He was shaking hands with my father.

He was shaking hands…

He was here.

Dad could see him too.

Fallyn was really here?

In the Northern Pack?

At my house?!

Why was he here?

Of all the places to be, of all the things to do, he just had to go past my window? He just had to say my name like that? Like I was someone he cherished greatly.

Ugh!

What the heck was going on?!

There was a knock on my door and in the next second, as I turned away from the sight of Fallyn with my father, I saw my mother peeking in with a smile.

She had to know why he was here, right?

She was grinning like she knew things.

“Lizzie?”

I flung myself to the other end of my room, sprinting over to her. I barely managed to say on my feet as I skidded across the slick floor in my socks.

“Fallyn’s here?!”

Mom’s gaze was gentle as she laughed lightly, her eyes getting those happy crinkles next to them.

“We asked him for help.”

Oh my gosh, please don’t tell me…

He went past my window…

Because he was going up above my room to look…

Because he was going to help…

“With the greenhouse?!”

“Yes, sweetheart.”

Dun, dun, dun.

I was done for.

Staring at mom, I felt my breath leave my lungs, my heart nearly plummeting to the floor. She… she wasn’t kidding.

He was here to help with the greenhouse. My greenhouse. Above my room.

Willingly?!

He came here on his own to help, knowing that it was for me?! Or did he not know? Oh my gosh, did he not know until now?! What if he said no!? Or... what if he stayed despite that?

My shirt was moving with the force of my heartbeat.

If he stayed... he was going to be going past my window a lot.

Was he going to say hi to me every morning?

Oh god, I was going to have a heart attack before I turned twenty-one, wasn’t I?

I was panicking.

What was I going to do? Do I avoid him? Talk to him?

Talk to him about what, exactly?!

Horrified, another thought came to mind. The greenhouse wasn’t going to be finished in a day, or two, or even three. It was going to take a few weeks, maybe even a month or two. And if he was going to help in all that time, that meant–

“He’s staying here?!”

Mom, watching me with eyes that saw everything, laughed again and reached a hand up to fix some of the tangles in my hair.

I really hadn’t bothered with it this morning…

Oh my gosh, Fallyn was just here! He saw me like this!

“Yes. He’s staying here with us.”

Oh, no. Oh, dear goodness… what was I going to do now?

Fallyn was staying here.

And Fallyn was…

Fallyn was…

What if he finds out I have a crush on him?! What if he thinks I’m crazy?! What if I’m imagining the true mates feeling in my bones and entire soul and then I mention it to him and he thinks I’m completely bonkers?!

I practically collapsed onto my knees in worry and tension. I set the journal down on the floor and put my face in my hands.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

I peeked out between my fingers just as my mother reached for my hands, holding onto me and pulling me back onto my feet.

“You’re coming with me to the kitchen.”

What?!

I knew it was one of those days of the week that I helped out in the kitchen for half of the day, but really? Today?

Of all the days?

It just had to be the day Fallyn showed up?

“BUT MOM–”

“Now, the food isn’t going to make itself, is it?”

I stared into her eyes, knowing my argument was pointless and took her outstretched hand.

“No…”

I slipped my feet into the shoes by my door and followed her down the stairs. In my distracted state of mind, as it wandered off to Fallyn, I realized I’d fallen behind my mother’s pace quite a bit and hurried to catch up to her.

But as soon as we rounded the corner, I wish I hadn’t.

I stopped the second I saw them.

They… were already inside?

Dad…

My gaze drifted over to the man standing next to him with a smile.

My eyes widened.

Uh…

Was this what was going to keep happening?

His grin grew and if any of them had said a single thing, I wouldn’t have heard it for the rushing of noise in my ears.

Oh my gosh, having a smile that beautiful is illegal, Fallyn! Stop it, oh, stop my beating restless heart…

Food.

Mom asked for help with food…

FOCUS ON FOOD, ELIZABETH.

FALLYN IS NOT FOOD!