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For a chihuahua, he was surprisingly calm. Well, compared to other chihuahuas I’d met. He wriggled and writhed until I set him down, allowing him to smell my shoes to try figure out where I’d been.
If he only knew what I’d been through the past twenty-four hours, he might’ve been more sympathetic instead of walking away—likely in search of his food bowl—once he’d tired of sniffing me.
“There she is.” My mom walked out of the rounded doorway that led to the kitchen with a dish towel draped over her shoulder.
She was the one who taught me how to cook. I wouldn’t have anything or be anything today without her. Seeing her made me feel at home again. A sense of relief washed over me, calming my frayed nerves. This place and these people always had that effect on me.
“Hi, Mama.” I wrapped her in as big a hug as I could without causing her worry and waited until she pulled away before I let go. She ushered me into the kitchen and began to tell me about all the home-improvement issues that still needed to be fixed and the ones that were no longer a concern. “Your dad finally fixed that leak in the back bedroom, though I didn’t think he ever would. He’s just so busy with his practice, it’s hard to get him to commit to anything related to this old house.”
She might’ve called it this old house, but she loved the place. She’d added touches of herself over the years and updated them as she changed. Thanks to that, there was no mistaking this was her place, no matter how much she complained about it.
“The house looks great, Mom.” I gestured to the kitchen. “You keep it spotless, as always.”
“It may look great on the surface but this house is a lot older than you. It’s starting to fall apart from the center. Looks can be deceiving, you know.” As she went to stir a pot of soup on the stove, I grabbed a piece of bread from the countertop.
“So, what’s new with you? How’s business?” She eyed me suspiciously, no doubt trying to figure out how to broach the subject of Ty or to entice me into bringing him up. There was no way she hadn’t heard about last night’s fiasco.
I took a deep breath, then huffed out an exasperated sigh. “It’s been interesting. You already know I catered the lunar mating ceremony.” Mom had been one of my first calls as soon as the contract was signed. I paused when Dad entered the kitchen, smiling as he walked straight toward me.
“What did I miss?” He hugged me and kissed me on the forehead, just as he’d done every day when he came home from work since I was a baby or when I came to visit.
Mom raised her eyebrows. “She was just starting to tell me about the catering job at the lunar mate ceremony last night.” She gave him a look that I probably wasn’t supposed to see of lifted eyebrows and wide eyes. It as much told him to be quiet as it did ask a question.
He didn’t pay much heed. Instead, Dad’s face fell. “Ah, yes. I’m sure that was quite the event. How did it go?” His tone had shifted from one of interest to one of concern. He’d probably been down at the barbershop or the hardware store or wherever men his age got their gossip. So, he’d probably heard enough already to know it wasn’t good… if he didn’t know the whole story. Chances were, he’d already been made aware that even if my fated mate had wanted me, his family did not.
“Well, you know. There’s always room to improve, but it went all right,” I said slowly, trying not to give too much away in case they’d not heard every shitty detail. “It started out like a usual event. Some of my staff called in sick, so I had to fill in as a waitress.” That wasn’t so unusual. It happened, and I dealt with it when it did. That was the mark of a good, solid business. “Everyone I spoke to had wonderful compliments about the food. But then ...” I trailed off, my gaze shifting back and forth between them.
“We heard about your encounter with Ty Keller.” Mom turned the stove off and turned to face me, giving me her full attention.
“Oh, I’m sure you did.” I bit off a chunk of bread, thinking about the rumors that had been flying around town. “It was horrible. I was standing there, and then I could hear them all saying that I’m not worthy of Ty and his royal family.” The absurdity of it wasn’t lost on me. I wasn’t in his social group or his economic class, but I wasn’t anything to be feared, either. “For God’s sake, they’re all acting like I’m some kind of homeless criminal.”
It was insulting and hurtful. Kind of ridiculous, too, since I had been raised by wonderful people who valued life and happiness, courtesy and kindness.
“Now, Liza.” Dad placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. “Don’t listen to the naysayers or focus on their immature gossiping. We know your worth and we raised you to recognize it, as well.”
He was right, of course, because my father was always right. It begged the question of why I was allowing the words of others to influence the way I felt. But the public humiliation still stung.
Mom interrupted my thoughts. “We’re worried about you, Liza. It seems you’re being thrown into the middle of something you weren’t particularly looking for.”
My parents had always been overly protective of me. Especially as a teenager, when my body had started changing and boys became more… noticeable.
Through it all, though, I’d never had a boyfriend in high school. My parents kept me so busy with extracurricular activities that I didn’t have time to even think about the opposite sex. Between ice skating, ballet, debate team, volunteering on the weekends at the local food bank, and more, I was lucky to have time to eat and sleep.
It wasn’t until college that I actually started dating. Even then, though, I’d had my older twin brothers breathing down my neck, making sure I didn’t get in trouble or date the wrong kind of guy. Whenever things started heating up, there they were, popping up out of nowhere to interrupt and cock block, so to speak.
But this situation with Ty was different, and Mom was right: it wasn’t something I anticipated or could have controlled, and I sure as hell hadn’t gone looking for it. I’d resigned myself to being mate free, to enjoying my time alone, and to a love ’em and leave ’em lifestyle. All I’d wanted was to grow my business and make my parents proud.
I was grateful for the love and concern of my family. Because of them, I was smart, self-sufficient, independent, a business owner, and a thirty-year-old virgin. Which had never really bothered me because I wasn’t interested enough in anyone to surrender that particular attribute.
Until now.
Ty was definitely not inexperienced when it came to women and sex. He probably had a list of women on a rotating schedule who saw to his sexual needs. Poor bastard. And now, unfortunately for him, not only was he fated to someone who fell several rungs below him on the societal ladder, but he would also be dealing with an inexperienced virgin.
I sighed. I probably wasn’t what he’d had in mind.
“I know you’re worried,” I said. “But don’t be. We didn’t even speak to each other, and his parents didn’t seem too enthralled by the idea of him pursuing me.” If I were honest, he hadn’t seemed too enchanted, either.
Mom nodded in understanding, but they both still seemed uneasy at the idea of me finding a fated mate.
