Page 80 of Accidentally Wedded To A Werewolf

Itwasadorable. In theory. But Luna knew what went on behind the scenes now—the endless cleaning and admin. Fixing one thing only to have something else break. Even before the renovations, being in charge of anything was a lot to handle. If you were actually in charge, anyway. Not like her dad, who used his title to get everybody under him to do the real work.

“Uh-huh,” said Oliver when the silence continued to stretch. He was sitting next to her, slowly and methodically sawing a rare steak to pieces. He held his arms tight against him, careful not to touch her. For once, Luna did the same. Their legs had brushed under the table a minute ago, and Luna had to stop herself from jumping up out of her seat. It felt like a betrayal to the man sitting on the other side of her, even though she’d done so much worse with his express permission. The bond tugged at her ribs, wanting her to lean into Oliver. She told it to sit still and shut the hell up.

“Soooo,” Hector said. “What do you do for fun around here? Go… sledding?”

He gave Luna a wide-eyed look. Luna couldn’t figure out if it was because he’d run out of things to say or because he had a family of werewolves doing a very bad job of not staring at him. Uncle Roy was straight-up glaring, not even bothering to be subtle about it. Aunt Althea and Aunt Barney kept kicking him under the table—Luna could hear the impacts and see Uncle Roy’s face crease up—but it didn’t stop him. Thekids were politer about it, except for Leo, who only stopped staring to look at the other adults pleadingly. The only ones who rarely looked were Grandmother Musgrove, who only glanced up at them a few times to give Luna a reassuring smile, and Oliver, who kept his gaze firmly on his steak.

Hector’s wide-eyed look got even more panicked.

“There are some really cute cafes we go to sometimes,” Luna said. “They’re thinking of opening more if tourism keeps increasing. And, um…”

Usually, when people asked what she did for fun, she started listing activities. Places with a high fee or a waitlist that would make whoever she was talking to jealous. Clubs or restaurants or classes for exotic new skills nobody needed. There was nothing like that here. Luna didn’t know how to tell Hector that she spent most of her time emailing people or talking to people; that she spent her time going for runs, playing board games, watching TV, going shopping, or holding tools while Oliver fixed up the inn. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was somehow more fulfilling than every party or restaurant or experimental plunge she’d paid thousands of dollars to submerge herself in—she’d take a mud bath over ice any day, and her LA friends had been talking about oil baths lately.

“There’s this really nice pottery place,” Luna tried. “It’s going to start offering classes on Saturdays. No, don’t make that face, there’s a lot to do! Especially with redoing the inn and setting up the fair?—”

Grandmother Musgrove cut in. “Luna has beeninstrumental in getting the word out about Claw Haven. We’ve never had this many visitors before she arrived.”

Luna ducked her head. Grandmother Musgrove’s compliments always made her cheeks warm. Something about thesincerityin them, no joke or underlying irony to hide behind.

“Oh, yeah?” Hector reached over and touched her wrist. At first, Luna thought it was cooler than usual. Then she realized that she’d just gotten used to touching people who ran hot.

“What’d you do?” Hector asked. “Call your secret marketing team and beg for a… what do you call it?”

“Newsletter swap,” Luna said quietly. “You promote them, they promote you. I actually had really good luck with some sponsors today. Claw Haven is a good investment. I think we’re really helping people find what they need here.”

Hector nodded that empty nod he did when his dinner guests started talking business. “Sure! Yeah, it’s cozy. The monster stuff is cute. Especially that fireplace.Roar, am I right?”

Uncle Roy grunted. It was obviously a lead-up to saying something—Luna could already hear it,yeah ‘cause cute isdefinitelywhat us monsters want to aim for—but then his grunt went pained and Aunt Althea leaned forward with a strained smile, gold tooth glinting.

“It’s been so lovely having Luna around. We’re really going to miss her. The inn has been a totally different place since she got here. And it’s only goingto get better! She’s been showing Oliver how to man all the newfangled admin stuff?—”

“And the ads,” Aunt Barney added.

“—andthe ads, yes, thank you. And we still have a lot left to do with her redesigns!”

Hector kept nodding. He was smirking now, stroking her wrist with his lukewarm thumb. “You must’ve had averygood time here to do all of that for free.”

He said it like he said everything else: light, breezy, easy-going. It still made Luna stiffen, and she didn’t have to look over to know that Oliver was rigid at her side.

Hector leaned around her to address him, still smirking. “So, did you have to tag along to all those super cool cafes, or did she leave you outside on a leash? Oh, man, she said she had to tag along when you went jogging. I’d pay to see that.” He reached over and shook Oliver’s arm. “You’re strong, right? Ever just give up and carry her?”

Luna made the colossal mistake of glancing over. Oliver was staring. Not at the hand on his arm, like she’d expected. But at her. He looked away as soon as their eyes met, but it was too late. Luna knew what he was imagining: their trip down the mountain with Luna’s legs around his waist and her chin nestled against his shoulder. After a while, it had gotten almost soothing. She’d almost fallen asleep against him as she had done the night before, her cheek pillowed against his warm skin, listening to him breathe.

“Well,” Hector said, grabbing another bread roll from the dwindling bowl in the middle of the table. “Don’t seem like much of a conversationalist. Guess you’re fun in other ways.”

“Hec,” Luna said, stung.

Hector hesitated mid-bite, his grin faltering. He genuinely thought he was being funny, Luna realized. He even looked sorry that his “joke” didn’t land.

“What? I’m glad you had fun. This”—he waved at the common room, meaning the inn—“the whole town, it seems like an adorable pet project. If it does well, who knows? Maybe your dad will let you do some actual work. Part-time or something.”

“Part-time,” Luna repeated.

“Yeah!” Hector bit another hunk off his bread roll, jaw slowing as he watched her.

Luna pulled up a hasty smile, but it was too late. He’d seen the look in her eyes. Haughty. Offended that he thought her work wasn’t full-time material.

“We’re not… honey! You’re not—” he spluttered, incredulous. He tossed down the bread roll and grabbed her hands—not hard,neverhard. Hector moved through life with a light touch and a wink. “Where’s my fun little Luna? Huh?”

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