Page 48 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them
André crossed both arms over his chest in a clear no. “Not happening. Ever.”
“—if,” his father emphasized with a soft laugh, “then we will need to report him to the VSB. Ian deserves a chance to be doted upon and loved his entire life, even if you two don’t pan out for whatever reason.”
André wanted to keep insisting he’d let Ian go over his cold, rotting corpse, but he did take his father’s true meaning. “This is your compromise, then?”
“It is.”
“Well, I’m fine with it. Hopefully Ian will be too. Um, Mom, I won’t see him again until tomorrow night, so can we plan to test him then? Maybe you can drop hints that him being compatible is super-duper amazing?”
“I can do that, yes,” she assured him. “I want him to understand how important this is for his own sake, as well. André, you won’t be disappointed if he’s not a mate?”
“Ian could never disappoint me,” André answered firmly. He meant every word. “It shocked me to find out his compatibility.I truly didn’t expect it, and if he’s only compatible, that’s more than enough for me. The only issue I foresee is we already argue about me spoiling him. He’s always putting his foot down, and I can just imagine that if he’s a mate, my urge to spoil him will get worse.”
His mother laughed outright. “If that’s your worst issue with him, you’ll be fine.”
If André wanted sympathy, he’d come to the wrong store with the wrong currency. Oh well.
At least he had parental backup for the next step, which was what truly mattered.
“And if, somehow, word of Ian’s nature is leaked, and the VSB comes knocking—” Mom looked to her husband, her expression saying a thousand words.
Her husband gave her a slow, reassuring nod, the love in his eyes for his wife still obvious even after them being together for decades. “—then we will protect you both. They’ll not take Ian from you, that I can promise you.”
André felt better for the reassurance, but he also envied this moment between his parents. They were so solid, so in tune with each other. He wanted this with Ian. It would take time, of course, but still, he wanted to reach this ultimate goal.
Was it too much to ask for centuries with Ian?
Chapter 13
After a night of no André, Sunday dawned bright and early. Ian bundled up in a coat, gloves, and muffler, as the temperatures had dropped sharply over the past day and they were truly in winter now. He took a taxi to the Castor estate, rendezvousing there with Mrs. Castor and Benedict. It was easier for him to go there than for them to come by and grab him from the dorm.
Despite it being such an early hour, two SUVs were packed and sitting in the driveway, only waiting on him. Benedict waved in greeting, already in the driver’s seat of one, Mrs. Castor waiting next to the other. She had bundled up against the cold too and beamed as Ian arrived, stepping forward to pay the taxi driver.
“No, ma’am, I’ve got it,” Ian assured her.
“Too late,” she cheerfully denied while handing the money over. “In the car with you. Let’s go.”
Well, she’d just neatly outmaneuvered him. “Why two SUVs? Did you really pack so much in?”
“That, and I brought my sewing supplies just in case I need to do some alterations.” She paused to give him a significant look. “And to take your measurements. That will happen before the day is out.”
Thereby suggesting…she was going to make clothes for him. Um. “I don’t need anything, though.”
She patted him on the cheek, smiling up at him like he was just the cutest thing ever. “You’re adorable, Ian. Making clothes for you will be fun. Fun things are not allowed to escape me.”
That last line was pure André. “André isdefinitelyyour child.”
She laughed outright. “That he is.”
Ian sensed a certain inevitability about the clothes. If André had taught him anything, it was that what a Castor wanted, they got. They could teach barnacles lessons on persistence.
He gave up and got into the warm SUV, letting her drive as he had never driven a big luxury vehicle like this one before, having only ever driven his dad’s old Ford Fiesta. In fact, it had been so long since he’d driven, he felt rusty, so better to leave it in her capable hands.
She already had the address pulled up on the dash’s navigation, so they pulled out without her needing to do anything else.
They’d barely reached the road when she prompted, “André said he fell for you at first sight.”
“In retrospect, I believe that. He certainly had no problem asking me out right then and there. At the time, though, I thought he was crazy.” Ian smiled wistfully at the absurd memory.
