Page 22
CONNOR
Despite the heavy revelations, it was nice having a family dinner. I knew Ash felt it too. Luna had loosened up a little. She seemed to like clear parameters and expectations—structure. But she was also the type to cut and run, having relied on herself for too long.
I couldn’t help wondering how this was all going to shake out.
The family looked how we wanted it to look. If we made space for her, hopefully, she'd find her way.
Luna was laughing at something Ash said. Her laugh landed somewhere behind my ribs—unexpected, warm. Her laugh. His smile. I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster.
“Shall we watch more of that show?” Ash asked as we cleared up.
“Did I miss much the other night?” Luna asked.
“We turned it off as soon as we noticed you were asleep, so hopefully not.”
I folded the tea towel and hooked it over the oven door.
Luna stretched side to side like she was trying to shake off stiffness.
“Do you want more arnica?”
“Yes, please.”
She accepted easily. That pleased me more than it should have.
Standing in the kitchen proved far less tempting than sitting beside her on the couch this morning. I managed to rub it in without incident this time, and the bruising looked better as well.
Ash was wound a little tight, probably still caught up in her revelation, and what I’d shared about Claire.
“Want more wine?” he asked once she’d pulled her shirt down again.
“No, thank you. That’s my limit. I’ll just jump to the bathroom before we start.”
“Sweet,” I said, and watched her go. So did Ash.
We settled on the couch in silence. The weight of the day clung to the air between us.
“Are you mad?” I asked.
“No. I’m… sad.” His voice was low. “I wish I could’ve done everything better.”
I turned toward him. “It wasn’t all on you. We didn’t talk much, did we?”
“And I took you for granted after Claire died.”
“Severed mate bonds aren’t great to endure.” I glanced towards Luna’s closed bedroom door. I couldn’t remember the last time Ash looked at me like that—like he wanted to understand, not just forget. Maybe Luna’s honesty was catching.
“I think she’s going to be good for us. Even if it’s hard to get her to open up, she’s making us face things we’ve left sitting too long.”
Ash looked at me then, sharp and searching. “Why did you never tell me? About the lover? Your preference? Was it enough—what we had with Claire?”
My heart kicked up. I wasn’t sure which answer would hurt him more—the truth, or something softer.
“Yeah. It was enough. It’s about the person, not what’s in their pants. If that makes sense.”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
“I didn’t tell you because… I love you. I loved what we had with Claire. But I didn’t need anything more. And I didn’t want to make it awkward.”
“Claire knew?”
“Yeah,” I said quietly.
“You never asked for anything after Claire.”
“No. It felt like all died with her.”
He let out a breath. “We left so much unsaid.”
“We were young.”
Luna’s door opened. She padded out in pyjama shorts that revealed slim, toned legs, and a fitted t-shirt with tiny love hearts.
“We need that robe back,” Ash muttered under his breath.
We were in trouble because we’d started to want again.
Table of Contents
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- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22 (Reading here)
- Page 23
- Page 24
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- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
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- Page 36
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- Page 39