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Chapter 9

Waking up in the arms of someone who loves you was a luxury I'd never really experienced before.

But, for the last two weeks, it was an incredible reality for me. Chase would come home and instantly pull me against his chest, letting me breath in his fresh, woodsy scent all night long. It soothed me. It helped me sleep. I spent my days cleaning and cooking, much to Chase's dismay. He always told me he thought it was 'limiting' me. I wasn't so sure what he meant.

I didn't know what to tell him so I just told him I liked it.

He grudgingly sort of accepted this.

"My sister's coming over today," Chase told me as he entered the kitchen. "I hope you don't mind. She's been pestering me about meeting you since day one."

"Oh of course I don't mind," I replied, a bit surprised someone would actually want to meet me. After all, I wasn't anything special. "What's her name?"

"Rita. And she's got some mouth on her, let me add, so don't be surprised."

He kissed me goodbye, grabbing the mug of coffee I'd made him with a thankful but mildly annoyed nod. I worried I wasn't pleasing him. I cleaned and tidied most of the day, waiting for Rita to come over.

Another thing nagging at my mind was the fact that we hadn't had sex. Now, he had claimed wanting to wait until the wedding, which I was fine with, but it just seemed...weird. After all Austin had sex with me almost immediately after he got me.

***

I jumped at the knock on the door and looked at it a moment before pulling it open.

Rita was beautiful. She had long, wavy honey blonde hair, plump pink lips, a fair skin tone, and willowy. "It's about fucking time!" she cried. "That asshole's been coping you up way too fucking long. Get your ass out here. We're going to have lunch."

I paused a moment. When Chase said 'some mouth' I had assumed a lot of talking not...this. "Er...hi." I finally squeaked as she all but barged into the house, giving the place a sweeping look.

"Damn, you keep a clean fucking house. Nice change from the usual--he's such a fucking slob sometimes." She spun to look at me. "Lets have a beer before we go."

"Oh, I don't, uhm, drink."

"No? Why the fuck not?" she laughed, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle. "You can never drink too much or too early--that's a fucking fact."

She was really fond of the word 'fuck'. I moved to make myself a cup of tea and then joined her at the table. She reached in her large tan tote bag and pulled out a binder. "What's that?" I asked, frowning a bit.

"Your wedding. Duh."

"My wedding?"

"Yes. Now keep up. Do you want to do it this fall? The leaves are fucking gorgeous at our parent's mansion. Let's do it then, okay?"

She looked so set and invested in it I just nodded my head numbly. "Great. We could do orchids as our--er, your--main flower. And...well, is there anyone you'd like to invite from your family?"

I felt breathless suddenly. Maybe it was the fact no one had ever asked me about my family since the alpha's half-assed investigation about my broken tailbone all those years ago. "No...no. Chase-Chase's family is good."

Rita frowned a bit but didn't push. "Alright. Then I'll handle the fucking invites. Look at this pictures--which tux do you think Chase would look good in?"

"Hm? Oh, I don't know. I haven't seen him in a tux." I admitted, picking up the magazine clippings. She'd put a lot of energy into this...shouldn't she be working on her own wedding with this amount of vigor? "What do you think?"

"You think I've seen my brother in a tux? Ha!" Rita took a swig of her beer. "C'mon. Black and white or black and red? Maybe a gray suit?"

"Oh, er...I don't know. Maybe if he'd try them on...?"

"Smart call," Rita decided with a smile. "I'll make an appointment for this weekend. I think you'd look absolutely fucking adorable in white."

I blushed a bit as she finished off the beer. "Look at this--isn't it pretty?"

I shifted over to look at the beautiful arch she had a real photo of. It was a wicker, hand woven by the looks. There had been flowers woven in as well. Red roses. It was stunning. "Wow," I murmured, running a finger tip over it. "It's beautiful. I... Whose is it?"

"Hm? Oh. It's just, uh, in the family. I think it'd look beautiful in the garden on the estate..."

There was a ghosted look in her eyes that caught my eyes. However I wasn't sure so I kept my mouth shut about it. Besides, everyone had a right to their secrets. I did.