Hers for the Holidays

Chapter Six

“So I’m bringing someone home,” Vincent told his mother and then pulled the phone away from his ear at the shriek she let out. “Mom, please calm down,” he said into the phone that he still holding a foot away from his ear. He paced the length of his hallway as he waited for her to calm down enough for him to be able to talk again, his nerves getting the better of him.

“I can’t, I’m just so excited.” She said at a slightly lower decibel.

“So I’d like to just introduce her to you and Dad, not the full pack just yet,” Vincent said nervously as he turned back to his previous route of pacing between the hallway and the small living room , he didn’t like lying to his mother but he was beginning to feel like he had no other choice, plus he hadn’t yet told Emily his secret.

“What, why?” She questioned, he could almost picture the face she was making as she said those words, her lips twisted with one thin dark eyebrow c****d up.

“She doesn’t know I’m a wolf,” Vincent answered with a pause as he stopped his pacing.

“We can do a little gathering at the family house, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep the pack away though, this would be a lot easier if you were bringing home another shifter. I’ll have to talk to your father.” She said.

“Thanks, Mom, love you,” Vincent said, he could hear his mother rambling off the list of things she needed to do. He heard her off-handled say a quick goodbye, as she hung up the phone.

Vincent moved to his bedroom to boot up his computer, maybe Emily would be online and he could talk with her. That thought made him smile.

***

Emily took off her apron with a long tired sigh, today had been busy but the tips had been good so she was very happy. She folded her apron and placed it behind the counter as she grabbed her bag. She tossed it over her shoulder and nodded towards her boss as she left. She liked Ethan, he was nice and he took care of his employees.

She had heard rumors about the man who occasionally came in to check on his business, rumors that she tried to ignore about him and his lovers. Emily wasn’t one to judge people and if his relationships made him happy, that wasn’t her business as long as he treated her fairly.

She took a deep breath of the cool afternoon air as she walked down the sidewalk, her phone let out a shrill ring and she jumped patting her pockets to find the device. It was the ringtone she used for her sister, she bit her lip wondering what she wanted.

“Hey Hannah,” Emily said as she held the phone to her ear.

“Em, mom said you’re bringing someone home this year?” Hannah asked Emily could hear her nephews running around in the background causing chaos as they normally did.

“I am,” Emily answered as she chewed her lower lip between her teeth as she walked slowly down the sidewalk.

“Is he, does he know about the family stuff?” Hannah asked.

“No, not yet. You may want to warn the kids not to say anything.” She said softly as Hannah shushed one of her boys.

“I will and I’ll tell Miguel as well. I’ve got to get going, one of the kids is trying to escape.” Hannah said quickly as the phone went silent in Emily’s hand. She was glad her sister had called, she knew Hannah had her hands full with her twin boys.

Last year she had made the mistake of buying the then four-year-old twins Nerf guns, it had started a mini-war between all the kids, that had the adults in the house running for cover in between reloads. She fought back a smile at the happy memory as she slipped her phone into her back pocket and headed towards the grocery store. Emily wanted to beat the holiday rush that would be happening soon and grab some basics to hold her over til her road trip with Vincent.

She pulled her phone out and scrolled to their earlier text messages, she smiled to herself as she pressed the call button and headed into the store, the automatic doors sliding open. Maybe she could get an idea of the type of snacks Vincent would like and they could get to know each other better, his deep voice filling her ear as she pressed the cool screen of her phone to her ear.

***

Vincent smiled as his phone rang, it was Emily. He answered it quickly, trying not to sound as excited as he felt at seeing her name pop up on his phone screen.

“So I was walking into the store to get groceries, what type of snacks do you like? I want to know what to grab for the road trip.” She said in a rushed way that let him know she was just as nervous as he was.

“I can meet you at the store and we can make some decisions together? Plus we could work out our back story so we don’t get blind-sided.” Vincent added as he stood to grab his shoes.

“I’ll text you the info,” Emily said as she hung up her cell phone and smiled, she couldn’t deny that she was happy Vincent wanted to spend time with her. She sent him the store name and then made her way to the restroom to check her makeup and her hair, she knew it was only pretend. What they would be doing over the holidays, but she was glad it was with Vincent, she felt something flutter to life in her chest as she thought about spending time with the handsome gamer, she tried to fight back the small smile.