Page 38 of Fur-Ever Home

"Bit of a delay, folks," the bus driver said. "I can try to find a way around, or we can pull into this parking lot so you can watch the St. Patrick's parade."

"How long can a parade last?" Ben asked.

"Let's watch," shouted the two women who had been last to board.

"Yeah," some of the others said, while the couple across the aisle from us clapped and cheered.

"Our connecting bus will wait on us," the driver said. "Last chance for anyone who needs to get home on time."

Ben glanced at me and grinned. Then, he pulled out his phone and texted his parents.

"Going to be late. St. Patrick's Day parade."

When the bus eased to a stop in the parking lot and the driver turned off the engine, Ben unbuckled his seatbelt. He plopped down in my lap and kissed my cheek. "My nephew hates St. Patrick's Day because it's his birthday."

"I would love to have my birthday on a holiday," I said.

"When is it?"

"July 15. I've taken a few vacations around Independence Day, but it's not the same as having a holiday on your birthday."

"My dad's birthday is Christmas Eve," Ben said. "He would probably disagree with you, though he's never really complained. Not the way Jeffrey does."

I couldn't wait to meet Jeffrey, to see if he really was as annoying as Ben thought, or if Ben's alpha stereotypes skewed his opinion.

The parade ended a half-hour later, and the police removed the barricade soon after, making our delay only forty minutes. I missed Ben when he buckled back into his seat, but my wholebody tingled when he slipped his fingers between mine in the space between our seats and tugged my hand into his lap.

"What?" He asked when I frowned at him. "I like holding my boyfriend's hand.

Once again, I was blown away by that simple fact. My human fated mate wanted to be my boyfriend. The lightness in my chest only grew the more I thought about it.

15

BENJAMIN

We madeup time on the road, which meant my dad waited less than a half-hour for us to pull into the bus terminal at Macarthur Campus. I'd told him via text messages I would be bringing an alpha home with me, but this was a first.

If Dad was surprised to see Connor, he didn't show it. Instead, he treated Connor like he was one of the family, offering him the front seat and a piece of gum for the ride back to Laguna Niguel.

"Dad, we need to stop at the airport for Connor's bags." I'd forgotten to mention that part in my texts.

"Oh, thank goodness. I was going to beg you to stop for food or ice cream on the way. This party." He rolled his eyes. "Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, thanks to the weather, the holiday, and everything else."

I stayed in the car with my dad while Connor ran inside to get his bags. The blustery wind gusts shook the car. While we waited, Dad told me all about Jeffrey's temper tantrum before a captive audience of nine-year-olds. My brother Jake was pissed because their parents had dropped them off and left them.

"Jake thought the party would be a networking opportunity while the kids played. I had to remind him. We dropped you kids off at parties all the time when you were kids."

"Except me," I said. "I hated those things."

"You went to a few omega sleepovers," he said. "Remember when Casper Fuente fell out of that tree and broke his arm?"

Poor Casper. "That was my fault," I said. "How was I supposed to know he didn't know how to hang upside down?"

"What?" My dad turned to look at me, his eyes wide. "That's the first I've heard of this. You told him to hang upside down?"

I nodded. "I thought you knew."

He laughed. "No wonder his parents wanted us to pay his medical bills. Insurance ended up covering it." He wiped figurative sweat from his brow and shook his head. "You never told us that."

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