“What color do the women wear to these functions?” Jade asked as she began sifting through the gowns.
“Whatever color they like best.”
She glanced up at him. “You don’t know.”
“I only know what I’ll like,” he said, pulling out a clingy, red silk gown.
She laughed. “Why is it that men love red dresses?”
“They’re hot. I like this one.”
“I’ll have to try it on to see if it even fits.”
A woman took the selection Jade had picked out as well as Rafe’s red gown and set them up in a large, posh dressing room, complete with a fancy wrought iron bench with a tapestry seat cushion, paintings of Paris on the walls, and a large floor-to-ceiling mirror on one wall. So this was how the other half lived.
Jade hadn’t wanted to look for price tags when she was on the floor, so she looked for them now in the privacy of the dressing room. And couldn’t find one price tag. Why? If you had to ask, you couldn’t afford it? Ugh.
Before she could even remove her clothes, Rafe said, “Be sure to model them for me.”
She smiled. She figured she’d model the red dress last because, otherwise, he might buy it without even bothering to look at the others.
When she modeled a royal-blue one, he said, “Hell, Jade, you’re going to look so good in all of them that I won’t be able to choose just one.”
She laughed, loving how sweet he was. “But I only need one.”
“What about for the next event?”
She lifted a brow.
“Just saying.”
“Be right back.” She wasn’t going to get more than one gown. Still annoyed that they didn’t have prices listed on the dresses, she wanted to say to the saleswoman that if they didn’t have a price tag, they were free, right?
She tried on four more gowns, but when she modeled the red one, Rafe said, “Sold.”
She laughed. “You’d think I was at auction.”
“Speaking of auctions, I need to buy you a necklace.”
No way. Wolves rarely wore jewelry, and she wasn’t going to start now. Then she realized everyone would probably be decked out in diamonds. Sigh. Well, he could get her a cubic zirconia and she would wear it just to this event.
When they went to check out, he wanted the royal blue gown too, overruling her objections.
He handed his credit card to the clerk, who looked at it and said, “We haven’t seen you in here before, Mr. Denali. Would you like to open an account with us?”
“Later.”
The woman smiled at both of them.
Jade frowned a little, hoping the woman didn’t think she was Rafe’s mistress, but the clerk didn’t appear to know who he was.
They finished the transaction, and Rafe carried Jade’s gowns out in the special dress bag.
“Thanks, Rafe.”
“What about shoes?”
“I’ve got some that will work.”
They climbed into the car and Rafe said, “Take us to the nearest fine jewelry store.”
Sebastian’s lips curved just a hint.
“For a faux diamond necklace,” Jade said, not wanting Sebastian to get the idea Rafe was getting her an engagement ring, though she’d never known a wolf to wear an engagement or wedding ring.
“Sure thing, Boss,” Sebastian said, still smiling as he did a search for the jewelry store. “Looks like you got what you needed here, so we don’t need another dress shop, right?”
“We’re good,” Jade quickly said before Rafe wanted to take her to another one. On the way to the jewelry store, she asked, “Did you hear anything from your men about Lizzie?”
“Just the location where Kenneth and his men had been holed up—a furnished unit that can be rented by the day, week, or month. But they’d already packed up and left.”
“Great. He could be anywhere then. Maybe he’s given up on this whole charade.”
“He’s about thirty in human years like the rest of us, right? We still age more slowly than humans. Why is he in such a panic about this?” Rafe asked.
“No mate? As far as I know, he hasn’t been interested enough in any she-wolf to make the commitment. I caught him yanking out a couple of gray hairs on the top of his head the other day when he was looking in the mirror in the living room—he didn’t see me. Dad prematurely grayed. Mom didn’t. I think Kenneth is starting to feel the age issue closing in on him.”
“Well, if I get ahold of him, it will be closing in a lot faster than he’d ever imagined. He won’t have to worry about any more gray hairs,” Rafe said.
“But I think it’s mostly about him getting the money from the venture, as if there is going to be any.” She had mixed feelings about her brother’s impending disposition. She wouldn’t feel she and Toby were completely safe unless Kenneth was eliminated, but the notion still weighed heavily on her. He was her twin brother. But Toby’s health and welfare remained her focus.
“Are you okay?” Rafe asked her as he slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
“Yeah,” she said, leaning against him. “Sorry. I know Kenneth could continue to be trouble for Toby and me. It’s just that…” She let out her breath.
“He’s your brother.”
“Yes.”
“Which is damn well why he should be protective of you, not using you or your son, not threatening to kill Toby and not planning to sell him.”
“Agreed.”
“Here we are, folks,” Sebastian said, pulling into a jewelry-store parking lot.
They headed inside, only this time Sebastian came in with them. Jade wondered if he wanted to see what she was getting.
She noticed right away that there was no faux jewelry of any kind. Everything glittered under the bright lights. She started to turn to tell Rafe that she wanted to go to a different store, but a salesperson started talking to him and then brought out a necklace Rafe had pointed to in the case.
The design was beautiful, like an Indian princess would wear—rubies and diamonds all along the gold chain, with four large ruby teardrops surrounded by diamonds hanging off each side, all leading the eye downward to a larger ruby surrounded by a double row of diamonds. Stunning. It also had a matching set of ruby and diamond earrings.
Before she could say it was too much—glitter-wise, cost-wise, and every other kind of wise—Rafe was placing it around her neck, and she looked at it in the mirror.
If Jade were a little girl playing dress up with a faux necklace, it was perfect. But she wasn’t.
She took a deep breath and exhaled before opening her mouth to say they’d look further. Maybe she could pick out a nice ruby pendant. The smallest one they had.
“We’ll take it,” Rafe said. “And the earrings. The clip-on variety.”
“Rafe…” Jade started to object.
“What do you think, Sebastian?” Rafe asked.
“It’s perfect. Great for Christmas too. Valentine’s. Fourth of July social. Works for me.”
“I was thinking—” Less would be better, she wanted to say.
“We’ll take it,” Rafe said and placed the necklace on the velvet display board.
Then he paid for it and escorted her out to the car. “Anything else?”
“That’s way too costly and…”
“If he wants you to have it, it’s yours. No talking him out of things when he’s made up his mind,” Sebastian said. “Of course, when he wants to be extravagant in paying for something for me, I’m all for it.”
“Like what?” she asked, thinking that if Rafe was always generous with his staff and friends, it wouldn’t seem so overboard for him to get her a couple of nice things. Except for the cost. But like the dress, the cost was hidden, and Rafe had just paid for it without asking.
“A new car. He wanted me to have a vehicle that was more reliable than the old jalopy I used to drive. He pays good money, mind you, but cars are not a priority to me like they are to him.”
Ja
de smiled, thinking of all the cars Rafe had.
“What if I don’t go to anything else where I can wear such an extravagant necklace?” she asked Rafe.
“We’ll make sure that you do. And I’ll make sure we have different guests so you’ll feel comfortable wearing it again at an event.”
“Ha! As if I’d change out jewelry for every party. I don’t even wear any, like most of us don’t.”
Rafe rubbed her shoulder. “You might not care, and it wouldn’t matter to me because you are what is important, but some of the upper echelon—the women—can be terribly catty.”
“I’ll say,” Sebastian remarked.
Jade could put the women in their place, but if she were to do business in the area, she figured she’d have to be nice.
As soon as they arrived home, Toby raced to see her and threw his arms around her as if she’d been gone for days. “I missed you all day.”
She laughed. “We were only gone a couple of hours. Did you have fun with Aidan?”
“We’re putting the bike together.”
“Is it all together now?”
“Edward had to help. Maybe you can do it.” He tugged at her hand to take her to the den.
She smiled. “It’s getting late. You need to take a bath, and I’ll read you a story before you go to bed.”
“Aww.”
“Remember, we’re going to Disneyland tomorrow.”
His eyes grew big. “Oh. Yeah.”
“Did you eat something yet?”
“Peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
“Okay, good. We need to go to bed so we can go in the morning.”
He pulled her hand and led her to the bedroom.
“Wait, say good night to everyone and thank them for your bike and everything else Rafe got you.”
Toby ran into the den and said, “Good night and thanks. Gotta go to bed so we can go to Disneyland.”
“Okay, buddy,” Aidan said. “Good night.”
“My name isn’t Buddy. It’s Toby. Night.” Then he grabbed Jade’s hand again and dragged her to the bedroom.
“I’ll be back in a while,” she said to Rafe as he surveyed the sight of the bike in pieces, tools lying out, and Edward on his knees with a wrench in hand while Aidan read the directions out loud.
“We only just started,” Edward said, sounding defensive.
Rafe said, “Looks like we’ll be at this for a while, so no rush.”
“Okay.”
After Jade tucked one sleepy little boy into bed, she read him a story as he snuggled with his dinosaur and his bear. She was so glad to hold him close again. Between the two stuffed animals, he was barely visible. She kissed him good night. “Sleep. I’ll be back in a little bit. I’m going to help put your bike together. Love you.” She gave him a big hug.
“Love you too.” He hugged her tight, then he closed his eyes, rolled over onto his stomach, and yawned.
She left the night-light on in the bathroom, then joined the men in the den. Although Rafe wasn’t there.
“Where’s Rafe?”
“Grilling shish kebabs,” Aidan said. “He gave us the task of finishing this.”
They were drinking beers now, and she considered where they’d left off on the bike. She had put Toby’s tricycle and a swing set together. She knew she could do this too.
She began to work on it, and once it was standing in one piece, the guys shook their heads. “We should have just waited until you came home,” Aidan said.
“I can’t thank you all enough for everything,” she said.
“No problem,” Aidan said. “If you need us for anything, just let us know.”
Edward and Sebastian nodded.
Rafe came in and announced, “Food is ready. Want a margarita?” he asked Jade.
“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”
At dinner, they talked more about how they were going to handle the situation with Kenneth, how they would take one car to Disneyland, and how Sebastian would stay behind to handle financial matters.
“You’re going to miss out,” Aidan said to Sebastian.
He only smiled.
After they ate, Rafe guided Jade out to the patio while Aidan went to watch a movie in the living room, where he could see the hallway if Toby should get scared or begin to wander around, looking for his mother. Sebastian said good night, and Edward went to get some shut-eye for the Disneyland adventure tomorrow.
“You know you’re going to have to turn Toby,” Rafe said, snuggling with Jade on a cushy love seat poolside as the stars filled the night sky and the waves crashed along the beach. He’d been thinking about it a lot, ever since he’d learned about her human son, and he couldn’t come up with any other solution. Once he’d been around Toby, he’d seen him as a flesh-and-blood little boy who needed his mother. And she needed him.
Adopting him out no longer was a solution. The question wasn’t whether he should be changed, but when he had to be changed. And that time had to be soon. Rafe knew this had to be Jade’s decision, but he also knew why she wasn’t doing what she had to know in her heart was right. “He needs to learn how to socialize with others in a wolf pack while he’s still young enough. His wolf half won’t be able to deal successfully with other wolves as he gets older otherwise.”
“And how’s that going to happen?”
“We’ll all help out.”
She let out her breath. “I don’t expect you to be at my beck and call whenever I need you while Toby’s growing up. If he’s a wolf, he can change anytime, especially during the full moon. I’ll have no control over it. It’s risky.”
“Then we get him a reliable wolf nanny. We’ll make this work, Jade. He can’t be human when you need to have time to shift. Even when he gets older, what happens then? He’ll learn to control the shift, but he needs to be one of us. My brother just told me that Hunter Greymere, an alpha wolf who led his pack in the California redwoods, had to resettle his pack at his uncle’s cabins in Oregon and mated a woman who had a similar history to Toby.
“She photographs wolves. Her brother paints them. They might not have been able to shift before they were turned, but they were just as drawn to wolves as the wolves are drawn to them. They still have some of our genetic wolf roots. And from what I understand, it was from a grandfather, so even more distant lupus garou roots than Toby’s are.”
“You’ve only been around him for a few hours today. He gets cranky and unreasonable sometimes. Most of the time, he’s really good. But he’s still learning how to socialize with children. Take your charity ball. What if he was turned, and he suddenly had the urge to shift?”
“At some point in his life, he’s going to see you shift, or someone you know shift. It’s inevitable. What are you going to do then?”
When she didn’t respond, Rafe tightened his hold on her and kissed her cheek. “Listen, I know you can’t do this alone. A single mom with shifter children has a difficult enough time, but at least with her kids, they only shift when she does until they’re old enough to know not to shift unless it’s safe. Which is why you will need others to help you with this.
“I spoke to Aidan, and he said Toby wouldn’t have to be bitten. Just a transfer in his bloodstream would be enough. Toby doesn’t have the advantage of being born as a lupus garou. If he had been, he’d be used to shifting already and playing with others in his pack. So we’ll all have to work with him to teach him how important it is to keep secrets.”
Jade snorted. “Telling Toby to keep secrets is like telling him not to do something. A friend of mine lost her German shepherd to old age, and I got her a puppy. I told Toby to keep it a secret until we picked up the puppy. As soon as Lisette walked in the door to have lunch with us, Toby blurted out, ‘We got you a puppy!’ I reminded him it was a secret, but he was so excited, and so was Lisette, that the lesson was totally lost on him.”
“We’ll figure something out, Jade. As he gets older, he’ll understand it better, and he’ll have more control over th
e shifting too. Kids pick up things quickly. If we’re all saying the same things to him, he’ll get it. And it’s even possible he’ll be able to control his shifting faster than an adult who has been newly turned. He is half-shifter, so not exactly like someone who has no lupus garou roots. He’s a bright kid. I know we can do this.”
“But we’ll have to keep him isolated from everyone.”
“The new moon is coming up right after the ball. He’ll have a whole week of no shifting. We’ll spend the time lining up a nanny and whoever else we might need to make this work.”
“This is like one of your real estate ventures, isn’t it? Where you’re taking a hopeless case and turning it into one that has hope for humanity.”
“If we do this, it will be the biggest contribution any of us could make for one of our kind. There’s nothing more important than this.”
“He’s not a social experiment.”
“No. He’s your son. Part of you, heart and soul. And half of you is wolf. Just like he should be. Think about it.” Rafe really believed this was where she was headed, that she knew this was what she needed to do, but she just needed help with it. He let out his breath and squeezed her tight. “Just think about it. I’m just saying if you want to do it, if you truly believe it’s the best thing for Toby, we’ll be there to back you up. You shouldn’t have to deal with this on your own.”
“Thanks, Rafe. That means the world to me.”
He kissed her, softly, not pushing, but then the passion that always ignited between them escalated. She was the first she-wolf he’d ever met who triggered such a hunger. He realized how much he wanted her already, not just in his bed, but sharing his waking hours. Yet Toby changed the dynamics. He knew the little boy would. Rafe could offer all kinds of aid, money, help to see this through, but could he mate Jade and raise Toby as his own son?
He supposed that was another reason he was thinking of Toby and his need to be turned. If Rafe mated Jade, their own children would be shifters. Toby would have siblings. He would have to learn to play with them. He smiled a little at the thought.
“What?” Jade asked, pulling away from Rafe.
“I love being with you, you know?”
She sighed. “Same here. I love the ocean breeze, the sound of the waves, snuggling with you…”