Page 14 of Shared By 3

Valerie hops to the door as I hide a smile.

Valerie laughs and shows my parents in. Mother hugs her without hesitation. “I love those memes you send me. Funny and wonderful.”

“I’ve never seen her laugh so much, then I get to see them too,” Father says with pride.

Valerie gives me a warm smile and puts another cookie in my mouth. “Say hello to your parents and show them everything we have planned.”

“Happily,” I agree, but give her the rest of the cookie. “Remember, this is fun, not added pressure.”

She kisses me and squeezes my hand.

I show my mother what we’ve been working on and I notice her glancing at me the second I look away. I feel it even when I don’t catch it from the corner of my eyes. She gives up the game when I’m explaining the tree.

“Valerie insisted on us adding more color, not just gold, red, and green. I think it looks like more fun and ... you’re not looking at the tree, Mother,” I point out.

“I did. I’d rather look at you.” She reaches up and pats my cheek. “So smiley and warm, like it’s already Christmas.”

“It is, you’re here,” I take both her hands.

“Is that what it is?” She asks in a teasing tone.

I cock my head to the side.

“You mention your fiancée in every sentence, then grin just saying the word,” my mother points out.

“Oh.”

“I’m happy you’re marrying Valerie. I saw the rings right away. You got the right spot,” she says with a wink.

“No, Lief made these cookies,” Valerie says.

“With or without his shirt on?” Hunter asks.

I turn and watch as he takes stock of my parents standing in the living room.

“Well, Valerie is here, so I’m guessing that they’re-” Before Chase can finish, Hunter covers his mouth. “We have guests.”

Hunter and Chase both greet my parents and try to play off the comments, even though my mother’s enjoying their attempts without helping them at all. I walk to Valerie and lean down to whisper in her ear.

“Are you planning to tell the guys your mother is coming?” I ask.

“I doubt she’ll show. She’ll think about it, not want to come, and then it’s not a problem. Why bring it up if we don’t need to worry about it?” She asks. I watch her for a moment, looking for any of her tells. She holds my gaze, then smiles. “I told Tristan to check in five minutes before he gets here, so he’ll tell me.”

Her phone buzzes and she nods before showing me.

Tristan: Mom wasn’t up to it.

“See, I shouldn’t have believed it for a minute. I worried you for no reason at all.” Valerie kisses my cheek. “I’m sorry.”

Her eyes darken, but her smile doesn’t budge. It doesn’t hide the disappointment. Even when Tristan arrives and meets my parents, Valerie glances at the empty chair, the one she’d moved just in case.

I watch her throughout dinner, adding into the conversation here and thee as needed. Valerie seems to notice me watching her and keeps double checking to see if I’ve looked away. I head into the kitchen to follow Valerie and help with dishes.

She jumps. “Oh, Viking ... why have you been watching me all night?”

“You’ve seemed disappointed. You know that covering emotions, even for the sake of others, is still not good,” I murmur into her hair.

“It’s good. This is the best way for things to have worked out. She couldn’t ruin our fun day. It’s what I hoped for,” Valerie says.

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