Page 26 of Reclaiming His Lost Mate
“Selina,” Alexis regarded me, then shifting his gaze to Mia now, his eyes lost all the tension. It truly softened, the sag I had noticed before gone, a smile stretching his Cupid lips, making them appear thinner and longer. Kissable.
Again, NO!
“Mia. Hi,” Alexis breathed out, and Mia’s cheeks swelled up in a blush.
Okay, I wasn’t understanding Mia’s reactions to the men today.
“Hi,” she greeted, waving a little and shyly slumping her weight on me like it was too heavy to carry on her own.
“What do you want, Alexis?” I snapped, rising to my feet on remembering my resolution.
Alexis wordlessly dropped the maxi-sized bag he was holding down by his feet, and the free hand now shuffled the flower he was once holding. My jaw slacked when Alexis separated the pile for me to see that there was a smaller wrapped bouquet…for Mia?
“What is this?” I asked, disbelieving that Alexis had brought this for me and Mia.
“It’s yours, Selina,” he said, and my eyelids dropped halfway on hearing my name from his lips.
What was wrong with me? It’s not like I hadn’t heard him say my name before.
He passed me the larger bouquet, and I subconsciously reached out for it, not recalling the last time I received a gesture like this. Once he had given me mine, Alexis dropped to one knee in front of Mia, a full smile playing on his face now but a hint of skepticism still evident from the lines on his forehead.
“I didn’t know what you both would like, but I got this for you too, Mia,” Alexis said, and Mia’s eyes shot up to her hairline.
“For me?” She repeated in a shrill voice, and Alexis nodded.
“For you.”
Mia’s expectant eyes traveled up, meeting mine, one small hand coming to wrap around my left thigh, and she bounced on her two feet.
“I guess you can have it,” I said reluctantly, and I hadn’t even fully gotten the sentence out before Mia squealed, accepting the flowers from Alexis.
“Oh gosh,” she squeaked out. “Thank you one million times!”
“You like them?” Alexis asked with skeptical eyes yet a proud smile, and Mia nodded vigorously, her excitement unable to be contained.
“I love them. They’re pretty.”
Turning to the stool that Tom had just vacated, I put my flowers down, speaking now. I was genuinely happy to see Mia overly excited for something other than a playground date or an ice cream treat from me, but I was definitely not interested in Alexis sweeping her off her feet.
“They’re pretty, Alexis, Thank you.” Sweeping the hair out of my face and over my shoulder, I went on. “But please, you do not have to get us something like this again,” I said calmly, hoping that he caught the subtle cue from my request.
He could try for all I cared, but I was certain that Alexis would soon be exhausted from playing hero and go back to his pack so we could live out separate lives in peace.
“Oh,” he muttered, but he didn’t sound disappointed. Slanting to the bag he had dropped on the floor, he brought it up, passing it to me. “I also got these. I’m sure you’d like the ones I got for you. Others are for Mia.”
“More gifts?” Mia beamed, gasping in surprise. I pressed my lips together, expelling a sharp breath as I collected the bag from him. At that, my memory sparked as our hands connected over the paper bag, a current shooting directly on the contact spot and spreading up my arms immediately. I snatched the heavy bag, groaning at Alexis’s actions.
“It’s not about liking them,” I bit out through gritted teeth. Bringing my voice down so Mia couldn’t decipher, I spoke. “Don’t get us any gifts. At all!” Plastering a sweetly fake smile on my face, I forced myself to pay no mind to how crazily my heart roared to life when Alexis touched me just now—for the first time in five years. Then, I spoke audibly. “Thanks again, Alexis, but we have homework to do.” Isaw the question form in his eyes…‘can I stay?’… but I shut it down immediately. “So, you can take your leave now.”
Alexis sighed, and I couldn’t even remember the glacial eyes on the stern face of the man who strode into Nightwing Pack that night, distorting my whole world with the words, “I reject the fated bond with you, Selina.” He looked so much different now, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t.
“I’ll see you two around soon,” Alexis said, breathing out in defeat, and I shook my head, chuckling without humor.
“No, you won’t.”
Newsflash? He did.
Alexis did see us around soon because when we exited the shop at seven that evening, coming down the stairs, the broken steps that Tom informed me of earlier had been replaced with new sturdy boards, and Alexis was right outside, offering to walk us home.
