Page 53 of Loving Ladybug: Part One
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Thank you. He’s a slippery one.
Oh good, the owner had seen my signs.
“Grif, do you know Carlos has had Lucky since the wedding?” I asked. Grif had come to the Knights with his imaginary cat, but Carlos stole him an awful lot–and liked to blame things on him. Like farts.
Grif chucked. “Absolutely. I get pictures and videos.”
Nothing like getting a picture of an imaginary cat riding a mechanical bull–or getting a lap dance.
“Should we get some ice cream? It’s so hot.” Verity fanned herself with a manicured hand.
“Sounds good to me.” Ice cream made everything better.
Chapter Seventeen
Tenzin
Ifinished up the call and put the berries in my truck. My realtor had needed to go over a few things, which was a relief. I’d been afraid that Morgan and Jacen were making trouble.
“There you are,” AJ, orEats,as I’d called him when we were younger, stood there in the parking lot, wearing khakis, a polo, and loafers, with a fancy watch on his wrist. He was an alpha, athletic, with dark hair, a goatee, brown eyes, and golden skin. AJ had been a pro hockey player but had to retire after a career-ending injury and now worked at a prestigious finance firm.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I brought a friend. We went berry picking.” Which had been fun. Gwen sent me another picture of her with a little cow and I let her know I was on the way.
“Do I get to meet your med student?” he asked as we walked back toward the farm and festivities.
A pang struck my heart. It had been a while since we’d caught up.
“We broke up, which was why I moved to the Knights.” I sighed, giving him the short version of my breakup as we walked through the little farm.
“Sorry to hear that. The Knights are decent people. Well, the three in my pack are,” he told me.
“Where do you need to be? My friend is at the petting zoo,” I told him.
“My pack, too. Stupid mini cows. Seriously, they might be adorable, but they’re not smart and always get stuck.” He laughed.
We grabbed some beers and got caught up. The petting zoo was a fenced-in area full of hay bales and small animals. Gwen sat at the far end feeding a tiny cow ice cream.
She looked up at me and beamed. “Hi, Tens. Team Mom got me ice cream.”
“Hi Gwen.” I realized she wasn’t alone. There was a stocky teenager and a lithe, dark-haired woman I didn’t know with her, as well as three large hockey players I recognized.
AJ started laughing. “Your friend is Gwen. Why does that not surprise me? Tens, this is my pack–my mates Verity and Grif, my packmates Jonas and Dean, and Verity’s little sister Mercy. Everyone, this is my friend Tens. I’ve known him since he was in high school.”
Oh. Of course, Gwen would know them if they were Knights. “Gwen, this is my friend, Eats. I see you’ve met his pack.”
She beamed at me. “I might know these people. This is my friend Tens.”
“Is this Bucket?” Dean Donovon’s face broke out into a giant grin.
While I didn’t know the omega goalie well, he was well-liked and respected. He was the shortest of the four guys.
“Yes. I don’t have to give him back. I get to keep him.” She looked smug.
Bucketwas sticking, wasn’t it? It wasn’t like I had much of a choice. Also, my alpha liked her saying she was keeping me.
Gwen had gone back to talking to Mercy.
