Page 20 of Targeted By Love

My clothing was already picked out, and it only took a few minutes to be ready. I shouldn’t have cared what I looked like. This was a brunch for my asshole brother, after all. Only I did care. Not for Seb. No. I wanted to look good for Maynard.

“I’m ready.” I stepped into the living room.

He stood up from the couch, his eyes raking up and down my frame. He liked what he saw—there was no denying that.

I crossed over to him. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” He closed the distance between us. For a second, I thought he was going to kiss me. But instead, his lips moved past mine, brushing my ear. “You look amazing.”

For some reason, that was all it took for me to blurt out the idea that had been half floating around in my brain since the night before. It was out there and was going to make me sound like a conspiracy theorist, but that didn’t stop me. “You were the wolf last night.”

I waited for him to tell me I was having a trauma-induced hallucination. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close, and whispered, “I knew you recognized me, mate.”

“I called you furry this morning but didn’t admit it to myself until just now. You were different than… the other wolf. Your brother I’m guessing?” Why was this not freaking me out? It should be, right? The man who turned into a wild animal. Only it did the opposite. It calmed me.

“Cousin.”

I nodded, unsure how else to respond.

“What did you mean by mate?” I had four thousand questions.

“It’s a lot of things, but for now, maybe it’s that I like you. Does that work?”

“I like you, too.” Our fingers intertwined like they used to back in the day, as if they had a mind of their own. I decided to forget about all the reasons why this was a terrible idea. For now, I would just sink into the comfort of his warmth and embrace.

He answered a bunch of my questions about wolf shifters on our way, but the ride was too short. The rest would have to wait. When we got to the estate, most everyone was already there. It wasn’t a huge affair, and honestly, after not being invited to half the wedding events, I was surprised I was expected here. I had a feeling my mother had everything to do with that.

The second she saw me, she was out of her chair practically running in my direction. “You have a date.” She was thrilled and didn’t even try to hide it. “Introduce me.”

Had she not noticed me dancing the night away or did she not recognize him without the beard and different color hair? Knowing Mom, it could easily be either. “Mom, this is?—”

“I’m an old friend from school.” And while that was technically true, being called his friend hurt in a way it shouldn’t.

My brother, not liking to be outshined, started bragging very loudly about how he and Kyle met, and the moment passed.

I was sitting down when I realized no real introductions were made. All anyone knew was that Maynard was a friend from school. They didn’t know his name, where he was from, or what our relationship was. Not really. And the weirdest, or maybe most telling, thing of all was that no one seemed to care.

We sat across from them—my brother and his husband.

I tried to focus on my food and Maynard, but I couldn’t. Seb intentionally kept bringing us into the conversation with little digs about me. He made stupid comments, just like he always did. Some of them seemed like he was trying to show off, while others made no sense at all.

He talked about winning “fair and square.” He mentioned his husband being the lucky one quite a few times. He was vaguing a discussion about some new gig. When my mom responded by asking if he was looking for a new job, he rolled his eyes.

It was classic him—showing off, oblivious to everyone around him, while the rest of us laughed awkwardly and nodded along just to keep the peace. I wondered how he could afford thewedding and everything that came with it. Kyle must have funded most of it and maybe Mom chipped in. I hoped Seb hadn’t conned her into giving more than she could afford. Not that she had much in savings.

The food might have been good, but I barely touched it. My stomach was in knots. Somehow this meal had me more uncomfortable than anything that had happened the night before, and that was saying something.

The tension at the table was high, and more than once, I got a death glare from my mom. She wanted to be sure her Seb wasn’t hurt. Typical Mom.

Each time something got uncomfortable, I found myself reaching for Maynard.

Which was so weird.

I knew that Maynard being here wasn’t exactly my choice. He was with me or I was stuck back in that room. Still, this wasn’t Stockholm syndrome. That would mean falling in love with him after I was kidnapped.

That ship had sailed long before I ever saw that wolf last night. I’d been in love with Maynard all those years ago, and it didn’t take much for those feelings to re-emerge.

I looked around at the dysfunction in the room.