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My phone vibrated, and if it was Zephyr, he’d worked fast this time, and safe to say I hoped he had some good news. Instead, it was a text from Liza.
Are you okay?
Instead of texting back, I dialed her number.
“Hey, Ty. Is everything okay? I thought I’d have heard from you by now.”
I could tell by her tone that she was worried about me. The desire to tell her everything overwhelmed me, but I couldn’t fill her in until I knew for certain that Stone wasn’t going to be a problem anymore. Then I’d figure out a way to break all of this to her. There was no fucking way her parents had been in the dark about it all.
“I was just thinking about how I’d like to meet your parents. It would be nice to have a man-to-man chat with your dad about becoming your mate.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.
“I’m sure Dad would like that. I’ll call them and get back to you.” I heard the smile in her voice as she spoke, and that nagging guilt whooshed through my body again.
I put as much enthusiasm as I could in my tone. “Perfect. Let me know. Bye, Liza.”
I fell back onto my bed, holding my phone up and staring at it, willing the goddamned thing to ping or ting or chime with information from Zephyr.
It didn’t.
Fuck.
Depending on someone else to do the things I should’ve been doing myself but couldn’t without garnering some attention and provoking questions was pure torture. I needed to make a move, not idly stand by while Stone ironed out his plan to mate with Liza and ruin my family along the way.
My phone buzzed in my hand. It was Liza again.
Damn, that was fast.
Dinner with my parents tomorrow night at six? Does that work?
I smiled, sensing her excitement, even via text.
Yep. I’ll pick you up. Sweet dreams, beautiful.
* * *
I was on edge when I went to pick Liza up for the dinner with her family that I’d instigated. Zephyr still hadn’t responded, and I hadn’t quite worked out the best way to broach the subject with Liza’s parents.
Each hour that passed was another hour Stone had to devise a plan to take our family down. There was no way in hell I was going to allow Liza to leave Presley Acres with him, but I didn’t take Stone for the kind of guy who played by the rules. I could see him going full kidnapper to prove his point and get his way.
Liza’s safety was in jeopardy, so seeing her safe and smiling as she walked to my car was a massive relief.
Honestly, I was surprised she still wanted to spend time with me. I’d been so keyed up, I’d called and texted almost every thirty minutes throughout the day, checking to make sure she was safe. If she took longer than a couple seconds to answer, my heart throbbed, and blood rushed to my ears until I got a text from her.
“You look amazing.” I walked around the front of the car and opened the door for her.
The smell of her perfume combined with the sensory overload of her tight jeans gave my brain a moment of respite from thoughts about Stone.
“Thank you.” She grinned as she kissed me on the cheek. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
As she directed me to her parents’ home, she smiled and chattered like she was nervous, but that was on me. I could hardly speak at all. The relief and happiness at seeing her overwhelmed my very being.
When I turned onto her street, Liza pointed out her parents’ home. We pulled in behind several vehicles. “How many people am I meeting tonight? Looks like a whole basketball team is joining us for dinner.”
Liza laughed. “My brothers are here.”
Oh, good. Nothing like a pair of brothers to take the pressure off.
Her parents met us at the door. Her mom’s smiled reached from ear to ear, and her dad stood behind his wife, his gaze unwavering. This was a man who was keeping a close eye on the suitor for his daughter. I didn’t blame him. I only hoped he couldn’t read the thoughts I had about his daughter and the outline of her ass in those jeans.
