Free With Abandon: With or Without, Book 3 by J. L. Langley Page B

thought about it. Funny how only the mention of Matt could do that. “Yes, and yes. His name is Matt and you’ll meet him next weekend when we come out to hunt. You will both adore him. He’s a great guy.”
    Mom nodded. “Yes, Keaton says he’s a good kid. Very sweet.”
    “And he cooks.”
    “Aubrey Ian Reynolds, don’t you dare take advantage of him.”
    Aubrey laughed. If she only knew how many different ways he wanted to take advantage of Matt. “Speaking of cooking, where are we going to eat?”
    “Let’s just go downstairs and eat in the restaurant,” his dad answered.
    “Okay, the restaurant it is.”
    His dad motioned toward the chair and slipped his hand down, holding Mom’s. “Can we leave all this in here? We didn’t want to detour to the parking garage before we came up.”
    “Sure. I’ll lock up.” Aubrey motioned to them to go ahead and secured the door. They headed to the elevator with his parents holding hands beside him.
    “Your father and I have been talking…”
    Aubrey groaned. Those seven words never preceded anything good. He glanced back at his office door.
    Dad pushed the elevator button. “It’s too far. You’ll never make it.”
    With a ding , the mirrored doors slid open.
    “I might if I shove the two of you into the elevator first.” With a smirk, Aubrey followed his parents into the elevator.
    Mom smacked his arm playfully. “Then you’d get a whoopin’.” The doors closed and she pushed the first-floor button. “What did I ever do to get two such ornery boys?”
    “Is this where we inform her that Keaton and I take after her?”
    Dad chuckled. “Probably not. She’d just deny it anyway.”
    “Oh you just wait until you have your own kids.” Mom wrinkled up her nose. “They’ll be just like you.”
    “Uh-oh. It’s the mom curse.” Dad snickered. “You’re doomed.”
    “Her mom must have put the same curse on her,” Aubrey teased.
    Laughing, Mom swatted at him again. “She must have, you brat.”
    The doors opened.
    Aubrey held his arm out toward the lobby. God, he loved his parents. “Shall we?”
    They reached the restaurant and were greeted immediately. Being head of the company did come with its perks. Maybe he shouldn’t, but he liked the feeling of importance. He was accustomed to it.
    “Ah, Mr. Reynolds. Table for three?” the maitre d’ asked with a smile.
    Aubrey returned the gesture. “A booth in back if you please.”
    “Yes, sir.” He took up three menus. “Right this way.”
    As they sat down at the table, Mom said, “As I was saying before you distracted me in the elevator…”
    Oh no. She was dramatically pausing. Aubrey had the urge to stick his fingers in his ears and chant, Lalalalala .
    “Your dad and I were talking, and we think you should settle down and get married.”
    Aubrey didn’t groan, but it was a close call. “You’ve thought that for the last six years.” He unrolled his napkin and put it in his lap.
    “Yes, but—” Biting her bottom lip, she turned her head to look at Dad.
    Dad sighed and frowned a little. “All the men in our family, your mother’s and mine, found their mates before their twenty-sixth birthday. You’re almost thirty-one, son.”
    Guilt gnawed at Aubrey until finally a familiar numbness settled over him. He’d heard all this before.
    Mom grabbed his hand and squeezed.
    Dad swallowed hard. “The thing is, we don’t think you have a mate.”
    Aubrey sat there stunned. They’d never told him he didn’t have a mate before.
    “Reynolds Hall needs an heir. And there’s been a Reynolds running the company since the first Buchanan was opened,” Mom whispered.
    He yearned to tell them about Matt. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The longing to just reach out and clasp a future with Matt by blurting out they were mates was overwhelming but fleeting. What good would it do? Mom’s words had said it all. A rustling sound made him open his eyes.
    Dad had opened his menu, but he