Page 54 of My Fugitive Wolf
"Yes...no. That's not it. You and your brothers finish each other's sentences all the time. It's funny watching the three of you talk to each other because you never have to complete what you're saying before the other two know exactly what you're talking about. Even Grace has noticed that you and your brothers have a bond like none other. Now you and I are doing the same thing."
"I never noticed." His brow furrowed as if he were reviewing every conversation he'd ever had with Stephen and Leo.
"It's not a bad thing." She turned onto her side, so she could talk to him face-to-face. "It just takes some getting used to, that's all."
He smiled and tucked a tendril of her hair behind her ear.
"Thanks. What should we do now?"
He wrinkled his nose. "I was going to say take a shower then find the others, but I don't know if I want to find the others."
"Good." She gave him a solid nose boop. "Because I think I'd like some more alone time with you. Just the two of us."
"I like that plan."
Kellen leaned forward to kiss her, but in a sly move, she outmaneuvered him so she could slide out of bed. "I get the shower first!"
When she closed the door, she noticed a delicious look of revenge in his eyes. By the time she walked out, wrapped in the hotel robe and a towel on her head, there was another pot of coffee on and lunch was ready. Kellen had taken the liberty of using the shower in the other bedroom.
He stole another kiss before loading up her plate with a turkey sandwich, potato salad, fruit, and a slice of strawberry cake. "You're spoiling me."
"You're worth it."
She paused with her spoon filled with potato salad halfway to her mouth. "We're good then? You'll stay with me no matter how this turns out. No matter how much it may hurt if things don't exactly go our way?"
"Yes." Kellen slid onto the bar stool next to hers. "In the shower, I had time to think about what was holding me back. You're right. I've been protecting my heart for so long, it's hard to just let myself feel what I want in the spur of the moment. That might be why my wolf shadow has been pushing me at you. The shadow knows what's best for me in this case."
"It's stopping you from doing something boneheaded, you mean."
He laughed a little before taking a swig of coffee. "Yes. Letting you go out of fear of what might happen is definitely one of the bonier of all of the boneheaded things I've tried to do."
"Is bonier even a word?"
"It is now."
They finished their lunch in silence, just enjoying being close to each other. When they started dessert, however, Kellen cleared his throat.
"The thing is, even though we've found our bliss, our plans can't change. We need to leave Winterbourne."
"Oh."
"Does that bother you?"
"I'll miss Carlie," she said, immediately feeling a small twinge at the thought of never seeing her again. "And George's cooking. Other than that, I never thought I would be there for longer than a month at best. You're going to miss it more than I would."
His eyes grew dark and misty. "Yeah. In fact, I'm thinking of giving the restaurant to Carlie and George."
"Give it to them?"
"I don't need the money. The brotherhood lives frugally, and we pool our resources. If anyone deserves it, it's them. Even if they hire someone to manage it, while they keep doing what they're doing, they'll keep the spirit of my work alive."
"They'll treat their staff just like you did. That's a good thing."
"And you don't have to worry about money. We have plenty, especially if Stephen sells his gym."
"Good to know since you'll have another mouth to feed," she joked.
Kellen gave her a sly look. "True, but we'll also have an extra source of income. I love you, but I'll have no lazybones for a wife. You're going to have to work, my girl."
