As I prepared the coffee in the kitchen, I strained to hear any tidbits Aiden’s parents might let slip while I was out of the room.
The fallout from their sudden appearance at Selene’s shower wasn’t nearly as bad as I would have expected, and after the initial shock, everyone exchanged pleasantries. They were my parents-in-law after all.
Aiden, however, was quick to whisk them away.
He’d encouraged me to stay at the shower, but I’d wanted to come along. His parents clearly had a reason for showing up when they did, and I didn’t want to be left out of the loop.
When I finished putting the tray together, I brought it into the living room, smiling at Aiden’s mother. She returned my gesture with a polite smirk, obviously judging me.
“Charlotte,” I said once I’d sat down on the couch next to Aiden. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you and Daniel know about my sister’s shower?”
“Oh, darling, what a trifle of a question.” She gave a self-indulgent chuckle, tapping her designer sunglasses against her lips as she did. “We always know where Aiden is.”
She picked up her mug of coffee like she’d never seen one before. “Aiden, dear, is all your china in the wash?”
I wanted to like this woman, I really did, but if this was how she acted, I wasn’t sure how much I could take.
“Where are you staying?” Aiden interjected, clearly trying to change the subject.
Daniel furrowed his brow. “What do you mean? You still have the guest house, don’t you?”
~Nope. Over my dead body.~ I subtly moved my foot over Aiden’s and pressed down on his toes.
“I’m not sure it’s up to Mom’s standards,” he countered.
~Good boy.~
“Ha, we can make do.” Daniel took a sip of his coffee. “Besides, staying somewhere else would defeat the purpose of our visit.”
“And what is that purpose?” I asked as innocently as possible.
“Well, to meet you, my dear,” Charlotte replied. “After reading that article this morning, I wanted to see what kind of woman was mated to my son.”
Aiden frowned. “If you were that interested, you could have come to our mating ceremony.”
“Don’t get sour, Addy. Mating ceremonies are just a bunch of pomp and rigmarole.” She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not like you have to shift or anything.”
Ah, ~s~o this was about the fertility ritual. I’d caused a scandal, and now she wanted to meet the irresponsible young wolf who’d messed up her perfect son’s perfect alpha world—and make sure I didn’t do it again.
Charlotte glanced around the room. “Did you decorate this place yourself, Sienna, or did you hire someone?”
“I did it myself.”
“I thought so.” She brought her mug to her lips, then paused to smell the contents. “Hm.”
“Is something wrong?” I asked. “I can bring you something else to drink.”
“No, this is wonderful.” She set down her mug. “I just don’t think I’m in the mood for liquids anymore. Addy, what possessed you to buy that painting? It’s a bit amateurish…or was that the intent?”
“Sienna painted that, actually.” Aiden cleared his throat. “She has her own gallery.”
“So ~that’s~ what you do when you’re not making headlines,” Charlotte said, the words dripping off her tongue like acid.
Daniel got to his feet. “Aiden, how about you put those muscles to use and help me bring in our bags.”
Aiden shot me a look as if to say there was nothing he could do, and he and his father left the room.
Meanwhile, I felt like I was being marooned on an island with a hungry lioness.
Good thing I wasn’t easy prey.
Charlotte leaned back in her chair and studied me, still chewing on the end of her sunglasses.
Did she think it made her look pensive? It just made me want to grab the dumb things out of her hand and snap them in half.
“You have no idea how lucky you are, Sienna,” she finally said. “I was twenty-four when I mated with Daniel. How old are you again?”
“Twenty.”
“So you were only nineteen? Oh, that’s rich.” She laughed lightly. “It’s all making so much sense. Nineteen, oh dear.”
“Excuse me?”
“I was trying to figure out why you felt it was important to embarrass my son and our entire pack. But now it’s clear that you didn’t know any better. Don’t worry, we’ll get you up to speed in no time.”
The nerve of this woman, coming into our house and treating me like a disobedient child!
Mother-in-law or not, if she kept this up, she was going to find out exactly what kind of a grown-ass woman I was.
I rose to my feet and said through gritted teeth, “Maybe I should go see if Aiden and Daniel need help.”
“No need!” Aiden called out as he entered the room, hauling an obnoxiously large leather suitcase in each hand, his father right behind him.
“Are you sure?” I asked, eyebrows raised. “I can go put fresh linens on the bed.”
“I can do that when I drop off these.” He raised the bags a few more inches, and I couldn’t help but admire the way it made his biceps bulge.
“Well, in that case, if I’m no longer needed, I think I’ll go to bed for the night.”
“It’s only nine thirty,” Daniel protested. “I was about to make us all Manhattans.”
“May I take a rain check for tomorrow?”
“Of course. I’ll see you in the morning, my dear,” he replied.
“How long are you and Mom staying?” Aiden asked as I returned the used coffee mugs to the tray.
“Have you tired of us already?” Charlotte asked with a fake pout.
“Sienna and I actually have a lot going on,” Aiden said. “You know what it’s like running a pack. I just want to make sure you understand that we’re not going to be around all the time.”
“Don’t worry about us, Addy. Your father and I don’t need babysitting.” She flashed her eyes at me. “We know you do enough of that already.”
God, I wanted to slap her. But instead, I forced a smile. “Goodnight, everyone. Charlotte and Daniel, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’ll be up in a little,” Aiden said. “I’ll try not to wake you.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me, babe.” I grabbed him by the face and locked my lips to his for a lingering kiss. “Just don’t take too long.”
I glanced at Charlotte, who was silently steaming, then picked up the tray and brought it to the kitchen.
There was no way in hell I was staying around the house tomorrow morning.
What are you doing tomorrow?
not much tbh
why?
Aiden’s parents showed up at the shower last night
WHAT?????
OMG do u need me now?
wut r they like?
No, tomorrow is fine
I’ll pick you up at 9
Dad seems nice
and his mom?
I’ll tell you tomorrow
OOOOOO 😮
cant wait 💁
The next morning, as I slipped on my shoes, I prepared my excuse for why I couldn’t stay for breakfast. But when I came downstairs, all I found was an empty house and a note from Aiden.
He was sorry he’d missed me but needed to go into the office early. ~Right.~ He probably just wanted to avoid his parents as much as I did.
He also wrote that his parents were going out for the day and planning on an early start.
Fine by me. His mom could never come back as far as I was concerned.
I called security to pick me up, and when we arrived at Michelle’s, she was already waiting outside.
Of course. Gossip was her life force, and she knew she was about to get enough to keep her full for a month. I just wish we didn’t have to be careful what we said in front of the bodyguards.
She piled into the back seat and immediately threw her arms around me. “Si! I literally could not sleep last night after your text.”
“It’s not ~that~ exciting.”
“Are you kidding? This is better than when Mia found out she was pregnant with twins!”
I flopped back against the seat. “~Ugh.~ Why does everything have to be about kids?”
“Sorry, sorry! I was so excited about Aiden’s parents, I forgot last night was the shower.”
She grabbed my face and forced me to meet her eyes. “Don’t hold back, bitch. I want to know ~everything~!”