you want the first floor to be an open view with the kitchen and a huge living room slash dining room? We could put all the bedrooms upstairs.”

“Oh, that sounds nice,” I said. “Could we have a sunken living room? You know, where you step down a few steps into it? I saw one on a television show and loved that idea.”

“Fireplace in the center?” he asked.

“No, but maybe a shared bedroom upstairs with a large fireplace?” I suggested.

“So, individually bedrooms and one giant room that everyone could sleep in together?” he asked and looked down at me with a thoughtful expression.

My smile slipped. “Caleb, I was joking. I was just teasing you because you said anything.”

He stepped in front of me, set his hands on my hips, and said, “I was being serious, Ember. Plus, I like hearing what you want. It’ll make building our pack’s house much easier.”

“Our pack’s house?” I asked, my voice a squeak.

He nodded. “You know, once we prove we’re worthy of you and have the inevitable discussion about mating.”

I swallowed hard. “Pretty sure I’m the one needing to prove her worth.”

“Your existence is enough,” he said, brushed his lips over mine, and turned to walk up to the next stall.

My face burned and my heart pounded in my chest. I shoved the meat stick into my mouth and ate it to distract myself.

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