Total pages in book: 13
Estimated words: 11446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 57(@200wpm)___ 46(@250wpm)___ 38(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 11446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 57(@200wpm)___ 46(@250wpm)___ 38(@300wpm)
The Fae realm, Celestial Landing, only allows fae born and their mates to cross into the Celestial Barrier. Over the years, I’ve come to realize how much my mate’s family means to her. Since moving to fae lands with me would require Aurora to leave her family behind for long stretches of time, there’s no way I can ask her to make the sacrifice. It’s too early to let her in on my plans to retire and move to the human side permanently. Once I win her over, I’ll explain everything.
“I’ll pack my things and bring them with me Monday morning.” I blink several times, wondering if I heard Aurora correctly. My sassy little goddess just agreed without a fight. There is no way to predict her moves. This woman is going to keep me on my toes.
Chapter 5
Aurora
I can’t believe I agreed to live in his penthouse. Have I completely lost my mind? After our breakfast meeting, I return to my little house and find my mother sitting at her desk. “How did breakfast go?” she asks as I drop into my chair.
“Great.” I sigh before explaining my meeting with Nix. Well, not everything. I leave out the part about me drooling over the gorgeous fae commander. “I start on Monday.” That gives me two days to figure out how to tell my overprotective father I’m moving in with our client. Oops.
“Spit it out.” My perceptive mother rolls her eyes, and I realize there is no keeping a secret from her.
“Nix asked me to stay in his guest quarters so I’m on hand to take care of any issues.” That sounds weak but I run with it.
“I think that’s a good idea.” My mother surprises the heck out of me. “Nix Dixon is a very important client.” Huh? I’ll never understand my parents.
We spend the rest of the day going over all the estimates, ensuring I haven’t missed anything. That evening, I drink a bottle of wine trying to quieten my crazy thoughts. The insane amount of alcohol buzzing through my veins allows me to sleep without dirty dreams for the first night since meeting Nix again. I wake up groggy, hungover, and disappointed in myself. I need to find another way of dealing with this situation.
Saturday afternoon, I’m busily packing my clothes when my doorbell rings. Pulling the door open, I blink several times when I find my father standing on my doorstep. “Daddy?” My parents spend every weekend together. It’s shocking for him to show up alone. “Is everything okay?” I instantly worry something bad has happened.
“I don’t want you staying at Nix Dixon’s home.” Oh. Great my mom threw me under the bus. He steps into my front hall and begins to pace. “I just need time.” My usually unflappable father runs his hand through his messy hair. I can’t remember the last time I saw him so disheveled. “To get the Fates to change their minds.” He stares at me, waiting for me to understand this crazy conversation.
“Uh.” I close the door and head for the kitchen. “Let me get you some lemonade, and we can talk.” As I pour our drinks, his words run through my mind on a continuous loop. It hits me out of the blue that he mentioned the Fates, his three crabby bosses and the goddesses responsible for all paranormal mating. Oh, heck. Does that mean the Fates have chosen a mate for me? Everything suddenly becomes crystal clear. Nix, the crazy dreams—all of it makes sense now. I’m in a lot of trouble.
I set his drink on the counter in front of him before sitting next to him. “Please, explain it to me.”
“The Fates are still after me.” He sighs. “They chose the asshole fae for you to get back at me.”
My eyes widen as his words sink into my muddled mind. Holy cow. “Does Nix know?”
“I have no idea if the little shit has figured it out,” my father groans. “I’m going to get this reversed.” He slams his hand down on the counter. “There’s no way my little girl is mating a conceited fae asshole. I won’t let him take you to Celestial Landing.”
I’ve heard stories about the fae realm that exists on the other side of the Olympian Barrier but never thought I’d ever see it. If my chosen mate is a fae, do I have to abandon my family and follow him there? My heart drops at the thought of leaving my family behind, but I also can’t imagine living without Nix. Holy Cow. I almost pass out when I realize how much he already means to me. This is bad. So bad.
Standing in the hallway outside Nix’s penthouse Monday morning, I wonder if I should run for the hills. He pulls the door open before I’m able to force my feet to move. “Hi.” I smile at him, realizing there’s no way to fight this. Time to embrace the craziness.