Page 23 of Holiday Surprise

She seemed to either not notice or ignored it as she pressed on. “She said your parents killed themselves and all your siblings and left you to find the bodies. Is that true?”

I took a deep breath. Thinking about it had a way of causing my whole world to once again collapse in around me, so it was best just to never think of that night and certainly never talk about it.

“Yes, that’s true,” I confirmed. “It was a gas leak, a purposeful one. They turned on all the burners on the gas stove and then blew out the pilot light. It was pouring gas into the air. Just thinking of that smell still makes me nauseous. It wasn’t an accident. They left me a note trying to explain their reasons. I’ll never understand it though. I don’t care how rock bottom you think you are, that’s not the answer and I can never forgive them for what they did to my brothers and sisters. Taking your own life is one thing. Lord knows we’ve dealt with plenty of that in Larken under Jed’s rule, but they were just kids, Sydney. They didn’t deserve that. I would have taken care of them.”

I had no idea what possessed me to start pouring my heart out to her, but once I started, I couldn’t stop. I had never spoken about them before, not since the day I buried them in the ground. Yet here I was, sounding like a blubbering idiot before the only person whose opinion of me even mattered.

The depth of her compassion showed through as she scooted next to me and wrapped her arms around me.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

I moved to hug her back. Holding her like that was everything. My life suddenly felt like it clicked into place and for the first time, I knew without a doubt that everything was going to be okay.

Regaining my composure, I finally responded. “Sydney, I’m your mate. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that you can’t say or ask me. That’s nothing something I talk about, ever, but I want to always be honest with you.”

Sydney

Chapter 12

My heart was breaking for him as he shared the story of his family. I felt horrible for even mentioning it, but I think I needed to see that vulnerable, softer side to Luke. And when he called himself my mate for the first time, my heart nearly exploded from my chest.

I still didn’t even really know him, but I felt in my soul the truth of those words. He was my mate. Mine.

Mine, the voice of my wolf confirmed.

He cleared his throat. “So, is there anything else you’d like to know about me?”

My arms were still wrapped around his solid shoulders. I pulled back and looked up into those beautiful blue eyes. “Yes. What’s your favorite color?”

He laughed and started to relax. I sat back, begrudgingly letting my arms fall away from him, though I was thrilled when he left one arm firmly around my waist and I snuggled into his side.

“Orange,” he said.

I scrunched up my nose. “Orange? Nobody’s favorite color is orange.”

“Mine is, like the sunset on a perfect day.”

I sighed. There was a bit of a romantic tucked deep inside this man.

“How about yours?” he asked.

“Blue, like your eyes,” I said, and then blushed and looked away as I realized I’d just confessed that.

He grinned proudly. “Okay, I can work with that. How about your favorite food?”

“Spaghetti with meatballs. Yours?”

“The same,” he said, his voice filled with wonder.

“You can’t just say that to impress me. I can cook more than just spaghetti,” I told him.

“I’m not shitting you. Spaghetti with meatballs is honestly my favorite meal.”

This went back and forth for several hours until I could no longer keep my eyes opened and started to drift off to sleep on Luke’s chest. The steady thumping of his heart lulled me deeper into darkness.

I felt the couch disappear beneath me as I vaguely recognized Luke carrying me in his arms. He walked down the hall to my bedroom and pulled back the covers before gently laying me down. He leaned over me and lightly kissed my forehead.

“Sweet dreams, Sydney,” he whispered.

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