From Rejected Mate to Luna (Julia White) novel Chapter 234

Chapter 234

Julia’s POV

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For a second, all those carefully planned sentences–thank–yous and I’m sorries and I really appreciate–alls–just evaporate. The tight

knot between my shoulder blades, the one that formed somewhere over the Atlantic when I started worrying about first impressions and

proper daughter–in–law etiquette, snaps all at once.

A laugh bursts out of me, sharp and surprised. It catches in my throat and spills over until I’m laughing helplessly, one hand pressed to

my eyes.

“Oh my god,” I manage between giggles. “I was rehearsing a speech, Matthew. A speech. And your dad is out here scheduling his vacation

around our landing like it’s a baton pass.”

He’s laughing too now, shoulders shaking, one hand still steady on the steering wheel.

“I told you,” he says. “This is them being responsible. They stayed put and covered for us while we were gone. As soon as we hit the

airspace, they considered their duty done. Now it’s our turn again, and they are gone.”

I wipe at the dampness on my cheeks. “They didn’t even want to… see us?”

“Hey,” he says gently, squeezing my knee. “They do want to see us. Just not more than they want pina coladas on a beach.” He pauses, then adds, “This is how they show trust, Jules. They’re not hovering. They’re not micromanaging. They’re saying, ‘We know you’ve got this.

We’re gonna go live our lives.“”

A tiny sting of something–disappointment?-flickers in my chest, then fades under a wave of relief. I didn’t realize how much I’d been bracing for their judgment until it vanished in a text full of jokes and travel plans.

“I was ready to show up with flowers,” I say. “Maybe a fruit basket. And they’re… past security.”

“Honestly, if we showed up at their house right now, the only thing we’d see is the stack of travel brochures they left behind.” He starts the engine, the Jeep rumbling to life. “And maybe a note about the thermostat.”

Kaia stretches and yawns inside me, thoroughly amused. These elders are strange. I like them.

“Yeah,” I murmur, leaning my head back against the seat. “They’re… something.”

Matthew pulls out of the parking space, merging into the slow curl of cars leaving the airport. The rain’s picked up, drops streaking across the windshield, wipers swishing in a steady rhythm.

“So,” he says after a moment, voice turning softer, “since my parents have abandoned us for margaritas, that means we get to do this day

our way.”

“Our way?” I repeat, closing my eyes for a second. The exhaustion hits me all at once, heavy and thick. My muscles ache, my brain feels

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Chapter 234

fuzzy. The idea of a hot shower and a real bed makes my bones hum.

“Yeah,” he says. Which does not include you dragging yourself through another high–stakes social visit when you can barely keep your eyes open.

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I open them again, turning my head to look at him. “I just wanted to be polite,” I say quietly. “To start things right.”

“I know,” he says. “And I love that about you. But you don’t have to earn their approval with perfect behavior. Not here. Not with them.”

He hesitates, then adds, “And not with me.”

The bond between us warms, a slow, steady pulse. I let out a shaky breath.

“Okay,” I say. “So we don’t go to your parents‘. What do we do?”

He smiles, eyes still on the wet road ahead. “We go home. You shower. You sleep. And then, tonight, we have dinner with people who will

not care that you forget which fork to use.”

I blink. “Dinner?”

*James and Olivia,” he confirms. “They’ve been counting down to our return. James has threatened to mindlink me every hour on the hour

if I tried to ‘sneak back into town‘ without letting them come over.”

Despite the fatigue, a spark of genuine excitement flares in my chest. “They’re coming to our place?”

“Yeah,” he says. “They’re bringing food. Apparently Olivia made something ‘not too heavy for jet–lagged wolves.‘ And they plan to park

their child in your arms and refuse to take him back.”

“Ethan,” I breathe, feeling my lips curve. “I finally get baby time.”

“You earned it,” Matthew says warmly. “Besides, it’s just them. No elders, no ceremonies, no speeches. Just us and our closest friends.”

The contrast between the Luna ceremony he’d almost thrown for me and this simple, easy dinner makes my chest ache in a good way. He really heard me back in Paris. He paid attention.

“Thank you,” I say softly. “For… all of it. Cancelling the ceremony. Not making me go perform for your parents. Shielding me from…

everything today.”

He glances over, his expression open and earnest. “I’m not shielding you,” he says. “I’m choosing us. Choosing to start our normal life in a way that doesn’t crush you on day one.” His mouth quirks. “Also, I’d like my wife conscious at the dinner table.”

“Small detail,” I murmur, another yawn crawling up my throat. I don’t fight it this time.

He reaches over and threads his fingers into my hair again, gently massaging the tension at the base of my skull. Heat spreads down my

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Chapter 234

spine, my whole body loosening.

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“Sleep,” he murmurs. “By the time you wake up, we’ll be halfway up the valley. I’ll call James on the mindlink, tell him we’re back and that if he brings anything with too much garlic, Olivia’s going to banish him to the couch.”

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