Page 214 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“It does sound like fun. First though, you guys, uh, aren’t like those types of friends that do charades or Pictionary at parties or something, right? That’s a hard pass from me.”

I laughed. “No, nothing cheesy like that. You’ll be safe.”

We said our goodbyes, and I hung up. I felt more thrilled than I had in a long time. My wolf was basically wagging its tail in pleasure. Between last night and this, things really felt like they were on their way. The plan seemed to be working in my favor.

SEVENTEEN

CELINA

It had been so nice of Felicity to invite me over for Thanksgiving, but there was no way I could turn down Miles’s invitation. He’d sounded so sincere, it would have broken my heart to tell him no. Still, that meant I’d need to break the news to Felicity, which wasn’t something I was used to. Many times in my life I’d done things I didn’t want to do, simply because having uncomfortable conversations mortified me.

I texted Felicity, asking if she wanted to have lunch the next day. She’d mentioned getting together, and I thought it would be more polite to cancel the plans in person. She agreed and told me about a place downtown that made really good sandwiches and had homemade soup. Once I put my phone down, I’d taken a moment to give myself a little self-congratulatory pep talk. Not only had I been the one to initiate a text message, but I planned on canceling plans I’d made with someone. What had gotten into me since coming to this town? It was like I was turning into a whole new person.

I had a hard time sleeping later on at night, mostly because I couldn’t stop thinking about what Miles had done to me the night before. I’d even contemplated ordering a toy online to see if I could bring myself to the same explosive orgasm he had, butchose not to. Partly because I didn’t think I could, and partly because if I did, I was worried I’d spend every day and night doing it over and over again.

I got to the restaurant for lunch, groggy from lack of sleep and nervous about what I needed to tell Felicity. It was so bad that I had to look at myself in the rearview mirror once I had parked and give myself a little pep talk. Thankfully, I’d arrived early and was able to get a seat before she got there.

She came in not long after. We chatted for a bit and then ordered. She got a Rueben and a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup. I got a club sandwich and cream of potato soup. It sounded great and everything I saw coming out of the kitchen looked delicious, but my appetite was almost non-existent.

I finally decided it was time to tell Felicity I wasn’t coming for dinner. “Hey, um, can I ask you something?”

She took a sip of her water, and nodded. “What’s up?”

“Well…uh…okay so, I know you asked me to come over for Thanksgiving, right?”

“Yeah, is something wrong?”

“No. Yes.” I shook my head and felt the familiar heat of a blush creeping up my chest. “I mean, Miles invited me for Thanksgiving. He’s getting together with his friends, and he sounded so excited to have me join them. I don’t want to disappoint him. Would you be super pissed if I went there instead of coming with you to the city?”

Before she could answer, the server brought out our food and put it in front of us. Felicity took a small nibble from her sandwich, then shook her head and waved me off. “Celina, seriously, it’s fine. Not a big deal. I mean, I doubt you’d have had a good time anyway. The house would be packed with people, and my family are big time talkers.”

I grinned and sighed a breath of relief. “Oh good. I thought you were going to be mad.”

“Mad? No. That’s silly.”

Feeling like the weight of the world was off my shoulders, I picked up my own sandwich. I had it halfway to my lips when I stopped. Something tickled my mind. The memory of the conversation we’d had when Felicity first invited me over. I put the food down and frowned, trying to pull the discussion out of my head. So much had happened in such a short time, it was hard to get it. Had I heard her right the other day?

“Felicity?”

She finished a bit of her soup and glanced up at me. “Yeah?”

“Um, sorry, it’s not important. I’m only confused.”

“About?”

“Well, when you asked me to come over for Thanksgiving, you said your family was out of town, and no one would be at the house in the city. But you just said the house would be packed. I’m confused.”

Felicity stared at me for several long seconds. Long enough for it to grow uncomfortable. Finally, she frowned and looked toward the ceiling. “Oh shit. You’re right,” she said, shaking her head. “I did say that. I was wrong. They’re going out of town for Christmas, not Thanksgiving. My bad.”

Felicity chuckled quietly to herself as she picked up her sandwich. She was acting the way I did when I’d said or done something dumb. It looked like I wasn’t the only one who messed up. It wasn’t a big deal, but I did notice that Felicity seemed more tense and on edge as we ate. Probably worried she’d say something else that was silly. That’s what I’d have thought anyway.

“So…” Felicity said, “…what does Miles have planned for this big shindig?”

“Just a get-together with his friends and their families. Two of his friends have new wives. I think it’ll be fun.”

Felicity rolled her eyes, and not in a funny way. It was almost spiteful. My body tensed. I didn’t like the way she’d done that. It was like she thought the whole thing was dumb.

“You know, you should be more mindful of the company you keep, Celina.”

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