Page 3

“Is Joy here tonight?” I asked. “I’d love to say hello.”

“She stayed home with the baby, but some of us wanted to go out and do our last-minute scheming.”

I twisted to face her. “Scheming? Do tell. I love a juicy secret.”

“Atticus invited us here to iron out the details for Hope’s baby shower.”

Being the Packmaster’s mate, Hope’s pregnancy was a joyful blessing to her pack. It also explained why Lucian was hiding. He didn’t seem like the type heavily interested in party planning.

“She’s due any day now, isn’t she?” I asked.

Mercy tilted her head with a look of surprise splashed across her face. “Didn’t you get our invitation? I’ll drop down right here on the floor and die if you didn’t. The baby shower’s tomorrow.”

“Those celebrations are for family. I know sending them out to the Council is a formality, but I appreciate the thought.”

She snorted. “You’ve officiated the mating ceremony of everyone in the pack—you’re practically family. It’ll be fun! We’re gonna have so much food and activities. You have to come by, and don’t worry about a gift. She’s not even expecting the party, so I cannot wait to see her face.”

Lucian put his phone back in his pocket. “Aren’t baby showers supposed to be for the females?”

“Y’all are living in the Stone Age. Tak would die if he couldn’t be there to celebrate, and it wouldn’t be right to only have a handful of women show up for such an important celebration.

Women aren’t the only ones raising this child,” she pointed out with an admonishing look.

“Don’t you dare think about skipping out early, Lucian Cross.

If I have to put a seat belt on your chair, so be it.

” Then she turned her attention back to me and clutched my arm.

“Please come. Even if you can only stop by for a few minutes, she’d be thrilled to see you there. ”

“How are you keeping this shower a secret?”

“Believe me, it’s been a challenge. We’re having to store tables and chairs on the property since Montana didn’t trust the guy not to rent them out to someone else.

Atticus carried them out of sight and covered them with a tarp.

Melody was planning on taking Hope to the hair and nail salon tomorrow, but Hope can easily change her mind on something like that.

So instead, she’s taking her to Milly’s for a thorough medical checkup.

Milly’s going to stall for as long as she can and pretend her equipment is malfunctioning or something clever.

Then she’ll give her the tour of her greenhouse and invite her to drink tea.

That’ll keep them gone long enough for us to set up and Bear to fix all the food.

He’s making sandwiches and precooked the meat today. ”

“Calvin let him off?”

“Both of us got the day off. Calvin’s invited, but you know he wouldn’t shut down the bar if it was on fire. Butterfingers is taking over my shift for the day so I can help prepare.”

Her cheeks bloomed red when she instantly remembered she was talking to a Councilwoman.

I knew she was referring to a clumsy waitress at the Rabbit Lounge.

Some of the locals called her Butterfingers since she was always spilling drinks, but instead of laughing about it, I switched topics.

“It sounds like it’s gonna be a lovely party. ”

The color in her cheeks faded. “That’s why you have to come. The fact that we ran into you the night before means it’s destiny.”

Lucian eased back in his seat, and when he pulled in an audible breath, amusement danced in his eyes. “The Councilwoman wants to come.”

I arched an eyebrow at his keen sense of smell. “Well then, I guess I can’t refuse.”

Mercy slid out of her seat. “It starts at two. Come anytime before or after. We invited Milly, but she already had to cancel two appointments to keep Hope there longer than usual, so she can’t make it.

I know you’ve probably got a hectic schedule, but Hope and Tak would love to see you there. The other Councilmen declined.”

That made sense, considering both Connor and Hiroki avoided mingling socially with the locals.

Given our jobs, that was the smart choice.

If we made too many friends, people would assume we played favorites and let friendships influence legal decisions.

People had seen it happen at one time or another in their life.

I never wanted to jeopardize my career, so I followed the example of good leaders and didn’t forge close relationships.

But it was difficult isolating myself. I loved people.

One little baby shower couldn’t hurt.

Mercy gripped Lucian’s wrist and hauled him up. “Come on, Lucian. Let’s stop bothering the busy lady. Bye, Miss Thompson!”

“See you tomorrow.”

She tugged on his arm, and before Lucian turned away, I smiled at him. He froze in place for an uncomfortable moment before Mercy dragged him out of sight.

What a curious man. His tempestuous gaze was like that of an escaped prisoner starved for either sex or vengeance. I found his black hair and sculpted jaw wildly attractive. Some men manipulated women with their looks, but Lucian didn’t seem to have a clue how devilishly handsome he was.

Or maybe he just didn’t care.

In any case, he was my hero for the night, saving me from what could have been hours of awkward conversation and dancing with a megalomaniac.

Baby shower. I laughed inwardly. What in the world did I just agree to?