Claiming their Mate

Prologue

  Sunday dinner had been the pleasant event Clara was used to until her mother served the peach cobbler dessert for which she was known in their community. The dessert was to die for, as usual, but this time she served it with a side of unsolicited advice.

  "Now look, Clara, you know I don't like to pry-"

  "Really? Since when don't you like to pry?" Anything her mom prefaced that way was destined to be uncomfortable.

  "Aren't you funny? Look, I've held my tongue on this for well over a year. If you're not going to acknowledge my restraint, I should just speak my mind from now on."

  Clara put her fork down and sighed. "Mom, I always want you to speak your mind with me. I thought you knew that. We can talk about anything."

  "Well then, it's time you started dating again."

  "Anything but that."

  "It's been two years since the divorce. Two long years."

  Clara groaned as her mother held up two fingers, displaying her carefully manicured nails. Seriously? Did her mother think she couldn't count?

  "Mom, I'm just not ready yet. Besides, I'm happy. I don't need a man to feel fulfilled."

  Aiden had been the love of her life, her soul mate, or so she thought. That was until she surprised him on one of his business trips and caught him getting his freak on with one of her best friends.

  "Of course you don't need a man. I raised you to be stronger than that. But don't you want one? I like having a warm body in my bed, and I have difficulty believing you don't as well."

  At an incredibly young-looking 58 years old, Deloris was the very definition of a cougar. She always had some younger, hot guy hanging around, except for on the Sundays she spent with Clara. And she always overshared about the latest man in her life. Clara cringed hearing about her escapades, but at the same time, she was happy for her mother. Divorce had been the best thing for her parents. They were much happier apart. For Clara, though, her own divorce had been devastating.

  "I just need more time. Someday I'll feel like dating again, but not now."

  "And it's not just the lack of dating. Kate said she's asked you out there several times and you always come up with some excuse to say no."

  Kate had a big mouth. She was Clara's older sister, and she'd been practically begging Clara to come for a visit for the last two years. Clara had the decency to feel badly about that, but Kate didn't have to go running to their mom about it.

  "I'm planning to go."

  "When?"

  "I don't know...soon."

  "From what I hear, you've been saying 'soon' for almost three years."

  "Two, and what does this have to do with me dating?" Clara said it and then immediately wished she could call the words back again. The last thing she wanted to do was redirect the conversation back to that topic.

  "You're not doing anything. You're not moving, you're not dating, and you're not really living. The most activity you get is the time you spend here with me. You work at home, so you don't even socialize during the day. And you spend every night on crappy television and microwaved dinners."

  "Not true. I make gourmet meals to go with my crappy television." It was an attempt at a joke to lighten the mood, but it might as well have fallen on deaf ears.

  "The point is, you're young and vibrant, and you're sitting around wasting all you have to offer on your couch. I talked to Neveah. She says you repeatedly turn down her offers to hang out."

  Good old Veya, her remaining best-friend-turned-traitor.

  "Are you checking up on me?"

  "I sure am. You're my baby girl and I love you. Someone has to pull you out of this rut. You need to get dressed up and get out. Go dancing. Have some fun!"

  "I hate getting dressed up."

  "No, honey. That's the new Clara. The one who's scared to get busy living again. She hates getting dressed up, but I have an idea. Not to pat myself on the back, but it's a pretty good one."

  Uh-oh. Something told Clara she wasn't going to like this idea. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what is it?"

  "Blake's younger brother is about your age. I'll invite him over here next Sunday, and you two can get to know each other." Blake was her mom's current flavor of the month. Blonde, buff, and about twenty years her junior. There was no way she could date the brother of the man who was surely fucking her mother.

  "No, Mom. Just...no."

  "Why not?"

  "Well first of all, I'm not ready. And second of all, I don't want my mother fixing me up. And then there's the fact that he's your lover's brother. It just seems wrong."

  Deloris shrugged. "It's not like you're related. And I've seen Matt. He's pretty damned hot."

  That was Clara's cue to push away from the table and get to her feet. "I've got to run, Mom. Dinner was fabulous, but I have to catch up on some work at home."

  She made for the door, but her mom caught her hands, tears forming in her brown eyes. "I just worry about you, honey. I can't bear the thought of you wasting away. Wasting your life."

  Damn. If only she'd been faster to escape. Clara couldn't stand to see her mom cry. "Okay, okay. Look, I can't date Matt. Sorry, but no to the fixup." No to that guy for sure, and even if he hadn't been the brother of her mom's latest lay, she wasn't ready to date anyone, under any circumstances. Aiden had left a huge crater in her heart, and if she exposed it, it would only get worse. "I will go visit Kate, though, okay? I've been meaning to anyway. Just, please, don't cry." She gave her mother a big hug, mentally shaking her head. Yes, she was being manipulated, but what could she do? She loved her mother too much to cause her tears, even those intended to produce guilt.