“Look, okay yeah so I’ll give you the living with me means you can be snippy point. Like a thousand times more than you are. Thank God you’re the calm Warden, that’s all I can say. Well no,” Nina laughed, “I can say loads more, but you know what I mean.

Anyhoodle, he needed to realize he could lose you. You have an Anchor. Adam would love to step into Shane’s place. Anyway, you’re at poolside with me, close enough. Your man needs to suck it up and deal. Good lord, look at you! If I was into girls I’d be all over you and stuff.”

Megan choked on her tea a moment. “Um, thanks. Backatcha . But Adam isn’t like that!

And also, you know he could be here now, Shane that is, and he’s not. So apparently he wasn’t that shaken up by the idea of me canoodling with Adam at the shore.”

“Canoodling is such a weird word. Who made that shit up anyway?”

“Focus! Everyone keeps saying stuff about Adam and it’s pissing me off. He has never made a single romantic advance toward me. He has encouraged me over and over to fight for Shane. He’s an honorable wolf and he’s my friend.” She growled and took a sip of her tea. “Anyway, you saidanyhoodle , that’s sort of a connected term in some sense isn’t it?”

“Now who needs to focus?”

She laughed. “You’re a bad influence on me. Don’t you have a husband to torment or?”

“He’s off with Gabby and your dad. Daddy and Grandpa all day long, she’s going to be hell to get to bed tonight. Hey, let’s go outorso I don’t have to do it.” Nina grabbed her hand and squeezed and that meant so much. Nina knew her so well, knew how tormented she was and was there for her.

“I’m having dinner with Adam at The Dahlia Lounge. Come with us. The whole gang will be there. ThenHiro can be on Gabby duty with Lex and my dad.”

“Okay. Let’s go now so Lex can’t give me those damned eyes of his. You know the ones that resulted in Gabby’s existence to begin with.”

“Ew.”

“Don’t knock it. Hey, let’s call Layla too. Come on, Megan, she wants you to confide in her. She feels so lost right now.”

Megan got up and pulled her T-shirt on and slid into her sandals. “Fine.”

“You two are both stupid. She loves you.” Nina got up and followed her through the house, pausing to call Lex and tell him going to dinner.

“I never said she didn’t love me. Again with all that assumption. Lay and I talk every day I’ll have you know. She and I are fine, we worked through this mess, or the best we could. And this time when you borrow my stuff you have to give it back.”

“You love my quirky ways. Admit it.” Nina smirked as she belted in and Megan pulled down the long drive.

“I admit no such thing. You stretch out my shoes, your child gets cereal bar gunk on my clothes and there are so many cheerios and goldfish in my seats I could live for a week if I got stranded. Your husband has put me in charge of your safety and you’re a magnet for trouble. You’re unbearably nosy, you have horrible taste in music and you eat marshmallow Peeps, which are disgusting.”

“Like I said, you love my quirky ways. And all the more Peeps for me, bitch. Shut up with the whining now so I can call Layla.”

Nina dialed and made arrangements while Megan tried to not think about any of this shit and failed.

Chapter Eleven

Tired but still running on the adrenaline of finally making a decision, Shane pulled into the driveway. Her car was there and when he opened the door, he heard the low rumble of music from inside.

On the porch, his bag slipped from his fingers as he caught sight of her, curled up in a chair, looking out her back window.AniDiFranco’s “Grey” played on her stereo and the immense wall of her sadness swept him up and nearly knocked him to his knees.

He whispered her name and she turned toward the front window next to her door and saw him. Her eyes were reddened and he knew he was the reason.

She shook her head and he tapped three times. “Please, please open the door.”

She stood and his heart slowed a moment as he took in how bad she looked. Her eyes were swollen, and dark smudges marked just below. Still, she was the most thing he’d ever seen.

“Please.”

She took a deep breath and moved to the door, standing in it to block his access.

“What are you doing here?” Tears thickened her voice, cut to his heart, and his own blurred his vision just a moment.

If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?

The track changed fromAni to Snow Patrol.

“It’s like themixtape of our relationship.” He ate up every detail of her face, even the tears.

“I can’t see you, Shane. It’s too much. Don’t make me tell you to leave again. It was hard enough the first time.” She took a step back but he reached out, cupped her cheek and she halted, leaning into his touch. Her breath hitched and he thumbed away her tears.

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. Give me a chance. A real one. Will you help me? Help me be a wolf? Help me accept us both?”

“All that I am, all that I ever was… I want to love you but you’ve hurt me. I’m afraid if I let you in again you’ll destroy me.”

He fell to his knees and buried his face against her belly. Her scent surrounded him, buffeted him, made him. Her fingers slid through his hair, against his scalp, down his neck.