Travis stood and shook their hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”
“Likewise.”
Brynna grabbed Freyda and hugged her. “What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t think we were going to miss out on visiting, did ya? We wanted to meet Travis, so we came home. We’re all heading back out tomorrow. So, Travis, what do you think of this place?” Freyda asked, grabbing two mugs out of the cabinet and helping herself to coffee. Brynna had confided in the female, who had become a mother figure to her and Banyan, when she realized Travis was her mate. Freyda knew all about waiting forever to find a mate. To that day, she still hadn’t found hers, but she and Gautum were in love as well as the best of friends. It was as close as the female was going to get, or at least that’s what she told Brynna.
Gautum took the seat next to Travis after clapping him lovingly on the shoulder. “I’m interested in your ideas as well, my boy.”
Travis blushed again, but he turned to Gautum and explained his ideas. “I was just saying I think it has potential as a boutique hotel. The architecture is amazing. It would be simple enough to tear out the wall between the foyer and the sitting room to open the space and make that the lobby.” As Travis expounded excitedly, Freyda handed Gautum his coffee and took the empty chair next to him. “Brynna already has the interior changes in mind as far as décor, so it wouldn’t take long to make a few structural adjustments. The one major difference would be to the kitchen. If this were my hotel, I’d expand the kitchen to include the area where we’re sitting. Feeding that many guests three meals a day will require more equipment.”
Marcie turned from where she was cooking supper. “I think that’s brilliant, Travis.” She looked around the space, and Brynna knew the woman was envisioning where everything would go. Brynna had offered her friend the job as kitchen manager once Marcie insisted she wasn’t going anywhere. Brynna’s parents had treated Marcie as well as two royals treated any of the hired help, but Brynna and the human had become fast friends. Both Marcie and her brother, Lawrence, were now part of the family. Larry was a fantastic artist Brynna spent hours with touring the house and talking about the design changes needed to make the rooms more inviting. Brynna had commissioned Larry to paint the artwork that would be showcased in each room, replacing the staid paintings that had hung on the walls for centuries. His vision to incorporate some of the older paintings was no less brilliant than the ideas her mate had come up with to keep the history of the architecture while bringing the structure into modern times.
Marcie announced supper was ready, and everyone lined up to take a turn at the stove. Unlike their father, Banyan didn’t stand on ceremony. All the males waited for the females to fix their plates before helping themselves. They didn’t bother going into the dining hall. Instead, everyone squeezed around the kitchen table. They talked about Travis’s ideas between bites, and Brynna’s heart was full. It had taken nearly eight centuries to find her place, and the only thing that would make her life complete was claiming the handsome male sitting across from her.
Chapter Two
Travis should be used to Brynna’s compliments by now, but he couldn’t help but blush whenever she said something good about him. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She was also a bit wild and uninhibited, but he chalked that up to her being a Gargoyle. He didn’t understand why she spent all her time with him, and the longer he was with her, the more he wanted. At first, he felt guilty, like he was betraying Rachel’s memory, but his girlfriend was gone. The thing he felt most guilty about was how being around Brynna lit him up in ways Rachel never had. His girlfriend had been sweet and pretty, but it was more like dating a good friend. Their relationship had been comfortable. Stable. The spark he felt with Brynna was like fireworks going off in his chest. And the almost-kiss in the clearing? Thank goodness Banyan interrupted them, or Travis would have made a fool of himself.
The only reason Travis could come up with for Brynna spending so much time with him was she was lonely. Travis knew she would eventually find a mate, and then he’d go back to his own lonely existence. He had Molly and Trevor, but Trevor had his own full life with Jasper and school. Having Brynna as a friend was both exhilarating and stressful. His dick was eventually going to fall off from all the hand jobs he gave himself when they parted ways at the end of the day. That was another difference. Travis and Rachel’s sex life had been good, but when they were apart, he didn’t jerk off to thoughts of her later. He chalked it up to Brynna being so stunningly beautiful, even though there was so much more to the female than her looks. It reminded him of high school – the nerd pining for the prom queen. Add in the way she constantly touched him – holding his hand, snuggling on the sofa while they watched a movie, little things she probably didn’t realize she was doing – they all wore on his resolve to keep his hands to himself. Brynna acted as though touching him was the most natural behavior in the world. But he couldn’t find the courage to stop letting her. No. Travis craved Brynna like she was his next breath.
Travis expected Banyan to have a talk with him about how much time they spent together, but the Norse King was so kind and accepting. It didn’t make sense. Maybe he was happy his sister had such a good friend in Travis. Because he had to face it – someone like Brynna would never be interested in someone like Travis. Except… Travis thought about Trevor and Jasper. His brother and his mate were another unlikely pair. Not because there was anything wrong with Trevor. On the contrary. Out of the two of them, Trevor was the better brother. It didn’t matter that he was a clone. He was outgoing, witty, charming, and brilliant. Travis wouldn’t say anything about Trevor’s looks because they could almost pass for twins. That would be like saying he himself wasn’t handsome.
Travis remembered how Trevor felt when he found out he and Jasper were fated to be together – unworthy. His brother still felt that way, and Travis understood where he was coming from. Somewhat. Trevor hadn’t been born into their family because their parents wanted another child. He’d been cloned from Travis’s DNA because Travis had a defective heart. Trevor was created for spare parts, as he put it. It was no wonder his brother felt less than. But Jasper truly loved Trevor. That was obvious from seeing the two of them together. If Travis were Brynna’s mate, she would have said something to him. Right? Unless she didn’t want him as a mate. That would make sense because he was nothing special. Now I sound like Trevor. Insecurity was alive and well in both McKenzie brothers.
There was nothing Travis could do to make himself more desirable to Brynna. She’d been around him enough to know who and how he was – a fairly successful, decent-looking architect. If the fates had chosen him for Brynna, they’d not chosen well.
Brynna had told Travis all about when Banyan became King. It was hard picturing either Brynna or her brother in their regal attire, even though he’d seen photos from the coronation. They were both so down-to-earth. Then again, so was Tamian St. Claire, and he was in line to be the Italian Gargoyle King. The house Banyan and Urijah wanted Travis to design was nothing like the current house they were in. The new home would be large enough for a family but nowhere near the monstrosity Brynna wanted to transform into a hotel. Travis was excited about designing their new home. Having already been in charge of their home in New Atlanta, he knew their styles, although their Norse home would be larger and built with the timber from the trees there on the property. In his mind’s eye, Travis could see it. It was going to be glorious.