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My nan places a plate of small sandwiches along with our tea on the table and then sits down next to me. “You should eat something.”
Too hungry to argue, I immediately start munching on one of the egg salad sandwiches. It has a little too much mayonnaise for my preference, but food is food, and I didn’t eat breakfast.
With a raised brow and a subtle smile, Mildred takes a sip of her tea, and then casually, like she’s commenting on the weather, says, “Donovan and Nolan, hmm?”
Suddenly, the bite of sandwich in my mouth is hard to swallow, and I have to fight not to cough it up all over the table. After a painful gulp, I choke out, “It’s, uh, complicated.”
Her eyes narrow in concerned judgment. “Do they not know how… involved you are with both of them?”
“Oh, no, it’s not that,” I insist, putting the sandwich down so I can take a huge drink of tea. It burns my throat but clears some of my suddenly dry mouth. A buzz of anxiety builds in my ears at the thought of explaining my complicated love life to my nan—mostly that it doesn’t end with just Nolan and Donovan. “They know about each other.”
They are also involved with each other, and we had a kind of three-way with our clothes still on. Yeah, I’m keeping that to myself.
“Are they pressuring you to choose between them?” she asks, sad compassion taking over her features. “Having multiple partners isn’t for everyone.”
A hysterical laugh nearly escapes me over just how far off she is—again three-way—and then my brain short-circuits when the rest of what she said catches up. I reply slowly, like I’m about to step on a verbal landmine. “You don’t mind that I’m dating both of them?”
She takes another sip of her tea and shakes her head. “They seem like good boys—a little rough around the edges, but good where it counts—and they clearly care about you deeply. You’ll be eighteen in a few months and making adult decisions. If they make you happy, then I’m happy for you.”
“That’s… unexpected,” I blurt, pulling my hair over my shoulder and fiddling with the wavy blonde strands.
“I’ve lived a long life and have experienced many things,” Mildred explains mysteriously—a mystery I don’t think I want to solve. “It’s given me a broader appreciation of what it means to love.”
My brain does exactly what I told it not to and makes some obvious connections that leave me squirming in my chair. I know she had to have, uh, done the deed for me to even exist, but she’s also my grandmother, and thinking of her in that way is something I never wanted to do. I shove it into the never think about this again box. It’s the part of my brain where all the embarrassing things live. It’s about as good as any of my other mental boxes, opening up at the most inconvenient of times, but as long as that time isn’t now, I’ll take it.
Clearly amused by my awkwardness, she asks, “How is it complicated? Maybe I can help.”
“I’m also dating Connor,” I answer, leaving out the part where I’m his mate. I have a strong desire for his head to remain attached to his body, along with all of his other appendages.
She only looks mildly surprised. “I anticipated him having feelings for you, but it’s impressive that he’s willing to accommodate other part—”
“And Fe—James,” I interrupt, the confessions shooting out my mouth like verbal projectiles.
The desire to tell her all of my romantic troubles bubbles within me, hoping that if I lay it all down in front of her, she can help me navigate this confusing labyrinth of emotions. Mei makes the whole thing sound so simple, but it doesn’t feel simple. As wonderful as it feels to love them and be loved back, it also feels painfully fragile, like I’m one wrong word or action away from shattering more than just our romantic entanglements. It already put Kaleb on the outs with everyone, and I can’t help but blame myself. If I kept it all in, nothing would have changed.
Unaware of my mental spiral, she puts her teacup down and reaches for my hands. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t, but becoming involved with a human is difficult. Secrets are hard to keep, and unlike the rules we bend for the other boys, these, we cannot.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to confess that James is different, because he’s not James at all, but I’m too scared of how she’ll react. I broke one of the fundamental rules of the supernatural community. What if she decides that the council is right after all, and I’m too dangerous to exist?
Instead, I nod my head and mumble, “I know. I’ll be careful.”
“Good.” She gives my hands a light squeeze and then reaches for her tea again. “I noticed you didn’t mention Kaleb.”
I rock back into my chair and groan. “He’s… I don’t know… thinking about it. Working on himself. He says he can’t right now because he’s too jealous, but he also hasn’t given me a firm no either. I love him, and I know he loves me, but… ugh, it’s so frustrating.”
“Unfortunately, you can’t choose for him.” Mildred sighs and looks off into the distance like she’s recalling a different time. “You also can’t stand still to wait for him.” Her gaze shifts back to me with a bittersweet smile. “Live your life, my darling. Love freely and unabashedly. He will either seize the opportunity to be loved by you, or eventually, you’ll both move on.”
“I don’t want to lose him,” I whisper, a sharp pain scraping down my chest over the thought of Kaleb walking away from me forever.
“That’s also not always our choice,” she replies gently, “but don’t give up on him just yet. Freely admitting to his jealousy and wanting to do something about it is a good sign.”
“Really?” I exclaim, holding onto the fragile pieces of hope.
My nan eyes me over the lip of her teacup, and there’s a knowing sparkle in her gaze. “Sometimes all it takes is seeing what we’re missing out on to nudge us in the right direction.”
Chapter 4
Callie
