"That's a great idea. I could just get a whole bunch of games for all of us to play. You're a genius."
"I would also like to get something for the guys," Mom said. "Maybe your dad and I could get something for the cabin since you don't have much right now."
"A nice table to play games on in the living room?"
She grinned. "Great idea."
We found the café. Rich buttery pastry smells curled around us. I focused on the sugar and sweetness and the hint of bergamot and tried to ignore the heavier coffee smell, though, as time passed it bothered me less. Maybe once we'd finally defeated Alex I would celebrate with a latte. Or at least attempt to celebrate with one.
"Victoria!" I hugged my friend when I found her waiting inside.
"Sofia! Mrs. Collins! It's so good to see both of you." She hugged Mom after me.
We grabbed a table, ordered, and fell into a discussion about Christmas plans.
The food lived up to the smell, and I groaned as I stuffed the last bit into my mouth. "So good."
"Hey, how's the new cabin?" Victoria asked once the plates were cleared away and we sipped our tea.
"Great. Not much in it yet, but we're really happy with what we have already accomplished."
"I was thinking of a housewarming style gift for you all for the holiday. What do you need?"
"Um. Wow, that's a really good question." I ran through all the things I eventually wanted, but they weren't something to ask a friend for. "Maybe something for the kitchen?"
"I'll think about it," Victoria said. "You let me know if anything comes up while we're wandering around."
"Deal."
We paid and left, intent on taking advantage of the warm afternoon sunlight while we shopped.
All of us had bags by the time we made it back to the parking lot where we had left the truck. Victoria's car wasn't far away, and we put our purchases in the vehicles so we could grab an early dinner before everyone headed home.
I slipped a small box I'd managed to buy without Victoria noticing into her hand. "Merry Christmas."
She blushed and handed me something, too. "Open it when you open the rest of your gifts."
"You, too."
We stashed those boxes in our vehicles and headed back to the pizza joint we'd seen. Victoria claimed that it was almost as good as our normal spot.
The skin crawled on my arms and I looked around, wondering what had caught my attention.
Was that? A familiar head of blond curls bobbed in the crowd, but then it was gone.
"Sofia?" Victoria scanned the crowd.
"I thought I saw someone I recognized. Sorry. It's not important."
She studied me while we went inside but didn't pressure me to tell her what was wrong.
"It was probably nothing." I insisted when we sat, though I did put my back to the wall and carefully cast a concealment around us. The magic would hide us from casual notice.
Victoria noticed, but Mom didn't.
Instead she plunged into the topic I had been dreading for a while now. At least she had waited to ask until Victoria was around.
"You're dating Doc, right?"
"Yeah."
"He seems awfully comfortable with the way you act around the rest of them."
"Act how?"
"You all touch. All the time."
I lowered my voice. "It's, um, well, at least partially a werewolf thing. Touch is very important to Ed and Allan."
"But what about Nikolai, who, by the way, is interested in your boyfriend if you hadn't noticed." Her tone stayed mild.
"Um." I cast a desperate glance at Victoria, who shrugged. Lot of help she was.
"Yeah, uh, Nikolai likes Doc. It's fine. He's fine with me and, um, all the guys. Touching, I guess. He's used to living with werewolves."
"They're all so nice. I just hate to see any problems come up because of misunderstandings."
I wasn't exactly saved by the arrival of our pizza, but it gave me a few minutes to think. I really just needed to tell her. What else could I do? Victoria gave me a subtle thumbs up.
"Yeah, about that. I guess, I'm just dating all of them. One big happy pack."
To her credit, Mom didn't choke on her pizza. She managed to swallow and take a big drink without too much trouble.
"I see."
"They're really all pretty adorable," Victoria said.
"And they're all okay with it?"
"Yeah."
"Does all of them include Ash?"
My cheeks heated and I stared at my hands. "Um. Yeah."
"Oh, got the demon, too! You go girl." Victoria gave me another thumbs up.
"Demon?"
If Mom hadn't know before, she knew now so there was no point in denying it. I really couldn't remember if I had mentioned what Ash was before.
"Yeah, demon."
She shook her head. "How did you manage to get so lucky?"
She didn't sound mad, so I risked a glance. "Lucky?"
"It's hard enough to find one compatible person, let alone five. Especially ones willing to share."
"I don't know. I'm glad I did though, or I'd be dead. Alex found me before Ed and Allan did."
Mom's eyes widened and she nodded. Perhaps that was why she didn't seem to be having as hard of a time with this as I had expected. She really did like them all, and they had saved my life. That counted for a lot.
"Let's not tell your father." She took a sip of her drink, as if that settled things.
I shared a wide-eyed glance with Victoria before I nodded acceptance. "Yeah, that's probably best. He finally seems to have gotten over some of his dislike of Doc."
"He just wants the best for you."
"I'd say Sofia hit gold there," Victoria replied. "They all love her."
"I still think Nikolai is after your boyfriend." Mom sounded like she couldn't decide if the idea should bother her or not. She really liked the mage.
Clearing my throat, I shrugged. "Yeah, they're into each other. It's fine. There is only one of me."
Mom's eyebrows rose. "I guess
