«I would say they can. As far as I witnessed, their nose is no worse than any other wolf's.»
She gulped, starting to recall how often she showered the last few days. She had to pay more attention to it since wolves could sense any trace of... everything?
«Do I stink?» she wondered. She had sweated a little before meeting Nate. She was cleaning the bathroom.
«No. You do smell like some detergent right now, but your usual scent covers most of it.»
«My usual scent? How is that? Shall I shower more often? Oh, and the twins! They spend so much time with me and never complained, poor things...»
«Lara, calm down,» he chuckled. «Your usual scent is better than no scent. It's not just about recognising each other. Wolves use scent to communicate, at times. As a mother, your children feel comfortable when they sense you. And your scent is... It's like a flower in the spring rain. Delicate, fresh, and sweet.»
«A flower in the rain? Why are you being so poetic today?»
«It's the image that crossed my mind the first time I sensed you.»
«Is that so?»
She blushed, feeling his eyes on her. For once, she didn't wish he looked away. There was no reason to flee.
«Aren't you dating anyone else?» she asked, just to be sure.
«No, I'm not. Are you dating someone?»
«No.» She had her cubs and no time for dating.
«Then, do you want to go out with me?»
Lara nodded. There wasn't any need to keep fleeing.
They could give it a try. And it was not like they were going to marry right away. If it didn't work, they could just go back to how things were before.
And they would stop wondering about what could have happened.
«Yes, I do,» she said out loud. «But only if you promise it won't make things awkward in the company.»
«Soon, everyone will know the kids are mine. But, all right, we shall keep things professional while at work.»
«And I don't want to leave the kids alone! Not for dating!»
«I know. I already have a solution for that.» He smiled reassuringly. He could find enough solutions for them, but there was no way he would bring them on their dates.
«Oh, tomorrow you'll spend the day with Jaden, right?» she said. «Or was it Friday?»
«Tomorrow. Friday evening, we'll have a family vacation.»
«Family vacation,» Lara repeated. She beamed, liking the sound of those two words. «The kids will be so happy! I could never bring them on vacation before.»
«I hope you'll like it.»
«We will, for sure! And you don't have to worry, we have low standards. It will be fine.»
He sighed. He wanted to give her the best of everything, but she made it difficult.
He would have needed to come up with a way to let her accept his thoughts more readily. Oh, if only she could agree to move in right away...
But he had no hurry. It was a good starting point: they were going on dates. He could come up later with how to convince her he was a man whom she could trust.
He was so happy, but he forgot something important.
What is it that he needed to tell her? He couldn't remember.