Page 16 of Rejected Plus-Size Mate

What’s he going to do, stop me? I’m his wife.

Before the full implications of that thought can sink in, I hear a car pull up outside. There is an explosion of excited female voices, accompanied by giggles.

I don’t know if I want to see anyone right now.

I turn towards the door, a dozen excuses clustering in my brain, but when I see Kyle hovering in the kitchen doorway, I realize I don’t want to stay here, either.

“Hello!” Gina calls, rapping on the open door. “You guys home? Hi! There you are.”

Gina hurries over to Kyle and gives him a quick squeeze, kissing his cheek before coming over to me. Lena follows, giving Kyle a wave as she comes through the door.

“Hi,” I mutter shyly.

Gina throws her arms around me and squeezes me so tightly that I can’t breathe for several seconds. “Hi, yourself,” she says, laughing. “We’re here to take you out to a girls day, to welcome you to town and to our pack.”

“That’s very nice of you,” I whisper, trying to summon at least a shadow of normalcy. I’m really not used to being close to anyone emotionally, and I’m getting the feeling this is a very close family.

When I glance over at Kyle, he looks pretty tense. I’m guessing he isn’t used to a lot of attention, either, but I don’t know for sure. He never talked about what his family situation was like while he was growing up.

“So, do you want to get changed or go out in your dress?” Gina asks me. “I’m fine either way.”

“Well, I’m not!” Lena snaps. “If she’s going out to get ice cream in a gown, I’m damn well wearing one, too!”

“It’s okay, I’ll change,” I say quickly. Then my brain catches up with the joke. I start giggling, which the other girls immediately join in on.

“I’ll just get some jeans or something,” I add a bit bashfully as I start to paw through a couple of cardboard boxes sitting against the wall. I quickly find my favorite loose jeans and dark gray sweater and run to the bathroom to change.

As I come back into the living room, I see Kyle and Gina talking quietly, both of them looking a little tense. Lena stands nearby with her arms folded, listening.

“Oh, there you are!” Gina says, waving me over. “Let’s go!”

Both girls link arms with me, and we head out to the car. I feel like it’s none of my business, but I also can’t keep my mouth shut.

Fuck it, I’m family now. It’s my business if I want it to be.

“What were you guys talking about?” I ask as I slip into the back seat.

“Nothing much,” Gina says, slowly backing out of the driveway. “Mom wants him to come over for dinner, and he’s been avoiding her a bit.”

“Oh,” I mutter, questions building up inside me. Before I can figure out which one to start with, Lena turns around to chat with me.

“That dress was so beautiful,” she says. “Where did you get it?”

“I, ah, made it, actually.”

“You did not!” she gasps.

“No freaking way!” Gina exclaims, and I start blushing.

“Yeah. I’ve been working on it for a couple of years, actually.”

I planned to marry Kyle in it, so I finished it out of spite. What a joke.

“Could you make me a nice dress?” Lena asks. “Seriously, I’ve never seen work like that. Who taught you, your mom?”

“God, no,” I chuckle. “I used to knit and embroider as a kid. A home ec teacher gave me a sewing machine, and it all just sort of developed from there.”

“The aunts are going to love her,” Gina mutters, and both girls laugh.

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