Baiting Him (How to Catch an Alpha #2)(56)

I feel eyes on me when the music starts to change to something I’m not even sure how to move to, and I look up to the platform and find Gaston watching me with a look of amused frustration and Tyler looking at his wife with the same expression on his handsome face. I know their look has to do with the group of men who have been attempting to get us to dance with them for the last few minutes. I get Leah’s attention, then point in the guys’ direction, and she giggles before grabbing Rita’s hand and urging her to follow us. Once we reach the VIP platform, the scary-looking security guard standing at the bottom of the steps lifts the red rope, letting us through.

I take the bottle that my brother, who is standing next to Sam, holds out to me, and I notice both of them looking highly amused as they glance at Gaston. I roll my eyes at them as I twist off the top of the water bottle and take a sip.

“Are you having fun?” Gaston whispers into my ear, and I look at him over my shoulder as his arms circle my waist.

“Yes.” I smile, turning in his arms, and I rest my hands, including the one still grasping the bottle, against his chest as I see his mom smile at us. “I love your mom. She’s awesome.”

“It’s good you think that, since she feels the same,” he says, taking the bottle from me and passing it to Chris.

“You think so?” I ask, and he grins.

“The moment she got me alone this afternoon after her nap, she was on my ass about my intentions, sweetheart.”

“What?” I breathe, pressing myself impossibly closer to him.

He smiles, tucking some of my hair behind my ear. “My mom might not have wanted to get married or be tied down, but that doesn’t mean she wants the same for me.” He leans closer, so close I feel his breath whisper across my lips as he speaks. “She’s been champing at the bit for grandkids since I moved out on my own. She’s kept that under wraps, but after spending the afternoon with you, she’s been asking when we’re going to give her little ones to spoil.”

“Oh,” I whisper, having nothing else to say, because seriously, there is nothing to say. I know I’m in love with him, but marriage and babies at this point might be more than I can handle. I already feel like we’re moving at the speed of sound; a baby would push us past that, toward light speed.

“Don’t worry. I tucked your birth control somewhere she will never look so she won’t hide it from you.” He laughs, reading my look, and I giggle, dropping my forehead to rest against his chin. His hand moves to my jaw, and his thumb skims across my lower lip as he tips my head back to meet his warm gaze. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I whisper before he lowers his head to place his lips against mine. I accept his kiss, then smile against his mouth and giggle when I hear Leah shout a loud “I told you so!”

“Your friend is as crazy as you are,” he tells me. I look around at Leah, who’s giving me a thumbs-up from where she’s tucked against Tyler’s side.

“She’s crazier than me,” I say, and Gaston shakes his head.

“Your crazy might be silent and hers might be vocalized, but you’re both insane.”

“Whatever.” I laugh, and his eyes bore into mine before he drops his head to kiss me again, this time longer than before. When he pulls away, I’m half-drunk on his kiss.

“I hate to say this, baby, but you guys should go before traffic gets so bad you spend New Year’s Eve watching the fireworks from your car.”

“Aren’t you coming with us?” I ask, and he shakes his head, causing disappointment to fill my stomach.

“I need to stay at least a couple more hours, but I’ll be there to ring in the New Year with you.”

“You just admitted traffic is going to be crazy, so unless you plan on arriving in your spaceship, how are you going to make that happen?”

“I have my bike. It’s parked out back, so even if there’s traffic, I’ll make my way through it and be there to kiss you at midnight.”

I tip my head to the side while lifting my hands to each side of his face, and then I tell him quietly, “You know I love you. You don’t have to keep your true identity from me. I won’t tell the government about you.”

He tosses his head back to laugh; then, still laughing, he places his lips over mine. I soak up the feeling of his kiss and his happiness before he pulls away.

“It’s good to know you have my back, sweetheart.” His voice is filled with humor as he turns me into his side and leads me to our families and friends. Once he’s passed me off to my brother with instructions to get me home safe, he looks at his mom, and I do the same, noticing she looks a little pale. “Are you okay, Mom?” he asks her.

“I think I’ve drunk too much wine. I’ll be okay,” she tells him with a wave of her hand.

“Are you sure, Rita?” I take a few steps closer to her and place my hand on her arm, not liking the color of her skin or the way her eyes seem to take longer than normal to focus on me.

“I’m sure,” she says, wobbling, and my heart drops into the pit of my stomach as she suddenly reaches out for me, grabbing hold of the top of my dress and ripping it as she falls. With a startled cry, I try to catch her, but her weight is more than I can bear alone, and I hit the ground with her landing half on top of me. Commotion surrounds us as everyone jumps into action, lifting her then me off the ground. I stare horrified at Rita as she’s placed on a couch, and I hold my breath when Gaston shouts in a fear-filled voice for someone to call an ambulance as he drops to his knees and begins to check his mom.