12. Gideon

I wasn’t sure what to expect after the kiss Kai and I shared in my car. Was it a goodbye kiss? A hello kiss? A kiss designed to test the waters? I had no clue. But I did know that to me, the kiss had been everything and more.

It was as if everything was hinging on our next contact, and every second that ticked by made me more and more anxious. If that was a goodbye kiss, would he even call again? Would his mate? Only time would tell.

When they asked me to meet them for coffee, the relief I expected to feel from them contacting me never came. I felt dread in my belly. Coffee was impersonal at best. Was this the next step to rejection? I wasn’t sure and there was only one way to find out… I had to meet with them.

It surprised me that we were meeting at a different coffee shop than the one I’d run into Kai at on that fateful day. As it turned out, that place we met was also where he met Dante. Was there a connection to that? Possibly. But also, maybe he just wanted a muffin he could only get at this location, or possibly he was looking for some more caffeine-free options than the other place had. Maybe they wanted a new place for a new start. There were a thousand possibilities and concentrating on them wasn’t going to do me any good.

When the day finally came, I was ready. More than ready. The traffic gods, however, were not ready, and I ended up a few minutes late. When I walked inside, they were sitting in the back corner with Kai facing the wall. It made sense. That would make it less likely for him to be recognized.

I went to the counter, got a cup of coffee, and walked back to meet them. As I reached the table, I discovered there was already a coffee waiting for me.

“Oh.” I set mine down and took a seat. “I didn’t realize you… Thanks.” I was sure to grab the one they gave me and ignored my own. I didn’t want them to think for even a second that I’d intentionally snubbed their gift. “Sorry I’m late. Both traffic and parking weren’t ideal.”

In hindsight, I should have just taken the bus, but my car still scented like Kai, and it was hard to pass that up, even if it was a pain in the ass.

“No worries. We just got here too.” Dante shrugged.

All three of us were silent for a few seconds, and I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Why are we here? Because if this is goodbye, maybe the band-aid method would be better.” My voice cracked, my emotion too close to the surface for me to hide it.

“No, no, no, no.” Kai shook his head back and forth. “I’m doing this all wrong.” He grabbed his mate’s hand.

“We’re doing this all wrong,” Dante corrected and then gave me his full attention. “We want to get to know you. And maybe, I don’t know, we can be friends.”

Friends was the last thing I wanted to hear, but a friendship with Kai was far better than nothing.

“And before you ask…” Kai looked to his mate who gave him a nod. “I told him about the kiss. He knows.”

“Okay.” I wasn’t sure how to respond and one word it was.

“I know this is confusing to all of us.” Kai waited until I met his eyes to continue. “But I need you to know that there are no hurt feelings. Not a single one. We needed for that to happen.”

“Needed?” I was so confused. He needed to kiss me and now we are going to be friends? Did that mean he didn’t like it?

“I love my world. I love our baby. I love our life together. And then I met you, and suddenly, I’m feeling feelings I don’t think belong.” Kai took a deep breath. “I don’t think I should be feeling like this, and it isn’t how things worked where I’m from.”

He leaned into his mate’s side. “I know I need to embrace where I am. And Dante assures me I should be feeling these things, and it’s okay. It’s how it was meant to be. And I just need to go slowly. So much more slowly than we have been.”

Finally, the pieces clicked into place. He wasn’t throwing me into friendship land, he was trying to figure all this out. And on some level, I already knew this, but the insecure side of me hadn’t quite allowed myself to believe it.

“We’re happy to give that to you.” Dante kissed the top of his head.

“Absolutely.” I didn’t want there to be any doubt in his mind that I was pushing. And if that meant we were all going to try to be friends together for however long it took, so be it. “Let’s embrace a friendship. Let’s welcome it and enjoy our time together and each other’s company.”

Kai’s shoulders relaxed. “Yeah, let’s do that. And maybe the next time we meet, we’ll make you dinner at our place.”

We spent the next couple of hours learning all about each other. I talked about my childhood and my career, as did Dante. But Kai? He shared with me how this was a whole new world to him, literally. I discovered how he got to be in the coffee shop that day.

No wonder he was so confused. He wasn’t even from here, and not here like the city, but here like this entire world. All the little things that were confusing me were starting to make sense. He was brand-new to so much more than having a second mate. And while pregnant? So many changes all at once.

Kai needed time. I’d give him the world—what was a few days, weeks, months, even years? He deserved everything. I could wait. I would wait. Kai was worth it.

I was starting to think that Dante was too.