Everyone laughs. Except Tyson.
“It’s a joke, baby,” I tell him.
He doesn’t find it funny. He stares stone-cold at Riley as if to admonish him for the joke.
Riley doesn’t waver. He winks at Tyson with a big smile.
I didn’t do anything good to get given thanks in a room filled to the brim with people. What did I do, other than plan a weekend getaway and have it go wrong? I smile anyway. I like these people so far.
“Now,” Riley continues, “I know how much you guys love to cut up the dance floor, so now that we’re all stuffed with all that delicious food, we’ve got some formalities to get out of the way and then DJ, our awesome DJ, is gonna get the fun started. Ty and Ivy, I know you two have plans right now but I hope you’ll be back after that. Tyson, I bet I’m a better dancer than you are… Care to prove me wrong?”
Ty snickers.
“Back in ten minutes, everyone. Can our youth club get ready for your presentation?” He waves, getting a response of claps, woo-woo dog-pounds style hoots, and wolf-whistles.
Riley steps off the stage and people disperse, including those at our table. It’s suddenly just us two.
“Have you ever danced?” I ask, turning my attention to Ty.
“Not really,” he replies under his breath. “Some women have tried, but you don’t wanna hear about that.”
I chuckle. “You’re right, I don’t.”
“Do you?” he asks me. “Dance?”
“Yeah. I love dancing,” I say. “I took ballet, hip hop, tap. Started dancing at the age of three. Me and Amelia. She quit at about eleven, but I danced right up until I was eighteen. Love it. I wanted to teach dancing, actually, but I never did get that chance. Haven’t given up the dream though. I got a job after school at a clothing store and just sort of wound up in the fashion industry from there.” I shrug.
“Hm.” He plays with my hair and then leans over and eats a strawberry off the lone remaining tart on my dessert plate.
“Do you wanna dance later?” I ask him.
“Maybe,” he says with a smile.
I bite my lip. “Dancing can be very sensual,” I say.
His eyebrows wiggle.
“I’ve met so many people. I’ll never remember their names,” I add.
“Why not?” he asks.
“Because we were introduced to so many people,” I reason.
He tilts his head, looking at me quizzically.
“What?” I ask. “You’ll remember every single name of every person we were introduced to tonight?”
“Yeah,” he says, casually, then drains his water bottle.
“But, Tyson, there were a lot.”
“Yeah,” he says, as if it’s no big deal.
“What’s her name?” I point to an older lady walking by our table with her dessert plate.
“Fran Callahan,” he says.
Oh. Okay.
I gesture to a child who is climbing up on the stage, looking up to no good. “What’s that little boy’s name?”
“Declan. He’s Shepherd and Lorraine Creed’s son. He’s three. And he likes Paw Patrol.”
I do a double-take. That little boy did try to tell Tyson his life story when he was introduced.
“What about her?” I gesture to another lady.
“Bailey’s mother, Carrie Blackwood.”
“Holy shit,” I say.
He looks at me like he doesn’t understand.
“You remember every single name of every single person here, Tyson?”
“Of course I do. I just met them.”
I give my head an astonished shake. Wow.
Bailey comes back.
“What’s your mom’s name again?” I ask.
“Carrie,” says Bailey as she sits down.
“And that little boy up there?” I see that little boy’s father fetching him. The boy is throwing a temper tantrum.
“That’s Declan.”
Holy crap.
“You didn’t believe me?” Tyson sounds affronted.
“It’s astonishing. He remembers all of your names. All of them. Is that a shifter thing?”
Bailey shakes her head. “It’s a Tyson thing. His father was the same. So was his father. These guys are stewards for their pack. They look after us like a shepherd tends his flock.” She shrugs.
“So, no one else knows all their names?” I ask.
“Well, yeah. We all do but we’ve grown up together. So there’s a difference.”
Tyson is definitely their leader. She looks at him with a knowing expression. He stares at her a second and then at me and I can tell he knows this. Maybe he’s coming to grips with it, too.
Maybe this guy isn’t just supernatural in his ability to transform from man to wolf to man again. Maybe he’s figuring out who he is. The intended shepherd of this flock of wolf shifters.
“Wanna go see your house and skip the next part of the party?” Bailey asks. “It’s about to get started and you’ll likely find it boring.”
“Yes!” I exclaim.
Ty looks at me and he looks a little unsure.
“Can we?” I ask.
He sucks on his teeth for a second and then puts his hand on mine.
I put my free hand on top. “Sorry. If it’s gonna be too much emotionally…”
“No. Let’s go,” he says and gets up. “I was interested in the next part, but don’t worry.”