He nods to me, and we duck out of the room. I take Jackson down a few doors to dad’s study. Not his office, where he does all of his big work – but a peaceful room where he goes to relax and think, or to have little intimate chats with his closest advisors, or mom, or Rafe, or me. Or Markie and Ju
“I’m a public figure too,” I explain to Jackson, incredibly sorry, “and…my reputation, unfortunately, matters. If Luca has confirmed to the entire nation that I’m his mate, and then I’m stepping out with this super hot Alpha, kissing him in the streets? The press is going to tear me to pieces – call
I nod, getting it now, unlacing my fingers from behind his neck and starting to run them again through his hair, liking Jackson more now than I have before, which is…saying something. He’s right, though – he doesn’t have some of the more annoying and disgusting habits of our culture’s masculinity. H
“Oh, come on,” Jackson says, keeping his spot on the window seat and spreading out his hands, the seriousness of his gesture ruined a bit by the fact that he’s holding a raspberry pastry. “Do any of you honestly think that my presence at the Grant family home is going to help anything today?” “It’
“Have fun with mom,” I say, straightening up. “She’s nice to you, right?” “She’s so nice to me.” He replies, eyes wide, like he can’t believe how nice mom is to him. But we all know her, and so we just smile again, pleased to see him feeling cozy and cared for. “Okay, we’ll be back as soon as we
I watch Luca’s face change as he realizes that he’s causing a scene, and that this does indeed look like a press setup. Luca coming running out of the house to clasp my face in his hands, when he could have easily just let us come inside? Yeah, it really does look to everyone here – the press incl
“You were shocked?” Jesse asks, stepping forward, wanting more details. “Yes!” Luca says, almost shouting in his need to be believed. “She was asking me about the match, and life at the Academy, and then she just dropped the question about my mate in there casual as hell! I think she knew I was go
Rafe immediately goes into Prince-mode, continuing to pat Gran on the back while looking up at Luca and quietly mouthing “who is this?” Luca sighs and gestures towards her. “Rafe, this is my Gran,” he says. “She’s…a big fan.” “Oh,” Rafe says, his eyebrows going up, because of course we’ve heard