Chapter 8

A listair thought seven o'clock would never come. Even though he'd had a busy day, it had still dragged. But finally he'd made it to Maggie's apartment and he wasn't even that early. Just ten minutes.

Okay, fifteen.

He sat in the SUV and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. His elephant was murmuring in excitement and had a few suggestions about how the evening should go.

Frankly, Alistair wasn't sure what the night would bring.

He wanted very much to invite her back to the apartment, and he'd already pretty much decided to do that, but a lot would depend on how things went. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her all day.

He wondered if she'd thought about him.

He certainly hoped so.

Once the clock slowly made its way closer to seven so he wasn't so early, he got out and walked to the front door, holding a small gift bag.

After knocking, it was just a moment before the door opened, and Maggie smiled at him. She was wearing jeans that hugged her curves and a long-sleeved top that was the perfect shade of emerald to match her eyes.

"Hi!" she said.

"Hi, sweetheart," he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. He caught the hint of her naturally sweet smell and inhaled softly.

Damn, she smelled amazing.

Like home and sweet dreams.

"I brought you something from the park's gift shop," he said as she stepped aside so he could come in.

"You did? That's so sweet." She took the bag from him and shut the door. He faced her, watching as she pulled the colorful tissue paper that one of the she-wolves who worked in the shop had artfully folded and set inside the matching bag.

"Oh, it's a moose! Is it Tank?" She lifted the small plush moose from the bag and grinned.

"It's supposed to be," he said.

"I love it so much, thank you." She went onto her toes and brushed her lips across his cheek.

"You're welcome."

She put the moose on the coffee table and folded the paper sack and tissue paper. He couldn't quite place it, but something was off about her behavior. She was smiling and seemed genuinely pleased with his little gift, but her eyes were troubled and there were small lines at the corners that looked like stress.

"Maggie, are you okay?"

Her brows lifted. "Of course. Are you ready to go?"

He could feel her unhappiness suddenly, like an echo in his heart that pulled at his emotions and made him want to wrap her up in a big hug and fix whatever was going on.

"Maggie," he said gently. "I can tell something's wrong. If you want to tell me to go to hell and drop it, I will, but you can talk to me. Did I do something wrong?"

Her eyes softened, the green going luminous with emotion. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. It's…something happened with my family and my sister's wedding. I was trying not to look upset."

He stared at her for a long moment and then pulled her against him in a hug. She fit perfectly against him, and her sweet scent rolled over him.

She curled her hands into his shirt and shivered.

"You don't have to hide whatever you're feeling from me," he murmured. "If you want to talk, I've got two good ears."

She didn't say anything for a bit, she just stood in his embrace with her hands twisted in his shirt, until she finally said, "You could really tell something was wrong?"

"Sure." He wished he could explain that his elephant was already in tune with her emotions and that even though they weren't mated, they were soulmates and already connected on some levels. Instead, he said, "Your eyes are very expressive." She tilted her head to look at him and he ran his thumb across her soft cheek. "Plus, I could kind of just feel like something was off, like you weren't happy."

"Can we…talk for a bit?"

"Of course."

They sat on the couch together, leaning against the plush cushions and facing each other. She twisted her fingers together, clenching and unclenching them, and then she told him what had happened at her parents' home with her sister and the wedding.

While she'd told him about her cheating ex and had told him how her family treated her, he was genuinely shocked that her family had thought so little about her feelings and hadn't sided with her in the first place.

He took one of her hands and linked their fingers. "I'm really fucking sorry, Maggie. About all of it. You're too precious to be treated like garbage, not just by your ex but your family too."

"Thank you," she said, her eyes shining with the tears she'd shed as she spilled her heart to him.

"Where did they leave things with you?"

"Well," she said, sniffling, "I got a message from Penny that she wasn't going to disinvite him, but that I could if I wanted. Which I don't. I blocked him when we broke up and I have zero interest in reconnecting. I'm not even sure why he'd still want to come. He and Brian are work acquaintances, but I don't think Brian really even likes him that much anyway. The whole thing is strange."

"He might be looking to rekindle things with you?"

Over his elephant's tusks!

"That's kind of what I think. Or that he believes I want him there. He's an egotistical asshole and doesn't think he ever did anything wrong. He's not at the table I'm sitting at anymore, and Penny expects me to be pleasant and not cause any problems. Like I'm the one she needs to worry about." Maggie rolled her eyes. She sighed and leaned her head against the couch, giving his hand a squeeze. "I want to ask you something, but I don't want you to think it's a knee-jerk reaction."

"Sure."

"Would you be my plus-one to my sister's wedding? I did tell her that it was my invitation to give away, not for them to bully me into letting him sit with me, and she agreed. I know it's weird and kind of fast. I mean, you'd be meeting my family. My entire family. And we've only been out on one date."

She spoke in a rush, her cheeks flushing and her eyes wide and filled with hope.

As if he would disappoint her.

"I'd love to."

Her brows rose again. "You would?"

"Of course. When you told me last night about the wedding, I wanted to ask if I could escort you, but I thought you might feel it was too soon for that kind of thing. So this is really what I was hoping for anyway, so long as you're okay with it."

"I am. I wanted to ask you too! I guess we were both on the same page."

"Great minds."

She hummed and smiled. He noticed the worry and tightness around her eyes was gone and her smile was sweet and genuine.

"I didn't want you to think I wouldn't have invited you without this situation with my ex, because it was on my mind and I really did want to ask you to escort me."

"I'm very happy to. Is it fancy? What time do I need to pick you up?"

"I need to be there an hour early for family pictures. The wedding is at six and it's at the country club in Almsworth, so you'd need to pick me up around four-fifteen. It's fancy, like black tie. I don't suppose you have a tuxedo?"

"I've never actually worn one."

"Not even to prom?"

"I never went to prom." He'd been homeschooled growing up because the memory he'd grown up in had been part of a traveling circus and they never stayed in one place too long. His sister and her family were still in the circus, and whenever they were near, he traveled to visit them.

"Oh wow, well, then I'll get to be your first formal date and dance partner. That's pretty cool. And I can go with you tux shopping if you'd like. There are some rental places around."

"Now instead of the movie?"

"Sure. Then we can find something else to occupy our time." She rose to her feet and held out her hand, her eyes glowing with promise and her scent deepening.

He rose to his feet and stared down at her, wanting to tell her about his elephant and ask her to be his mate. Maybe toss her over his shoulder and haul ass to the bedroom for some fun.

Instead, he cupped her face and lowered his head to kiss her.

Before their lips touched, he said, "You are a treasure, Maggie. I'm honored to be in your life."

She let out a soft, happy gasp and then rose to meet his lips.

He loved kissing her.

He couldn't believe his soulmate was such a beautiful, sweet female. Already he was falling for her and it had only been twenty-four hours.

He knew things would only get better as time went on.

His soulmate was one special female, and everything he'd ever wanted in the person he was going to spend the rest of his life with.