Dammit. Things were going well with Chloe, and now his mother had to go and ruin it. He’d have to do something to get Chloe to realize she was the only one for him, but what?
He entered the apartment to a frigid silence. Even Tabby was glaring at him, shaking her head and muttering under her breath. But the men were not glaring at him, they were talking quietly among themselves and watching their mates warily.
Only Chloe gave him a smile, and it was a wan, weak thing compared to the earlier laughter over her ugly ceramic ball sack.
Jim held up his phone. “My mother doesn’t know anything about my life anymore. She’s too caught up in the divorce from my dad, who cheated on her. Now she sees me either as an extension of him, or the go-between for them. She’s…” It pained him, what he was about to say next, but it was the truth. “She’s not my mom anymore. Not the one I remember, anyway.”
“Told you.” Alex shook his head at Tabby.
Chloe took hold of Jim’s hand. “He told me some of this earlier. She’s being a pain about Spencer too.”
“Spencer?” Tabby’s eyes went wide. “Oh. Spencer. Sorry, Jimmy.”
And that easily, the women returned to their normal sunny (and slightly sweaty) dispositions.
“Anything we can do to help?” Cyn stood with her arms crossed over her chest, an Amazon ready to do battle.
“Nah.” Jim waved her help away. “Other than making sure the B-A-L-L S-A-C never again sees the light of day.”
Chloe smacked him on the arm before walking to the charity box. She sighed and shook her head. “Where is it?”
He’d never seen such bad acting in his life, as each one of them denied knowing what had happened to the horrible, misshapen sculpture. But it did the job, lightening the mood once more as they finished most of Chloe’s packing.
“How many books do you own?” Jim grunted as he picked up one particularly heavy box.
“Textbooks.” She grimaced. “Not sure I need them anymore.”
“You do. I’d hold on to them until you know what courses you need to take for your vet tech certifications.” He put the box down firmly by the front door. No way was she going to chicken out of going back to school.
She sighed happily. One of the things he admired most about his mate was her ability to bounce back quickly to her happy disposition after something had hurt her. It was a skill he wished he could master. “Good point.”
“So.” Alex clapped his hands together. “We move Chloe’s stuff out tomorrow, after Jim is done working? Or move most of it today and get the rest of it tomorrow?”
“I vote all of it tomorrow.” Tabby leaned against the small kitchen peninsula and rubbed her belly absently.
“I vote we get as much done today as we can since we’re all here. Afterward, Chloe can treat us to pizza and root beer.” Ryan rubbed his hands together. “I’ll take double meat.”
“I agree. Let’s get the majority of the boxes over to Jim’s place, eat there, then call it a day. The furniture can wait until tomorrow.” Julian hefted another box of textbooks. “We should have enough cars to make it in one go.”
And that was how it went, climbing up and down Chloe’s stairs as they put her life into their backseats. At one point Jim decided to pull her aside. As rapidly as things were moving he wouldn’t be at all surprised to find she was freaking out a little bit. “You all right with all of this?”
She stared at him like he’d grown a dick on his face. “I’ve been waiting for this, for you, for how long?” She grabbed his head and pulled him down for a quick, fierce kiss. “I’m so all right.”
“Yes’m.” He licked his lips, already pulling her closer for another kiss. “Okay.”
She giggled, but the sound became muffled as Jim gave her a scorching kiss.
“Jim, can I talk to you for a sec?” Cyn gestured toward the bedroom, the last place to be packed.
“Sure.” He was worried, because Cyn looked a little more serious than she had earlier. So he was surprised when she grabbed him by the ear and yanked his head down.
“I like you, you know,” she whispered in his ear. “I think you’re good for Chloe. But if you hurt her again I’ll rip your cojones off, grill them with some garlic butter and serve them up with a side of salsa and guac. ¿Entendido?”
Jim gulped. “Understood.”
“Good.” Cyn patted him on the shoulder and sauntered out of the bedroom. “Now, let’s get you and your mate home.”
Jim followed meekly, shaking his head when Chloe shot him a questioning look. The best way to save his balls from the sauté pan was to keep her happy, and he intended to do just that.
Chloe shook her head at Cyn, but she couldn’t quite keep the smile off her face. She must have heard Cyn’s fierce whisper. “Leave my mate alone, Cyn.”
Cyn shrugged. “You’re family.”
“So is Jim.”
Cyn grinned. “Which is why I won’t kill him, just maim him a little.” She held up her hand, her forefinger and thumb barely half an inch apart.
Chloe tsk’d. “Don’t touch his man-bits. I need them.”
Cyn’s grin turned evil. “Super Bear could probably grow them back.”
Jim shuddered. He had no desire to find out if that was true. From the way Ryan and Alex were clenching their legs together they didn’t want to either.
Chapter Thirteen
“Welcome home.”
Chloe glanced around, barely able to speak. She was in Jim’s house, being welcomed as a mate.
She shuddered, holding back tears. She’d never thought they’d get to this point. She’d thought he’d never acknowledge her, that all her dreams were for nothing. Then he’d barreled back into her life and changed it forever.
No matter how much she wanted to cry with joy, she couldn’t. The last thing she wanted to do was look like a weak little girl in front of the man who’d once claimed she was too young for him. She stiffened her spine instead and turned to him with a smile. “Thanks.”
His brows furrowed as he stared at her. “Are you all right?”
Jim reached for her but she backed away, turning instead toward the stairs. “Just tired.” She’d head to the bathroom and get herself back under control, then deal with the fact that she was moving into her mate’s home. “Where’s the bathroom?”