Page 24 of Lila

“Aquarium!” the mechanical voice from his device chirps.

“You went to the aquarium? That’s awesome, man. Did you see Penelope again?”

He nods and makes excited noises. I flick my eyes back to Lila for a split second, but Grayson is the most observant kid I’ve ever known. His face breaks out in hisI know somethinggrin and I arch a brow.

“Mate.”

“Yeah, buddy. She is.” I don’t know how he knows what that even is, but he seems pretty happy about the prospect.

Lila shakes her head and glares at us. “She is what?”

I don’t know why she’s denying it so vehemently, but she is most assuredly my mate.

“Uncle Harkin,” Gray says via his device as he looks pointedly at the space between Lila and me. I wonder what that’s about.

“Don’t get any ideas, kid. I don’t even know your uncle.”

“We can change that.” I smile at my flustered mate.

“Oh! Look at the time! Come on, little man. We gotta get you ready for your dad.”

The mention of Luca has a thought popping into my head. Luca just met his mate… What was her name?

“Have you met his dad yet?” I ask. It won’t change anything if she has. If she’s Luca’s mate, I’ll just have to share. Normally my phoenix bristles when I think about sharing anything. He’s very possessive. But he doesn’t rear back at the thought of sharing this gorgeous woman, my missing piece, my soulmate, with Luca.

“No. I only started working with Gray the other day. But everything’s going great so far. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Right, Gray?” She looks at him with wide eyes and bites her bottom lip. “Your dad’s gonna like me, right?”

He smiles up at her and nods his little head vigorously.

Her phone rings, startling her, and she pulls it out of her back pocket. She looks at the screen to see who’s calling before answering with a polite greeting.

“Hello? This is Lila,” she answers.Must be someone she doesn’t know.

“Lila. Hi!” my ears twitch at the familiar voice. Thanks to my strong shifter hearing, I know exactly who she’s talking to. “It’s Luca, Gray’s dad.”I was right.“Ann gave me your number and told me to call you to arrange the swap today. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course! I’m your son’s babysitter. You should absolutely have my number,” she rambles. “We just stopped by the arcade after leaving the aquarium, but I can have him cleaned up and ready for you in an hour or so.”

“He’s got you taking him there already, huh?” He laughs.

“He’s a hard kid to say no to. What can I say?” She chuckles. Gray has a special charm when he wants to.

“Nice to see it’s not just me he uses his charm on,” Luca quips.

“Oh, no. Gray wouldn’t dare use his powers on me. We have a deal. Don’t we, Gray?”

He scowls before fiddling with his device, never taking his eyes off her. “Right. Deal.”

She laughs and it’s like cool air flying through my feathers. I vow then to make sure she laughs often.

Luca coughs in her ear. “You’ve got my kid’s number.” He chuckles. “Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight, and you can explain how you figured him out so quickly and why you haven’t run for the hills like his past sitters?”

“Oh. Ummm-”

Do it. I’ll come with and see how Luca reacts to seeing you. Then I’ll know if we share a mate.

“Please.” Gray’s robotic voice says.

She looks down at him, and he gives her some grade A puppy dog eyes.

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