Page 63 of Miles's Pact
Penny: I was busy
Shaking my head, I muted the group and put my phone away as the conversation devolved into sibling bickering I was only too familiar with.
I'd been looking forward to the party, and I hoped Duckie would enjoy meeting the rest of the clan. I'd done my best to introduce him to as many people as I could, so at least he would know some of the people we'll be seeing tomorrow. Duckie was a friendly guy, and it wouldn't take him long to get to know everyone else.
Duckie
"Do I look okay?" I asked as I glanced down at myself. I'd picked black jeans and a soft green, short-sleeved button-down to go with it, and while I felt good wearing it, I had zero clue how I looked in it.
Miles turned to look at me, his hand pausing with the brush halfway to his hair, and a shiver passed through me as his gaze slid down my body. His gaze was like a physical caress against my skin, heating me up from the inside.
"You look perfect," he murmured, and heat raced up my cheeks. Despite how close we'd grown over the weeks, despite the fact that I'd seen him naked multiple times, that I'dtouchedhim while he was naked, his words still flustered me. Would that ever change?
"So do you," I said, eyeing the black leather jacket clinging to his form. He had on a light blue t-shirt underneath, with navy blue jeans and black boots that made a soft thunking sound when he walked.
"Thank you," he said, turning to the mirror to finish brushing his hair as Mateo stuck his head around the doorway.
"You guys ready?"
"Yeah, just a minute. You driving?"
"Yup," Mateo replied, popping the 'p' with a grin. "Looking good, Duckie."
"Thanks." Smiling, I grabbed my phone—I still hadn't gotten into the habit of taking it everywhere, and I didn't want to forget—and slid it into my pocket, then glanced around to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.
Snowball was sprawled on our bed, and I'd already filled his bowls. We were also going to leave the sliding door open enough that he'd be able to go out to do his business. Mateo had assured me that it was safe to do so.
"Okay, let's go," Miles said, putting his brush away and taking my hand in his.
"Mom's coming too, right?" Mateo asked as we made our way downstairs, and I smiled, loving that he was already calling her that. Miles hadn't taken it up yet, but I didn't mind. I struggled with calling their dads by their titles too, though they'd told me I could call them whatever felt comfortable to me.
"Actually, she's already there."
"Really?" Miles asked, and I nodded.
"She and Noel have become friends. She texted me earlier to tell me she was going earlier to help with the cooking."
"I can totally see that friendship," Mateo said. "Noel's like the perfect person to get Mom involved in clan stuff."
"True. Nothing gets past Noel."
Mateo snorted. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but Noel is like the mom of our entire clan. Raiden is the dad, of course. Or well, he has been until now."
I hadn't met Noel yet, but I'd heard a lot about him, from my mates, and from my mom. Noel was an elf, and he'd hosted every single clan party so far.
"So according to your theory, will Cam be the next 'Dad' of our clan?" Miles asked with a raised brow, turning to lock the door as Mateo kept walking.
"Nah," he called over his shoulder, turning to walk backward so he could look at us. Clearly, he hadn't learned from his mistake. "Maybe Ember, though. He's got very strong Dad vibes. Which is different fromDaddyvibes. Micah's got those in spades."
"Mateo!"
"What?" Mateo asked with a laugh as he unlocked the car, and I called shotgun—Mateo had taught me what that was a few days ago—while Miles was still sputtering about what Mateo had said,
"What exactly does 'daddy vibes' mean?" I asked as Mateo started the car, and he snickered, then glanced at Miles through the rearview mirror.
"I'll let you field that one, dear brother."
Miles scowled at him as I turned in my seat so I could see his face. He sighed, then smiled in a way that looked more like a grimace. Should I maybe put him out of his misery and tell him I had a fairly good idea what it meant from all my 'research?'
