He snorted. "We have the opposite problem here—tourists flock to Tahoe to see us flying in the sky, swimming in the lake, or keep an eye out for a dragon perching on one of the mountaintops. There are even tour groups specifically geared toward dragon sightings."
She blinked. "Really?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Just how much did you research Tahoe and its surroundings before coming here?"
"Er, not much. I mostly was focusing on dragon-shifters in general, not in one particular area. As I mentioned before, I didn't think I'd be picked out of a crowd of two hundred."
He stopped, pulled her close, and kissed her gently. "You were the only one I wanted in that entire room. Don't forget that."
As she stared into his eyes, her heart rate kicked up. It would be so easy to love such a man.
No. It's too soon. Men tended to flee if a woman mentioned feelings too early, at least in her experience. She needed to take it slow.
He kissed her again before placing a hand at her back and gently pushing her forward to walk again. "Okay, since we're nearly there, it's time for a quiz. Do you remember the names of my immediate family?"
She stood up a little taller. "Gaby, Maria, and Jorge," she stated. "Remembering names and faces is one of my specialties. I'll be fine."
He grinned. "We'll see if that ends up being true. I don't know how much of my family will be here, so there may be a few surprises and a whole lot of new names to learn."
She blinked. "I thought it was just your parents and sister?"
"That's what they told me, but that's unusual for a get-together at their house. Most of my family on PineRock always find a way to drop by. That makes me think some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins will 'accidentally' stop by to meet you."
Victoria groaned dramatically. While her family was small—just her and her parents—she'd had students over the years with large families, ones that would come to a high school play and take up several rows. Maybe Jose's family was like that, which meant the night would take a lot of effort to survive without seeking out some corner to recharge mentally and emotionally. "In that case, I should've taken a longer nap."
He squeezed her waist. "If you get tired, just tell me and I'll get us home ASAP. If you haven't guessed it already, dragon-shifters can be rather overprotective, especially with a mate or a family members' mate. So if any sign of exhaustion shows on your face, the entire Santos family will gather around you, carry you to a bed, and lock the door, standing guard outside until you rest long enough by their standards."
Victoria wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that. Neither of her parents had siblings, just like her.
Even her grandparents had died a number of years ago.
The only other constant person in her life was her best friend, Sasha Wolfe. And since Sasha had three siblings and tons of cousins, her best friend would probably enjoy a large, boisterous family dinner a lot more than Victoria.
However, she was going to give it her best. She may be an introvert unless she was with a very small group of people, but she would try. To try and make a future work with Jose, she'd try. She replied, "I'll make sure to let you know if I need to leave."
As they neared loud music, emanating from one of the older but well-loved houses on the street, she heard Jose sigh. "There is definitely more than just my parents and Gaby in there."
She looked at the house again, several shadows passing in front of the lit windows covered with curtains.
Her heart sped up, and her palms started to sweat. How could she make a good impression with so many people?
Fight for want you want, Tori.
Doing her best to stand tall, she took a few deep breaths until her heart calmed a little. Drawing on what strength she possessed, she pasted a smile on her face. It was time to pretend she was good with crowds.
Jose loved his family, but right then and there, he wanted to murder a few of them.
Victoria had mentioned to him how she didn't like large groups, and he'd told his parents this.
Apparently they thought the solution was to invite as many family members as possible to prove him and Victoria wrong. It was as if somehow, someway, his family was different from every other group of strangers on the planet.
His inner dragon huffed. They are different, though. They'll try to make her feel welcome.
Still, that may be too much. Going forward, I need to learn even more about our mate so we can avoid situations like this in the future.
Agreed. His dragon paused a beat before adding, We could turn back right now, though, if she wants. Let her know that.
He glanced at Victoria. "We could still leave, and I could tell my parents you're still exhausted from the frenzy."