Page 31 of Protected Promise

“Congratulations, Kaitlyn!”

And various other messages were yelled throughout my favorite Italian restaurant.

I looked around and only saw my friends there as I was passed from one set of arms to the next. I could sense Landon’s irritation, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

Damon wrapped me up in a tight hug and I smacked him to let go.

“Did you rent out the restaurant? On a Saturday? This has got to be one of the busiest days here of the entire year.”

He shrugged. “Don’t look at me. Jackson and Chase are footing the bill for this one, but apparently their offer was good enough for my boss to not only agree but smile when he accepted.”

“Whoa. He never cracks a smile.”

“I know! Just relax and enjoy it, okay? You deserve this.”

“I’ll try,” I promised.

“I see Landon’s still here. I’m guessing that means you didn’t talk to him yet.”

“Drop it, D. That’s my business, and seriously, if he runs because of something that happened in my past that I had absolutely no control over, then he’s definitely not the mate for me.”

“That’s my girl.”

Apparently, I’d overstayed my time with Damon, because I was ripped from his arms and onto the next person. Large arms enveloped me and my body shook as all the tension and stress released. I nuzzled my face into his chest and breathed in his delicious scent.

I realized the entire room went silent.

I peeked out to see them all staring between me and Damon like they were just waiting for the fireworks to go off.

There was definitely fireworks, but they had absolutely nothing to do with Damon Rossi.

“What?” Damon asked. “If you haven’t met him already, this is Landon, Tobi’s Alpha and Kaitlyn’s mate.”

I gasped then closed my eyes and buried my head back against Landon’s chest. He squeezed me a little tighter.

I chanced a look up just as he shrugged and grinned.

“Sounds like we have much to celebrate today. The food is ready, so lets eat,” Chase said taking the spotlight off of me.

“Are you okay?” Landon asked me as I stood there clinging to him for dear life.

I nodded and then shrugged.

“I would have liked to maybe get to know you some before everyone I care about found out. It doesn’t bother you any?”

He chuckled and I felt it rumble through his chest.

“Tobi and Jackson already know, and I don’t know or care about anyone else here except you, so no, it doesn’t bother me in the least.”

I shook my head, grabbed his hand and led him to a table with two empty seats next to each other. There was really no point in trying to hide it now.

The meal was delicious and the conversation flowed. No one gawked or made any more comments about Landon and me. I was actually enjoying myself.

When I got up to go to the bathroom, Lachlan caught up with me.

“Hey. So, a mate, huh?”

“Yeah, looks like it.”