Total Eclipse of The Heart- Mated Hearts Series Book 1 (Complete)

Chapter 14

"Total Eclipse of the Heart"

2012 Copyright All Rights Reserved

Chapter 14

      Will pulled out a chair for Raven and gestured for her to sit.  She nervously smiled at everyone who was gathered at the table and awkwardly sat.  There were some old faces as well as new faces at the table and it made her slightly uncomfortable.

     The smell of spaghetti and spices permeated the air, reminding her of the pizzeria back at home with that small town Italian family ambiance.  Once she was seated, Will took the seat beside of her and under the table, he reached for her hand.

     She stiffened at first, then out of the corner of her eye, he saw her glance over at him.  He lightly squeezed her hand and offered her a reassuring smile.  It took her a minute, but she smiled back at him and marginally relaxed.

     One by one, several servants came out and started to serve the guests.  There was a low hum of conversation going on around the table.  "Hey," Will whispered, gaining his mates attention.  "Are you okay?"

     She turned to him and did this little thing where she chewed on her bottom lip.  He had seen her do that several times and was learning that it was a  nervous habit of hers.  "Yeah, I suppose," she replied softly.  "A little overwhelmed but taking it all in." 

     A lock oh hair fell across her face and Will lifted his free hand to push it behind her ear.  "Don't  worry about any of these yahoo's," he told her.  "They're all a little crazy but nice enough."

     This time, she did crack a smile, a sincere one and nodded her head.

     "Raven," Will's father spoke over all the chattering noise to gain her attention.  Lifting her head, she turned to him.  "What do you think of our estate so far?"

     "It's gorgeous, sir." she told him.  "I can't see why Christopher and Will would ever want to leave this place.  The view out the back is absolutely breath taking."

     "Glad to hear that you like it," he replied and placed a loving arm around his wife's shoulders.  "It's a great place to raise family."  As Evan Martin watched her, his eyes twinkled with something else that she couldn't quite decipher.  There was a hidden meaning in his statement, that much she was sure of but what that meaning was, she had no clue.      

     "That's nice," she remarked, reverting back to her shy self.

     "Family is very important to us," Evan took it upon himself to go on and explain.  "No matter what happens we all stick together. I know we may seem a bit larger than the average family," he stopped and glanced at the twenty or so people seated at the table, "But our bonds are much stronger."

     Will's mother, looked up at her mate with a pure love in her eyes. So pure that it touched Raven in a way that she hadn't been touched before.  Not even so much with Zach.  Yes, they loved each other, but not like this.  Not this unequivocal love that she could almost feel between this couple. She hadn't thought that it even existed and after Zach, lost all hope that she could ever find that type of love again.