87. Bickering Ex Lovers

87. Bickering Ex Lovers
Cindy

My cheeks heated up to an immeasurable degree. “That’s not what I meant!” I exclaimed.

“Sure, sure.” Emery snorted and rolled her eyes. 

A cup was placed in front of me. A kiss landed on my head. “I’m going to take what you just said as a joke. Do you need anything else or is the coffee enough?” Reiss said.

I shyly asked, “Do you have any toasts?”

He nodded and strode over to the toaster. Emery raised her hand. 

“How come you didn’t offer me any toast?”

“Get it yourself, you know where the stuff is.”

“Gosh dammit.” 

Emery pointed a middle finger in his direction but quickly dropped it when he turned around. 

Now that I had some food to go with my coffee, I asked, “Then what are you doing here?”

“I’m here reporting.” Emery shrugged. “It’s a part of my job description. He’s usually awake by this time so I just walked right in. The earlier I can get this over with, the sooner I can get back outside.”

Reiss sat beside me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “The good news is that some of the hostility has died down. A few of the occupants of the packhouse have stayed the night in other houses so that your pack members could have their room. There was almost a fight, but it got resolved pretty quickly.”

He whispered in my ear. “Just so you know, I’m not dating any other girl but you.”

“I don’t really mind,” I admitted, fiddling with my thumbs. “As long as she’s nice and as long as you don’t keep it a secret.”

“Hm. We can talk more about that in the future.” He kissed my head again and broke off a piece of my toast.

I gasped. “Hey, get your own-”

The toast was shoved into my mouth, muffling my voice. 

Reiss chuckled. “You haven’t taken a single bite. Eat up.”

I glared but chewed anyway. “You could at least be a little more romantic,” I mumbled. 

“Romantic, eh?”

I watched as he broke off another piece and put it between his lips with the majority of the bread hanging out. He looked at me with a challenge in his gaze. I knew what he wanted me to do. My cheeks heated up. 

Emery’s groan broke up the moment.

“Can you have some mercy? I’m sitting right here for goodness sake.”

Reiss turned to her, chewing the bread with a brow raised. “Do I control your eyes? Look away.”

“Wow, what an asshole! Cindy, do you see how your mate talks to me? Why don’t you put a muzzle on him? I bet he’d like it.”

As their bickering went on, I observed them with a smile on my face. Breakfast and a show. What more can a girl ask for?

That afternoon

“This is perfect!” I exclaimed.

The green landscape with a clear view of the other mountains around us. I could see for miles. The ground here had soft grass and scattered wildflowers across the field. If Allister hadn’t brought me here, I wouldn’t have thought a place like this existed in the Highland Pack.

I spread my arms wide open, feeling the breeze. Allister smiled as he took in his surroundings. 

“I told you. I used to come here sometimes when I wanted to get away from the crowd. That was before I got used to it. So will this do?”

“Of course! Oh, you can put those down here.”

He settled the igloo and blanket on the ground. “Do you need help setting things up?”

“No, this is fine. You’ve helped me a lot! I just have one last favor, can you bring them here?”

“No problem at all, Luna.” He winked before leaving. I cupped the corners of my mouth, yelling out a “thank you”.  

Now, it’s time to get to work.

I spread the blanket as far as it could go. White clouds blocked out the sun, providing some shade. 

I removed the warm food out of one of the igloos with the tin foil still on and placed them neatly on the blanket. Just by the size and smell, I could tell what they were. After all, I was the one that prepared them. 

Several red plastic surrounded an alcohol-free bottle of sparkling wine. Another bottle was in the igloo. I kept the water and orange juice inside the container as well. 

Nerves caused my hands to shake. I massaged my fingers in an effort to calm them. There is no reason why they wouldn’t like it. Who would hate free food?

I looked down at the outfit I’d been wearing since this morning’s shower. Should I have changed into something more cutesy? It was too late for me to turn back.

Reiss, Antonio and Glen were following Allister one behind the other. I quickly checked my appearance in the phone camera. 

Everything looked fine. Even my nude lipgloss was perfect. Crap, maybe I should have touched up my mascara.

Allister stopped a few meters away while the men walked by him.

I shot to my feet, dusting the grass off my bum. “Surprise!”

Glen’s eyes widened at the display before him. Reiss wasn't any different. Antonio came beside me and pulled me closer, placing a kiss on the top of my head.

“Is this all for us, love?” He asked.

I nodded, feeling the nervousness resurface. “Sit anywhere.” I motioned to the empty spaces on the blanket. “It’s not like there are assigned seats.”

Once they were seated, I took a deep breath and revealed the food one by one. 

“Here we have some chicken sandwiches. This is a dipping sauce my sister told me how to make. I have some steamed veggies, and these are fried sausages. There is a cheese dip and some sliced fruits…”

While I talked, they patiently waited until I was done before speaking. 

“But why?” Glen asked. “Not that I’m ungrateful or anything. I love it! It just seems like it’s out of nowhere.”