Khan (Bowen Boys, #2)(34)

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “Very much so. I think I have for all of my life. Why? Did she tell you she doesn’t love me?”

“No, she didn’t. In fact, she’s barely mentioned you since we got here. Have you pissed her off?” He nodded. “Then what have you done to make it up to her? Nothing, I would imagine. Did you know that your father asked her about flowers? And she said that you’d bought her some. Was it because you were mad at her and bought them as a peace offering?”

“I wanted to get her something because I’d made her run here. She wouldn’t have… What does this have to do with me loving her?” He realized he’d snapped when she stared at him with that “you did not just do that to me” look. “I love her very much, but I’m frightened for her. I want to take her home and keep her there and make her happy.”

His mom kissed him on the head and stood up. “Geography doesn’t matter when you love someone. You can love her here as well as you could at home. You can show her that you love her just as well here as at home. In fact, there are more ways for you to show her here than there. That’s why your father and I are here. He’s taking me to the theater because I enjoy it and we can see our stubborn children.”

“And he didn’t piss you off?”

She laughed at his question and went to the pantry. She handed him a large box and three of the five bags on the floor. “Of course he did, but he doesn’t sleep on the floor because of it. He finds a way to make me smile at him.” She led the way to the dining room again. “You have a baby soon, and I’ll buy you too much as well.”

Khan wanted to romance his mate. He just didn’t have a clue how. He tried to think if any of his brothers were romantic and decided to call Dylan. He was by far dating the most of all of them and had been from the time he’d discovered girls were fun. But he looked over at Marshall and though the man was gay; he would bet his last dollar that he knew something about romance.

He asked to speak to him after lunch. He’d hinted that it was about the plan, but as soon as the door was closed, he realized how little he even knew about Monica and sat down hard in the chair. He looked up when Marshall laughed.

“It can’t be that bad, can it?” Khan nodded and he laughed harder. “Maybe if we plan this out together, we can get you over this. It’s the best plan of action for this man. He’s murdered so many and—”

“No, that’s not it.” He got up to pace. “I’m in love with Monica. And I don’t know how to romance her. She needs some romance, I think…actually, my whole family thinks she could probably do better than me, but she has me. But I don’t have a clue how to go about showing her.”

Marshall sat down. “And you came to me because? Never mind. Don’t answer that. You want to romance her, then tell her. She’s going to be your best information on how to do that. That is unless she’s pissed at you.”

“She is. A great deal. Before her…well, you knew me before her. I don’t know anything about her. Her birthday, her favorite color, nothing.”

Marshall reached onto the desk and then handed him a small notebook. “You have to start keeping track of things first of all. Like when you bought her flowers and why. Were you mad at her, or she at you? Did you buy her something you liked, or that she liked? This may sound silly, but it will help you. And her birthday is March tenth. But her favorite color? Even I figured that one out. It’s blue. She wears it all the time. If it’s not in her clothes then she wears it on them. Did you notice the earrings?”

He hadn’t. He tried to remember and realized he had no idea. Not even what she had on. Marshall shook his head. He thought he was a lost cause too.

“You have to start noticing things about her. Like her perfume, do you like it? If not, then tell her in a way that doesn’t come off as you telling her it makes you want to puke on her.”

Khan knew better than that.

“You buy her something you like, something to replace what you don’t want her to wear…Why aren’t you writing this down?”

He opened the pad and began scribbling. He made notes like there was going to be a test later and he didn’t want to fail. Because he knew if he did, he’d lose her. After another hour, he was on his way to getting somewhere. He’d even made a list of magazines that Marshall had suggested. And he had purchased tickets to a concert to a band he’d never heard of but Marshall had said she listened to.

Khan left the room feeling like he was going to be able to do this. Now he had to convince her that he wasn’t a douche canoe and that he really did love her. He found her in their room asleep on the window seat. She had been crying, and he felt horrible for it.

Picking her up, he put her on the bed. One of the things that Marshall had told him too was that the bed wasn’t just for sex. Sometimes it was for holding and talking. Khan didn’t know what to say to that, but wrote it down. As soon as he stretched out beside Monica, he understood. He just simply wanted to hold her in his arms. He closed his eyes, content with the way things were going for them, but knew that he had to get down to business. His goal was that his brothers would come to him for advice on wooing the fairer sex. He fell asleep smiling.

~~~

She was alone when she woke. Monica had known that Khan had come up to lay down with her, and she was ready to tell him that she wasn’t in the mood for sex. She was, but there was no reason for her to give in so quickly. But he’d held her, and after a few minutes, she heard him give a soft snore. He’d fallen asleep. Trying to be angry with him didn’t work, so she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.