“You remember how you felt when Tyson Bradshaw asked you to homecoming our junior year?” she asked, her memories drifting back to Rue’s ultimate high school crush before he moved away their senior year.
“Yeah,” Rue sighed, her eyes going dreamy for a second. “Why?”
“This…thing,” Lucy said, unable to find the right words for what she felt towards the man totally eavesdropping on their conversation just a few feet away. “It’s like homecoming with Tyson Bradshaw times a million.”
“For real?” Rue asked, sounding surprised.
“For real,” she answered with a nod before adding, “Maybe times two million.”
“Wow.” Rue’s eyes widened while she took in what Lucy was telling her. After a moment, she turned to stare at Sparx. Hard.
Sparx nodded back solemnly, while Lucy watched the interaction wondering what the hell had just happened.
Rue blew out a deep breath before making a face. “Well…poop.”
Lucy snorted before smiling so wide her cheeks ached. It wasn’t the pure acceptance she’d hoped for, but she was going to take every little bit she could wrangle from her stubborn bestie.
“Damnit.” Rue pouted for a moment before she straightened her shoulders. “Well. Okay then. You’re staying. That’s cool, right? Everything is going to be just fine. I will be fine.” Lucy wasn’t convinced by Rue’s obviously forced smile. But her friend continued. “I’m—I’m happy for you, Goose. I mean, if this is real and you’re happy, then I’m happy for you. Duh. I’ll always be happy for you. It’s part of the blood oath we agreed to when we were fifteen.”
She leaned forward and pulled Lucy into a tight hug. The pair squeezed into each other for a long moment.
“I completely forgot about that oath.” Lucy pulled back and giggled at the memory of what it entailed. “Didn’t we promise to only date brothers, so we’d eventually become sisters in real life too?”
Rue nodded. Her eyes welling up with tears.
Damn.
“C’mere,” Lucy grumbled, pulling her close again.
“Just ignore me. I’m pretty sure it’s PMS. I’m a hot mess,” Rue whispered with a sniff into her shoulder.
Lucy hugged her harder, fearing the changes she knew were going to come.
All of these years, it had been the two of them, an inseparable pair, through the ups, downs, and all the in-betweens. Bad dates, bad jobs, broken hearts, and broken promises. They’d lived within a mile of each other as children, and as adults they’d become roommates. The pair had separate work lives—because they weren’t connected at the hip, after all—but that was about the only thing that was separate. And they liked it that way.
She’d never thought about what would happen if one of them found their mate and the other didn’t.
“I told you that real family sticks together, so that’s what is going to happen.” Lucy leaned back, breaking the hug to see Rue with tears in her eyes. She wasn’t about to leave her sister behind.
“What are you babbling about now?” Rue gave her a questioning smile as she blinked quickly, trying to dry the threatening wetness there.
“You have any brothers, Sparx?”
Rue let out a bark of laughter, the accompanying smile causing the tears to roll down her cheeks. “You’re crazy.” She swiped them away, shaking her head at Lucy.
“I’m not crazy. I’m a woman on a mission, and that mission will be making sure my sister from another mister follows up on her promise for us to grow old and bitchy together. We just have to find you a mate and ta-da, done. Easy-peasy.”
“You know she’s crazy, right?” Rue asked Sparx, who made no attempt at hiding his continued eavesdropping.
Lucy didn’t bother to defend herself, just happy that Rue was no longer trying to hustle her away from Sparx.
“Do you even comprehend what you’re getting yourself into?” her bestie teased her mate.
“I know exactly what I’m getting into.” Sparx’s smile was so big, Lucy felt her heart flutter.
Chapter Nineteen
“We’re really mated, huh?” Lucy’s voice drifted over to him as he sat quietly in the chair. The words carried weight as they filled the space between them.
He nodded, silently studying his gorgeous mate. He noted how her checks would occasionally bloom bright pink as she seemed to be considering the types of things they could do together to satisfy their growing hunger. Her eyes would occasionally grow wide at the unspoken temptations she seemed to be feeling.
His mate was more than he expected. She was entrancing. No matter what she was doing, he couldn’t seem to look away. And, now that he’d accepted their fate together, he never wanted to.
“Do you think Rue will find a mate here?” she asked, drawing their conversation back to the protective friend who’d only just left.
“It’s possible,” he answered, praying to their ancestors in the stars that he was right, considering he never wanted to see Lucy cry again. Ever. The few drops that had escaped her gorgeous honey-colored eyes had felt like a pick strike to his heart.
“I promise she likes you,” Lucy said. The optimism in her voiced was deceived by the concern on her face.
“You are a terrible but adorable liar, mate.”
“No…really,” Lucy argued, as if it were important that he believe that Rue liked him. “She’s just worried that we will be separated, and you’re a big target to blame,” she explained with a wave of her hand over his muscled form.
He nodded again. He’d tried to give them privacy, but he’d heard enough from the corner being unable to leave the room. Rue was a good friend to his mate, loyal and caring. He was happy Lucy had someone like that supporting her for the many years before she’d come to him. With the strength of their
