Jaded Hearts
Chapter 6

Taylor

Giana was so sweet. After meeting her, I felt so silly, thinking back to how nervous I was when Matt invited me. I loved her.

“Matthew’s probably my most caring son. He was always my little protector when he was growing up. Gio and Luca? Not so much.” She was flipping through an old photo album she had pulled out, showing me the most embarrassing pictures she could replace of Matt. I swear she had this thing on standby, and she was just waiting for him to bring his mate home so she could whip it out.

“This one is my favorite,” she said, pointing to a picture of a five-year-old Matt naked in the bathtub. He had a bubble mustache, a cowboy hat, and a huge smile.

He really looked adorable.

“He was a cowboy for his entire kindergarten year. It was exhausting, but he was so cute, I couldn’t say no to him.”

“That’s so sweet, Giana. He looks like he was a happy kid.”

“He’s always been a positive and happy soul. From the day he was born.” Giana lifted the album closer to her face and out a loud laugh.

“Oh! I didn’t realize that ‘Little Matthew’ made an appearance in this photo. For your sake, I really hope he’s grown down there since this was taken. Otherwise, I’ll never get my grandchildren.” She was laughing so hard, she had tears spilling from her eyes.

It was infectious, and soon, I was laughing along with her. Matt came into the room a few seconds later, looking at the two of us suspiciously. When he saw what was in his mom’s lap, he rushed over and cringed.

“Mio dio, mamma! Perché?”

“Oh, cut it out, Matthew. If she hasn’t seen it already, she will soon enough. It has gotten bigger since this was taken, sì?”

The look on his face set us both off again. My sides and stomach were so sore, but Giana was hilarious. I couldn’t stop myself. Matt grabbed my hands and gently pulled me up from the couch. “That’s enough bonding for now, Mom. Don’t you have a party going on outside that you need to attend?”

“Ah, they’ll be fine. There’s plenty of good wine out there. They won’t even miss me. But Taylor and I still have plenty to talk about. I haven’t even shown her the photos of your superhero phase.”

I took a step forward as she started flipping through the book, trying to replace the pictures. “Nope. Come on, tesoro. Let’s go get a drink.”

Matt pulled me away from my new best friend and out the door. “Come replace me later, sweetie! I have so many more stories!” Giana yelled at our retreating backs. I looked over and could see the irritation all over Matt’s flawless face. I stopped walking and gently pinched his bottom l*p, pulling his face down to mine, and offered him a quick k**s.

“Your mother is an amazing woman. I love her already.”

“My mother can be too much at times, and those pictures should be set on fire.”

I shrugged a shoulder. “I think they were cute. And I know that you’ve grown substantially down there. I felt it when I was talking with Logan this morning.” He pulled me close to his chest and wrapped me in a tight hug.

“What’s this for?”

“It’s for you being you. I’m so happy to have you, Taylor.”

“What’s got you so sweet and sentimental? Your mother just showed me a picture of your five-year-old d**k.”

He threw his head back and laughed. It was quickly becoming my favorite sound. “Yeah, she did. But I’ve waited four years to replace the woman that my mom would show my five-year-old d**k to. I’m just happy that it’s you, baby.”

A waiter walked by and offered us a glass of wine, which I gladly accepted. When I took a sip, I almost died. It was the strongest thing I had ever tasted in my life. “What is this?!” I asked while passing the glass to Matt.

He chuckled and rubbed my back.

“Sorry, Love. This is werewine. It’s about ten times stronger than normal wine since it’s hard for us to get buzzed. I didn’t even think about it.”

He grabbed the nearest waiter and asked for some normal wine for me, but it was no longer needed. I could already feel my head swimming. This was not going to be good.

* * *

Matt

Fifteen minutes later

Never again will I make the mistake of giving Taylor werewine. I had to chase her all over this back yard for the past ten minutes, and I didn’t see any sign of her slowing down. For the moment, I had her resting on my lap a little way away from the rest of the guests.

“Taylor, baby? Look at me, tesoro. How do you feel?”

She swung her head in my direction so fast I’m surprised she didn’t snap her damn neck. “You are so pretty. I think you might be prettier than me. What do you think? Are you prettier than me? Maybe it’s me who’s not pretty.” She pouted and looked out at the party.

“You are very pretty, sweetie. So much more than me.” My dad had finally left his office and was walking over to where we were sitting. Before I could warn him off, he smiled at Taylor and spoke.

“You must be Taylor. I’m James. I’m Matthew’s father, and it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” She looked at him in confusion, then back at me, then to him again.

“You look just like my Matt! You two could be brothers or maybe even father and son. But you look too young to be his father. You are pretty, though….” She nodded her head at the random thoughts she just hit us with and reached for my glass. I gently took it from her hand and replaced it with water.

“Water, tesoro. You don’t like wine anymore, remember?”

“I don’t? Why don’t I? Oh my god, am I pregnant?! I didn’t think Logan grinding me on your junk this morning would have knocked me up, but I guess you wolves have some powerful swimmers. ‘Little Matt’ sure felt powerful … and big. So, do you like that name, ‘Little Matt’? What about ‘Thor’? I love Thor, I’d ride the hell out of Thor.”

This was insane. She was killing me. My dad’s eyes bulged, and he tried to fight off the laugh that was threatening to spill out. I just looked at my dad and sighed, saying , “She got some werewine by mistake. Now her filter is completely gone, and I don’t know what to do.”

It was too much for him, and soon, he was doubled over and howling with laughter. “This is the best thing I’ve experienced in years, Son. Years!”

Both my parents had now laughed at my misery at this party. Not at all what I expected when I arrived. When he had caught his breath, he stood up and pointed to the house.

“Take her inside and make her some coffee, Matt—the strongest we’ve got. That should do the trick. Damn, I wish I had a picture of the look on your face. I’d frame it and put it on my desk. I swear I would.” He walked off, still laughing at what had happened.

I placed my hands on her face and gently turned her to me. “Do you want some coffee, beautiful? I can make you some.”

“I shouldn’t have any caffeine since I’m pregnant, but I’ll have a sip. That shouldn’t hurt.” And as if I hadn’t suffered enough already, Mom was in earshot of the conversation and heard the word “pregnant.” I saw when the word registered in her head and her eyes lit up.

“f**k my life.”

* * *

After Taylor drank the strongest cup of coffee ever brewed, she was finally sobering up. I had to swear on everything I could think of to my mom that Taylor and I were NOT pregnant, and she was not going to be a grandma yet. I’m pretty sure she didn’t believe me, though.

“Come on, tesoro. Let’s get you home now.” I took her hand and helped her to her feet. She was much better, but still a little wobbly, so I lifted her up into my arms and kissed her head.

“Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad. I’ll call you guys later this week,” I told them as I headed for the front door.

“Matt, I barely remember everything I said, but I’m pretty sure an apology is needed. I talk a lot when I’m drunk.”

“No need to apologize, baby. This was very educational. I learned that you’ve got a serious obsession with Thor, and you told my dad he was pretty. All in all, I think it was a decent party.” I laughed at the embarrassed look that took over her face. “It’s fine. You’ve been properly broken in to the family now.”

I put her in the car and began the trip to Jade City and Taylor’s apartment. After spending almost an entire twenty-four hours with her, the idea of leaving her hurt. I really hoped she would want to move in with me soon.

When we pulled up to the apartment, she turned to me with a nervous expression. “Matt, I’ve got next week off from school. Would you be okay with me packing a bag and staying with you? I want to see how the pack operates, and I promise I won’t get in the way.”

What was she talking about? She could never get in my way.

“That’s a wonderful idea. Let’s go get your stuff.”

“Really? You’re not just saying that to make me happy?”

“Yes, I’m saying it to make you happy. And to make me happy. I want you by my side always, and I’ll sleep so much better knowing you are safe with me.”

“Cool. Come on, let’s go up.”

* * *

Taylor

“You can just wait here in the living room. I’ll pack my bag and be right out.”

Matt made himself comfortable on the couch while I ran to my room to grab my stuff. I was excited to spend this week off with him and his pack. It would be a good trial run for whenever I decided to move in permanently.

“Sexy pajamas, definitely. I’ll save the cozy comfies for when I’m sleeping here alone,” I said to myself.

Why was this so hard? It felt like nothing I pulled from the closet was good enough, but I knew Matt wouldn’t care. I needed to get out of my head. I went through and just grabbed a few of everything: dresses, shorts, jeans, shirts, shoes, and underwear.

When I moved to the bathroom for my toiletries, I heard the doorbell ring. Morgan would lose her head if it wasn’t attached, I swear. “Matt, can you get that, please? Morgan always forgets her keys!”

“Got it!”

I ducked into the shower to grab body wash when I heard a voice that made my skin crawl. “Who the f**k are you, and why are you at my girl’s apartment?”

No. He wouldn’t show up here.

I slowly walked to the bedroom door and listened. “I’m pretty sure Morgan’s single, so I’m not sure what ‘girl’ you’re talking about.”

s**t!

I wanted to run and hide, to curl up in a ball and avoid all of this mess, but I wouldn’t do that to Matt. He didn’t have anything to do with this. I took a deep breath and gathered all the courage I could before walking out into the living room and facing the devil himself: Drew.