Chapter 33: Matchmaker
Vivian Grey’s POV
"Good. Your spot’s already open. I knew you’d fall for that," a teasing voice chirped through the phone. The smirk behind the words practically echoed in the air.
Johnson’s eyes narrowed.
"You manipulative little witch!" he barked into the phone, loud enough to catch the attention of a few nearby shoppers.
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. A quiet, surprised giggle slipped out before I could stop it.
"You say that like it’s a bad thing. Love you, bro. See you in a few."
The call ended before he had the chance to fire back, and Johnson let out a low groan as he shoved his phone into his pocket. His hand flew up to tug harshly on his thick curls in frustration.
"I can’t believe I fell for that again," he muttered to himself.
That did it. The girls and I exchanged glances, then burst into a round of unrestrained laughter. The sight of this towering, muscled werewolf pouting like a scolded pup because his baby sister had outplayed him was just too good.
Luke chuckled as he clapped Johnson on the shoulder.
"You’re laughing because you’ve never had a little sister who memorized all your weaknesses and later turned them into weapons," he said with a kind of exaggerated weariness. "It’s like living with a walking curse."
Johnson let out another exasperated sigh. "Ahhh man! Sorry, Luna. I’ll be back in a few." He turned to leave.
Something inside me moved before I’d made a conscious decision about it. Maybe it was the way the mall noise had gone quiet around us again, the distant awareness of eyes tracking me from store windows. Maybe it was just that Johnson’s sister sounded like someone who didn’t know to be afraid of me yet, and that felt like the most appealing thing in the world right now.
"Do you mind if I come?" I asked.
Johnson looked surprised, brows lifting in that puppyish way of his, but then a bright grin broke out across his face.
"No problem, Luna. I’m sure my sister will be thrilled to meet you." His voice held genuine warmth.
Hope bloomed inside my chest, small but real. Maybe his sister would give me a real chance, someone to talk to who didn’t already have an opinion about me shaped by fear or the ghost of a broken neck.
We followed Johnson outside and slid into the black BMW we’d come in. Once we were on the road, I glanced his way, curiosity tugging at me.
"So, do you know what she wants you to do?"
He gave a shrug, nonchalant. "Not really. She always gives me weird little tasks at the store. Could be anything."
"What kind of store does she own?"
That’s when his face changed. A deep blush crept into his cheeks, and even his ears turned bright red. My thoughts jumped immediately to all the wrong conclusions.
"Oh no," I said slowly. "What kind of weird store are we talking about here?"
After an awkward pause, he muttered, "Victoria’s Secret."
Oh.
I stared at him, eyes wide. That wasn’t too bad. Until I remembered exactly what kinds of things they sold in Victoria’s Secret.
"Wait, what kind of odd jobs does she make you do in a lingerie store?"
Johnson groaned, loud and defeated, before tucking his massive frame into itself like a sulking bear. He hid his face under his arms.
Mila and Luke erupted into laughter.
"Man, I still have the pictures from when she made you model that new set of lin—"
Johnson’s low, growling snarl cut her off. The sheer mortification on his face was priceless.
"You said you deleted those!" he snapped at her.
Mila turned in her seat, still laughing but now narrowing her eyes like she’d just remembered something important.
"And you said you deleted my red bikini photos from freshman year. But guess who saw them on Facebook?"
His face twisted from angry to wide-eyed innocence. He blinked up at her with exaggerated disbelief.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about. Must’ve been some other Johnson. It’s a pretty common name, you know."
But his fingers twitched on his lap like he desperately wanted to yank his curls again.
"Liar!" she hissed. "Your FB name is Johnson WiggleWiggleWiggle."
Wait.
What.
I turned to Courtney beside me, mouthing, WiggleWiggleWiggle?
She mouthed back with a grin, Jason Derulo.
I pressed my lips together so hard it hurt. My whole body was shaking with the effort of not losing it completely. I stared very hard at the headrest in front of me and thought about taxes. It didn’t help.
Mila crossed her arms. "One, it’s stupid. Two, delete the bikini picture. And three, the last time I checked, you don’t even have anything to wiggle."
I gave up. A sound came out of me that could generously be described as a laugh and less generously as a seal being stepped on. I clapped a hand over my mouth.
Johnson, completely unfazed, smirked and leaned forward, his bulk taking up more space than seemed physically possible.
"Baby, the last time you checked, we were both drunk. But if you wanna check my wiggle again, let me see yours first."
Mila’s eyes went wide. Her entire face flushed a deep, telltale red.
Smooth.
Okay. That escalated fast.
"Johnson! Chill out, man. Mila, you too, behave," Luke scolded, but his tone was full of suppressed amusement. I got the sense he was very used to playing peacekeeper between these two. He was absolutely the mom-friend of this group, and he wore it with the quiet exhaustion of someone who had accepted his role long ago.
When we finally pulled into the parking lot, the guys hopped out to check that everything was clear before opening the door for me.
The building was sleek, modern, and absolutely fashionable.
It looked exactly like the Victoria’s Secret store from the mainland, window displays and all.
And that’s when Zaliver’s voice echoed in my head, calm and certain as it always was.
Bras. Underwear. Lingerie.
Oh goddess.
I stood there for a moment, staring up at the sign, putting the pieces together one by one.
He knew. He’d known exactly where Johnson’s sister worked. He’d probably planned this down to the parking space.
Six hundred years old and he was out here playing shopping matchmaker.
Incredible.
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