“I wouldn’t just be moving in with him. He lives in a mansion in Marin County with his big family. He has five brothers and a sister. The spouses of his sister and two of his brothers also live there.”
“If it was me, he could live with fifty people and I’d still move in with him. If you like Leif that much, don’t let him slip through your fingers. You’ll find a way to make things work.”
“I don’t want to lose him, but don’t you think this is all a bit rushed?”
“Look, if you feel that way, why don’t you give it a trial run? Tell Leif you want to try it for a week before you give up your place and quit here. If it doesn’t work out, you won’t be left in the lurch. And if it does work, what’s a week?”
She nodded. “I think you just gave me the answer to my problem. A trial run is a perfect idea.”
Vicky patted her hand. “See, I’m good for something sometimes.”
Jaden laughed. “It would seem so. I guess we should head back.” When they stood, she said, “Thanks, Vicky. I really needed someone to talk to about this.”
“I’m always here for you.”
Now Jaden couldn’t wait until the end of her shift so she could tell Leif about her decision. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but she didn’t think he would object to a trial run.
Stepping back out into the store, Jaden thought she caught a glimpse of Leif just out of the corner of her eye. When she turned to look at that spot, no one was there.
Obviously, she was thinking about him so much she was now seeing him when he really wasn’t there.
Chapter Nine
That had been a close one. Leif had watched Jaden go to the break room with another cashier and had decided to hang close by it until she left. He’d already walked around the store so much that he now knew where to find everything in it. So far, he’d been able to keep under the other employees’ radars. He didn’t need one of them noticing he’d been here for hours and have him kicked out for loitering.
To be honest, he didn’t know how many more times he could do this. If he had to do this all week, he could see himself losing his mind from boredom. You could only look at food for so long before your eyes started to cross. Plus, it was making him hungry. At least the store had a coffee shop. He’d managed to grab a cup of coffee and a muffin close to lunch time, before Jaden had gone there to buy her lunch.
It wasn’t all completely bad, though. Spying on Jaden all day allowed him to see what she was like when not around him. Able to see for greater distances than a mortal, he hadn’t had to get very close to watch her. There were times when he swore she turned to look his way, but he wasn’t worried that she would catch him. Her glasses only improved her eyesight so much.
Her nearsightedness was something Leif hoped would go away once Jaden was turned into a werewolf. Not that he minded that she wore glasses. She looked cute when he accidently knocked them askew while kissing her. He just wanted her to have all the abilities a normal werewolf would have. Since neither Roxie nor the other morals she’d turned into werewolves had worn glasses before the spell had been used, he wasn’t sure what would happen to Jaden’s eyesight.
But he was getting ahead of himself. Jaden first had to accept him for what he was, along with their being mates, before he made any mention of the spell. He hoped she would allow Roxie to turn her, but there was always that chance that she would refuse. It might be selfish of him, but he didn’t want to settle for one human lifetime with her. He wanted to live out the rest of his days with Jaden at his side.
Leif walked down the aisle and headed for the opposite end of the store from where Jaden worked. He ignored the mortals around him, feeling as if he’d just been pole-axed.
He loved Jaden. For a man who had never thought he was capable of having that kind of emotion for a woman, it was a huge revelation. But it was true. His feelings for her had solidified into love.
A smile spread across his face. Now he understood what his mated siblings had meant about him not being able to escape it when it became his turn to find his mate.
He’d been a fool to try. Even now, he couldn’t picture his life without Jaden in it. Christ, he was even having a hard time remembering what it had been like before her. She completed him. He’d thought he was good the way he’d been, but now that he could admit his true feelings for her, he knew how wrong that had been.
He’d have to tell Jaden tonight what he was. And then he’d convince her to move in with him and quit her job. There was no point in putting it off. He’d also bare his soul to her. Chuckling to himself, he shook his head. For a man that once thought doing that would doom him to hell, he couldn’t wait for the opportunity to do it.
At five minutes after four, Jaden walked out to the parking lot. She gave it a quick scan and found Leif’s Cadillac parked almost in the same spot he’d used when he had dropped her off. Smiling, she made her way over to it and got inside.
“You’re right on time,” she said.
“Of course I am. I wouldn’t leave you hanging like that.”
Leif gave her a thorough kiss that made her wish they weren’t in such a public place, then he drove out of the parking lot. When she noticed he was taking the route to her apartment, she said, “I thought we were going to your place.”
“We are. I thought you would like to change and pack some clothes for tomorrow.”
“How about I pack enough clothes for a week?” Jaden turned her head to look at Leif, to see his reaction to her words.
He gave her a quick glance before he turned his attention back on the road. “Does that mean you’ll move in with me?”
“Well, not exactly. What it does mean is that I’m willing to give you a week as a trial run.”
“A trial run?”
“Yes. If after a week we haven’t started to hate each other, I’ll quit my job and move in with you permanently.”
“How about instead the trail run only lasts three days?”
“A week.”
“Four days.”
“Are you trying to bargain me down?” she asked with a laugh.
He gave her a sexy grin. “Is it working? If not, I think I can come up with some ideas that will help sway you.”
She laughed again, but inside, Jaden started to melt. She had a pretty good idea what Leif would do to win her over to his way of thinking. He’d use his body to persuade her, and it would work too. One good bout of lovemaking and she’d be putty in his hands.
“All right, you win. Four days, but I’m standing firm on that. Not a day less.”
Leif reached over and ran his hand up and down the top of her thigh. “You drive a hard bargain, but I’ll still use my powers of persuasion to see if I can wheedle you down some more.”
When they arrived at her apartment, Jaden didn’t take very long to change out of her uniform and pack it along with enough clothes for four days. She also taped a note to her landlords’ door to let them know she would be staying over at a friend’s for a few days, just in case something came up.
In no time at all, she and Leif were back on the road heading for Marin County. She watched the landscape go by, still finding it hard to believe that there was a chance she would be living in such a rich neighborhood.
At the mansion, Leif took the small suitcase she’d packed and carried it inside while he held her hand. Instead of taking her upstairs to his bedroom, he put her suitcase down near the stairs and then headed them in the direction of the kitchen.
“I don’t know about you,” he said, “but I’m starved. I bet you are too, having to look at food all day.”
“You build up a tolerance after a while.”
“I doubt I ever would. I’d want to come home and eat everything in the house.”