Page 151 of Reluctantly You

God, will she think this in a moment, when I confess the truth?

“This is Landon, Finn, and my wife, Jeanette,” Basil barrels on.

“Hi,” I manage to croak just as Gideon approaches, Pants in his arms. Basil croons over her and suggests he hold her, kissing her soft orange fur gently and nuzzling her affectionately.

“She’s adorable,” Basil says with a sigh.

“She is,” Gideon replies and then stands near my side, offering me his support silently.

God, I need him. I need him always.

His dark eyes meet mine, and I shake my head, not wanting to disrupt this family’s night.

Their family. One I’m not a part of.

“I’m sorry, if you’ll excuse us,” Gideon says, as he grabs on to my arms and leads me down a short hallway. The moment we’re alone, I find myself sagging against him, wanting to tuck myself inside his arms and never leave. I want him to shelter me from all the bad things moving forward. I want him to be strong for me.

“You can do it. You can,” he whispers.

My head shakes against his shoulder. “I’m going to ruin their lives. They seem happy.”

“They do seem happy. But they also seem understanding. I felt that the moment I stepped inside. It felt warm. Comforting.”

I swallow and nod, curling my fists into his shirt. “Please don’t leave me again.”

“Oh, baby, I won’t.”

He presses a soft kiss to my forehead and I breathe deeply, gleaning strength from his mere presence. When we walk back into the kitchen, we do so as a united front, my mind reeling with the need to tell Basil. To admit why I’m here, who he is to me. But before I can, the doorbell rings and Basil scampers toward it.

“More friends!” he cheers as he wrenches the door open and Jeanette takes another long sip of her wine, a dry grin on her lips.

“No, don’t worry about me. It’s my life. I’ve accepted it,” she tells me.

My mouth snaps shut, and I hear Gideon chuckle lowly beside me.

“You’re used to this, huh?” he asks.

“Like I said, this is my life. Never wanted anything else, to be honest. He’s a good man. Always has been.”

I stare at her, the open, easy manner she displays so kindly before turning toward Landon and Finn who are draped all over one another. Neither of them are paying any attention to me, too engrossed in one another, until I hear footsteps approach.

“Look who it is!” Basil nearly cries, and I turn, seeing Sem and Magnus behind me.

“Wh—?” I begin, but I’m at a loss for words when I see Emery and August, Matt and Cooper, and Max and Beau trail inside.

They came. They had no idea what I was going through, and they came.

My lips smack closed and then open, trying to form words.

I can’t find the words.

They came. They fucking came.

Why? Why are they here?

“Look at all our friends! It’s so good to see you again!” Basil cries and pulls Sem and Magnus into a hug before moving to Emery and August. He then turns toward Max and Matt, whoMagnus introduces as his brothers, and proceeds to beam like a loon.

Basil, it seems, has never had more fun in his entire life. Jeanette eventually joins in, hugging and speaking to everyone, Landon and Finn on her heels. It’s obvious these people have met before and yet still, they came. To be with me.

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