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Chapter Eleven

Silver

Charlie and I were going to have to have a serious discussion later about the mate bond.

It seemed as if he didn’t know about it or understand it at all.

I had been able to read his thoughts since we’d woken up this morning, and I’d simply been waiting for him to realize I already knew what he was thinking.

Yet he seemed as if he didn’t have a clue.

Was it possible he’d not learned of it from his parents before their deaths?

I would figure out a way to discuss that and more with my adorable little mate later.

At the moment, I was trying not to knock my thigh into any of the furniture in his cozy cottage.

It was cute, and from what I knew of Charlie already, it suited him perfectly.

I was actually more than ready to give him free rein when it came to redecorating my place.

Well, now our place. I wanted him in what used to be my space. His things as well.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Charlie said as he came rushing out of his bedroom. I’d opted to wait in the living area at Charlie’s suggestion. My adorable mate was carrying a rather large bag, and I had to wonder how he’d managed to pack it so quickly.

“You look cute,” I said as I reached for the bag. Charlie stopped walking in my direction, so I closed the distance between us. He just stared at me while I reached for the bag and took it from him. I raised an eyebrow in question when he just stood there. “What?”

Charlie looked down at himself. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a green sweater. The combination looked good on him, and I found him adorable.

“You said I looked cute.”

Shit. Was that bad? “Am I not supposed to say that? You look sexy as well, but you’re my mate, and I’m always going to find you attractive. Is that better?”

Charlie’s eyes widened. I chuckled, gently grabbed my mate’s hand with my free one, and tugged him along with me out the door. I stopped just outside so he could lock it before I led him to my truck. It looked comical in his tiny little driveway.

After I placed the bag in the back seat, I helped Charlie up into the front and then rounded the truck.

I had a breakfast date to take him on, and then we were going to go back to mine and have a long discussion.

It was obvious that Charlie had been mistreated by previous boyfriends, and that wasn’t going to work for me.

Of course, I was going to do everything I could to spoil my mate, and that was going to start today.

We’d rushed when it came to claiming one another, and I’d not really had a chance to date him like I should have.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t or wouldn’t do that now.

Because I absolutely was going to. He deserved all the dates and all of the romance that came with it.

“Do you know what you’re in the mood for?” I asked, keeping the conversation safe. At least I hoped so.

“Since I don’t know where we’re going, I can’t say.”

“Think home-cooked food diner. It’s probably not as good as some grandparents’ cooking, or even some parents’ cooking, but my brothers and I frequent it often.”

Silver looked at me with raised eyebrows. “Do you and your brothers not cook?”

I nodded. “We do. All of us know how to cook, grill, and bake. But we visit this diner a lot for lunch. And sometimes breakfast if our schedules allow for it.”

Charlie nodded slowly. His sudden gasp and then leaning to the center console had me immediately on edge. “What’s wrong?”

I slowed to a stop at the intersection and looked over at my mate, concerned about him. “Is it gone? The blue SUV?”

I looked around and found a bright blue SUV in the rearview mirror. “If it was bright blue, it’s headed down the street. Someone you know?”

Charlie sat up and somehow contorted himself enough that he could see out the back of the truck while still remaining buckled in his seatbelt.

“Yeah, that’s Sam’s vehicle. She said she was going to come over this morning and demand all of the deets as to how our date went.

I absolutely do not want to tell her how many times you and I did the deed. ”

I couldn’t help it; I chuckled. “Could your sister really force you to tell her about your sexual encounters? Is that something you’ve been forced to do in the past?”

Charlie groaned. “You don’t understand. She has this way about her, and before you realize it, you’re spilling your guts about everything.”

I was getting an understanding about Sam and her and Charlie’s relationship. Sam, it seemed, was a lot like Ma and was a busybody. Yeah, I knew exactly how to deal with her going forward. “We’ll add that to our list of things to discuss later.”

“Huh?”

I glanced over at my mate before looking back at the busy street.

It was unusually busy for a Wednesday morning, and I wanted to make sure my mate and I arrived at the diner safely.

“Charlie, you’re adorable, and I can’t wait to explore everything with you, but we’re going to have to work on certain things.

Specifically how much your sister is involved in your life. ”

Charlie narrowed his eyes. “You mean like your mom is with yours?”

I shook my head. “The difference there is that Ma tries to be in control of our lives. All but Slate don’t allow for that. Slate only does because he’s the youngest and still hasn’t figured out how to put her in her place.”

“Yet you went on the date last night. A date you didn’t want to go on, that your ma set you up on.”

I nodded. “True. But only because I didn’t want to leave you without a date on Valentine’s Day.

It’s bad enough to be stood up, but it’s probably by far worse when it’s on Valentine’s Day.

” I shook my head. “Other than last night, I cannot remember the last time that I did something that Ma insisted on.” I would happily help out around the house when I was visiting, but I did not spill secrets, did not disclose information that she had no business knowing.

Charlie sighed. “I wish I could be like that. Sam doesn’t mean anything maliciously, but she’s overbearing. I know, on some level, she just wants to see me happily mated. On another, she’s just a nosy busybody.”

I snorted, trying to keep my laughter in.

I had a feeling that Ma and Sam would get along well.

That meant there was no way they could ever meet.

I knew that wasn’t going to be possible, but I wasn’t going to go out of my way to make sure they spent a lot of time together.

I pulled into the diner’s parking lot and groaned.

“What?” Charlie asked. “They don’t look too busy.”

“No, but that’s Clay’s truck there,” I said, pointing to the silver truck.

“Are you sure? Maybe it’s someone else’s that looks like his?” Charlie sounded hopeful, but we both knew what was going to happen if he and I went inside that diner.

“It’s his. The stickers on the back give it away. Clay was one of my brothers that showed up at my place this morning. He and Mica. I have a feeling that they’re inside, and it’s possible that they called Flint and Slate as well.”

Charlie gave me a terrified look. “Do they not work? And seriously, do you think that all four are in there?”

I sighed as I parked. “It’s possible. I swear, I didn’t mention coming here with you. But we do visit this place frequently. It’s likely that Clay and Mica came here after leaving my place. If you want to go somewhere else, we can.”

Charlie glanced at the door before looking back at me.

The range of emotions moving across his face was a bit fascinating, to be honest. “No. Let’s go.

I’m going to meet them soon enough, right?

And they’re your brothers.” Charlie took off his seat belt and moved a bit toward the door before he looked at me over his shoulder.

“Besides. You’re my mate, and if they act a fool about anything, you’ll defend me and kick their asses, right?

” He didn’t give me a chance to respond before he opened the door and slid out.

I was too busy smiling at the thought of defending Charlie by having it out with my brothers in our shifted forms to realize that my mate had just slid from my truck.

It was a long way down for him, and that had me finally pulling myself from my thoughts and rushing out of the truck.

I met Charlie in front of it, and he smiled up at me.

“Are you all right? You should have waited for me to help you down.”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah, I’ll do that next time. But I am a shifter, Silver. I can handle your truck. I understand why you have such a large one. Just like I have my tiny car.”

“About that,” I said as I took Charlie’s hand and laced my fingers with his.

He stared at them a moment. I realized why and simply brought them to my mouth and kissed his.

“I’m not going to ask you to get rid of your car.

I never would. But I will ask that we take my truck when we go somewhere together.

I just didn’t fit, Charlie. I get it that you love your car. But it was painful.”

Charlie stopped, and when I felt a tug on my hand, I looked back at my mate.

He smiled at me. “I wouldn’t ask you to get in my car again.

Not unless we weren’t given any other choice.

Last night was different though. I didn’t know you, and you didn’t have a clue who I was.

I’m good with taking your monster truck. ”

I chuckled again. “True. And I can look for something smaller. Something that is a better fit for the two of us.”