Page 26 of The Dragon's Emberlinked Mate
“I am,” I assured her. “After all, there’s only one way up and down from this place, right?”
“So you’re getting out of the house, perhaps looking for a job?” my dad said.
Why did he have to bring that up? It was a sore point with me, which we both knew. A fun family time wasn’t the best time to discuss it.
Emmen cleared his throat. “Why don’t we all sit, have a few drinks. There are some hors d’oeuvres on the table for us. Dinner is going to be a rather informal affair so that we can keep a close eye on the children.”
My mate was my hero. Every time my father brought up me getting a job, he changed the subject like a boss. Unlike my parents, he was in no push to have me working. Financially we didn't need the money, and starting a new job while pregnant wasn’t ideal. And besides, it wasn’t like I was sitting around, drinking cocoa and watching television all day.
“Dinner was delicious.” Pip set down his fork after devouring three plates full. “I was thinking we might be heading off, unless there is another reason you asked us here.”
My brother wasn’t subtle.
“Babies?” my mother squealed. So much for the big reveal.
“Sorry,” my brother mouthed.
“It’s fine. You broke the ice.”
My mate intertwined our fingers.
“Yes, we are expecting our first clutch.” I placed my other hand on my belly, and my parents peppered me with questions about my health and whether it was safe to get pregnant so soon after my accident.
Emmen and I had been expecting that and were well prepared. What surprised me was that they didn’t ask how many were in my clutch. But of course, my brother took care of opening that door.
“You are killing me, twin. Just tell me already.”
All eyes were on him.
“What? Don’t tell me you don’t want to know if he has five babies on the way like I did.” For someone who hadn’t wanted to know, he really did want to know.
“I don’t.” I held up three fingers.
“Three babies?” My father’s face bloomed into a smile. “That will make eight little ones in my life.”
“Nope. It will make nine.”
My brother tackle-hugged me to the ground. “Twins, just like us. I knew you could do it.”
“Yeah, I followed the twin instructions.”
“There are twin instructions?” Poor Shaun hadn’t known what he was getting into when he started working for this family. But as the room broke out into laughter, I had a feeling he was beginning to.
Chapter 15
Emmen
“You know, I’m totally going to be a superfan, right?” Rhythe looked me up and down, his eyes heated.
“No, I didn’t realize that,” I said as I looked at my mate wearing his academy jersey that we had designed to mimic the types of jerseys humans wore to support their teams. He also had dragon wings, similar to our emblem, painted on both his cheeks; his regular diamond stud he kept in his ear matched our school colors.
“Am I too over the top?” he asked.
I pulled him closer to me and kissed his forehead, careful not to mess up the makeup he had on. “Absolutely not. I love your passion for the games.” And even if it was over the top, who cared if it made him smile like this.
“I’ve always loved them,” he said. “Ever since I was a kid I’d beg my dad to take me. I’ve only ever been a spectator. Competing was never my thing.”
“I was never quite good enough to be on the teams. Honestly, I didn't have a knack for formation flying when I was young.”
