Page 27 of Knotty New Year

“Mr. and Mrs. Kane? I didn’t properly introduce myself earlier, and I’m sor—” Pax began, then stopped. I had to stifle a giggle. He wasn’t really going to apologize for having wild sex with me for the last few hours, was he?

But his eyes were on the mate mark on my neck. Wait, he wasn’t going to apologize for claiming me, was he?

But he finished, “I’m sorry I burst in on your Christmas celebrations.”

“No, you’re not,” Mom mumbled. She glared at him, and I cringed, remembering all the details I’d shared with her the night before, when I thought I’d been a rejected mate.

Dad was merciful and merely nodded. “Can we get you a drink?”

“Please.”

Mom shot out of her chair to grab Pax a whiskey, frowning slightly as she passed me, until she noticed the ring. I held up my hand with a smile.

Pax approached my dad. “Sir, I know I didn’t ask you for your daughter’s hand—”

“Good. It’s not 1850, and he doesn’t own me,” I grumbled, though the laws about omegas meant my designation more or less lived in the legal Dark Ages.

“Nicholas,” Dad said, ignoring me. “You do go by Nicholas?”

“Please, call me Pax. Or Nicky. My family uses that.”

“Nicky. I like it.” Dad took a sip of whiskey. “You’re not wet behind the ears like the other alphas who’ve come sniffing around. I think you might be a good match for our Candy. Tell me about your family, and your business.”

“The third degree, Dad? Really?” I complained, as Mom walked back in.

Dad let out a huff. “Well, this is all rather sudden.”

“I agree, sir,” Pax replied. “But that’s how it often is with true mates. My own parents were scent matches, true mates, and they met and got married within a week.”

“Your mother will be glad to hear that,” Dad murmured to me. “The woman’s obsessed with those bride shows.”

Mom cleared her throat. “I’d rather hear why Mr. Paxson here met his true mate and rejected her. I’d like to know why he made her sick all night with—”

“Sick?” Pax was looking down at me, checking for signs of fever, before Mom had finished her complaint. “Are you sick, love? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I shot Mom a glare. “I’m not sick. I did throw up, but to be fair, that was the mulled wine.”

Pax visibly relaxed, but Mom kept staring. “I still haven’t heard an answer. Why did you hurt my baby?”

He faced her, his cheeks darkening with what looked like shame and regret. “I have no excuse. I was just trying to protect her.”

“Protect her from what?” Mom demanded, her voice belligerent. I recognized the tone: cross-examination of a hostile witness.

Pax didn’t look away from Mom. “From losing her dreams. You know she wanted to graduate from college, work in corporate philanthropy?”

“Of course we knew. But things changed… when she changed.”

“And they can change again,” he said. “She can have the future she dreamed of, and more. I’ve already lined everything up. I’m going to give her everything she ever wanted, Mrs. Kane.”

“Marta. And we’ll see,” Mom replied coolly, but she handed him the drink. “Have a seat, Mr. Paxson. I have some more questions for you.”

“You’re trusting me to take care of your daughter. You can ask me anything.”

I winced as Mom continued to interrogate Pax. “You hired a nanny to watch your own nephew instead of taking care of him yourself. I’m not impressed, Mr. Paxson. If my daughter does marry you, are you willing to give her the attention she needs?”

“I’ll still be running Paxson Pharma, Marta. I may not be with her every hour of every day, but I will make time for her. And she’ll be busy as well, chasing those dreams at my company—”

“Not that I’ve decided exactly what I’ll be doing—” I began, but Pax cut me off.

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