Page 12 of More Than Meets the Eye

I heard a funny sound and realized Jed was standing next to me, growling softly, and I shushed him. Not that Mike looked the least bit intimidated by the two tiger shifters facing him.

He winced, though, when Ruby punched him in the arm. “What in the world is wrong with you? Our girl loves this man! And he loves her. If you think?—”

“No,” he repeated, and she trailed off, clearly speechless with surprise.

“I expected a stern talking to,” I said carefully. “Maybe of the ‘hurt my Tess, and I’ll make sure they never find the body’ kind. But ‘no’? Just, no?”

Mike shook his head. “Tess would never forgive either of us if you asked for permission, or I thought I had the right to grant it. She’s an independent woman.”

“Oh.Oh.” Relief flooded through me. “No. Of course. I wasn’t asking permission to marry Tess. That’s between me and her. I was hoping you’d give me your blessing to be part of your family if she says yes.”

Mike’s stern expression finally faded into a grin. “Well, of course we will, Jack. The only way I ever get bacon for breakfast is if you visit!”

He shook my hand. Ruby hugged me again, and Jed thumped me on the back so hard I almost knocked over the grill.

And then a ten-year-old dynamo came racing around the corner, a pug puppy chasing her and barking, and Shelley leaped into the air and into my arms.

“I KNEW IT!” she shouted so loudly I thought my eardrums might be permanently damaged. “I KNEW YOU LOVED TESS! NOW YOU’RE REALLY MY BROTHER!”

I hugged her and kissed the top of her head, feeling a lump form in my throat. “Can I still go to the father-daughter dances?”

“YOU BET!” She threw her arms around my neck, kissed my cheek, and then jumped down, scooped up her pug, and started dancing and singing.

“Shelley!” I had to call her name a few times to get her attention. “I haven’t asked Tess yet, so it’s a secret. I want it to be a surprise, okay?”

“YES! Ooh! I know! You can tie the ring to Pickles’s collar, and I’ll hover dog her into the room!”

Ruby clasped her hands together. “Oh, that’s right! I forgot! You need a special proposal. And the ring—can I see the ring?”

“Special proposal?” I tried to smile. “I thought I just asked?”

Jed and Mike gave me blank looks and shrugged.

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Not today! These days, you need to do something super fancy for the InstaSpace or FaceGram or whatever.”

“I don’t think Tess?—”

“I know!” Her pink cheeks flushed even rosier, and her “I love my hair stylist” blonde hair fluttered around her face as she whirled around with excitement. “You can rent out city hall and get it all decorated and ask everybody in town to come! I know the mayor. You can get a great deal on renting the hall.”

“That’s a bad idea,” Mike said.

“Thank you,” I began, horrified at the idea of a huge spectacle.

“I mean, he’s going to be family. We should cover the hall rental,” Mike said solemnly, but then he winked at me.

I’m going to have to kill him. He’s going to be my father-in-law, and I’m going to have to kill him. I’ll just tell him to lie down in front of the tractor, and …

“Is anybody going to help us with this?” Tess called out from the kitchen door, smiling.

With all the excitement, I’d only barely registered the sound of her car driving up a few minutes before. I stared at her blankly until Jed poked me in the ribs.

“Act normal, or you’ll give away the surprise,” he hissed.

“We’ll talk about the ring later,” Ruby whispered, and then she rushed over to the house.

Mike, Jed, and I stayed by the grill, and I tried not to look as gobsmacked as I felt.

“The town hall? She was kidding, right? Ruby doesn’t really expect?—”

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