Forgiveness For My Mate: Sassy Ever After (Sanctuary for My Mate Book 1)

by Terri A. Wilson

  She was afraid to look back but was willing to bet money he watched her walk away.

  She met Connor and his crew as they pulled up. He and the photographer got out of the lead car and a crew of six other people plus the pretend happily married couple set up more equipment than she thought was necessary. Within minutes, the driveway front of the cabin looked more like a movie set than a simple photo shoot.

  Connor nodded to the house, saw her standing on the porch, and waved. Tatum met him at the car.

  “This is a lot of people and stuff.”

  “Steve’s used to bigger spreads, but he owes me a favor.”

  Steve continued giving orders when Connor called him over. “Hey, come meet Tatum. She’s staying in the cabin but doesn’t mind if we come in to take pictures.”

  They shook hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Steve said.

  “Likewise,” she returned. “Is it okay if I stick around and watch?”

  Steve nodded. “Absolutely.”

  “Do you mind if I use your restroom?” The female model asked Tatum.

  Tatum looked at her coordinated outdoor attire and shrank a little when she compared it to her jeans and a flannel. Tatum noticed Connor watched her and bashfully turned away when he saw her.

  She remembered she’d brought a little make-up and sneaked into the restroom after the model. When she exited the room was a flutter of commotion. A team of decorators rearranged the furniture and set the table with matching plates and wildflowers in a vase for the centerpiece.

  Feeling in the way and uncomfortable, she went outside to sit on the porch swing. With the sun close to the horizon, the canyon switched to night mode. A cool breeze blew through the air and the daytime smell of the earth became the nighttime smell of settling dust.

  Connor joined her. “It’s a nice night.”

  “Hmm.” She sat with crisscrossed legs using the porch railing to move the swing.

  Connor’s outstretched legs changed the rhythm. Soon Tatum let go of the railing and Connor pushed them. “Can I ask you something?”

  Tatum nodded watching another of Steve’s crew move more props into the house.

  “How did you get the black eye.”

  Tatum exhaled. “That’s the one question I’m not comfortable answering, but I said you could ask me a question.”

  “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t wanna.”

  She put her legs down and sat on her hands. She turned her head to look at him. “I let my guard down and lost control of a situation.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, I bet you don’t know what to say to that answer.”

  “I’m curious, but it’s not my story to tell.”

  Conflicted again, Tatum’s brain told her to shut up. Her heart told her to open up to this man. There was something about him that made her want to give up everything to be with him.

  “It’s not a story I’m proud of. I went out with some friends from work and I guess you could say I had one too many. It was incredible to be reckless for a change. I met a guy who talked me into going outside with him. I thought it would be a simple hook-up, but when his friend joined us I stopped the whole thing. The guy didn’t like it and well...” She pointed to her eye.

  “A guy from a bar did this?” His falcon screamed with rage. Connor needed to find this man and kill him.

  Tatum bit her bottom lip. “If I hadn’t been drunk, I’d never have gone with him.”

  “Did you report him?”

  “No, I didn’t have to. An off-duty police officer took care of the whole thing.”

  The cabin door burst open when Connor reached for it and it knocked him off balance. He stumbled toward the swing as Tatum held out her arms to catch him. A pissed off photographer bumped Connor who landed in Tatum’s lap. For a second, they stared into each other’s eyes. For Tatum, that second spoke volumes to her damaged heart.

  Connor bolted upright. “Sorry ’bout that.”

  “I am not working with her anymore,” Steve huffed at Connor.

  “Steve, what’s the problem?”

  “Working with that model you booked is driving me crazy. This was a simple shoot as a favor. She has turned it into an all-day affair because nothing is as she wants it. I don’t even think she’s right for these pictures. I’m looking at what I’ve taken so far, and I don’t have the impression you wanted. They’re not girl-next-door, but rather bored-diva-whose-car-broke-down-in-the-middle-of-nowhere.”

  Connor turned to Tatum. “I guess I better take care of this.”

  “Didn’t you tell me he found that couple?”

  He shrugged and joined Steve at the car. Tatum watched as the two argued back and forth. She was a little taken aback when the photographer pointed his camera at her and snapped a picture.

  “What the hell are you doing? I never agreed to be in your shoot.” She stood with clenched fists.

  Connor came back up the stairs with the camera and showed her the picture. “Steve thinks you were actually more representative of the image we are trying to achieve for this campaign.”

  Looking at her picture in the camera, she had a hard time understanding why anyone would want her for a photo shoot. What she saw was a tired woman in old ratty clothes who was overdue for a trip to the beauty parlor to touch up her roots.

  Steve came up to the porch. “Would you humor me for a minute?” Tatum nodded. “Stand up and take your hair down for me.”

  It was an awkward request, but since she had nothing else to do, and didn’t think they would leave until they finished, she did as he asked. Steve turned her to face him and ran his fingers through her hair to fluff it up. He untied the flannel from around her waist and held it for her to put on.

  “There. I think if I turn the car around, we can use the headlights as spotlights. Give me a few minutes to get this set up.” He went back inside and barked orders at a few of his assistants.

  The troublemaker model burst through the door and stomped to the cars. The male model walked out and stood next to Tatum.

  “I guess I’m working with you now.”

  “I guess. Although I’ve never done this before.”

  Steve came over and said, “Okay I need the two of you to sit on the swing and we’ll move the cars around until I’m happy with the lights.”

  Tatum shot Connor a dirty look, and he shrugged. She pointed a finger when she said, “You owe me for this.”

  Connor bowed in gentlemanly agreement.

  Steve spent the next ten minutes arranging the cars, testing the lights, and taking sample photos. Finally satisfied, he told Tatum and the other model to sit on the swing and pretend they were in love.

  Tatum looked at Steve like he had a third eye. “I don’t even know his name and you want me to pretend I’m in love with him? I’m out of here.”

  The model reached out to stop her. “I’m sorry I didn’t even think about that. My name is Anthony.” He held out his hand.

  Tatum shook his hand and said, “I’m Tatum.”

  “There do you think you can do this now or does he need to buy you a drink first?”

  “Steve, you don’t have to be an ass,” Connor said.

  Steve mumbled to himself as he prepared his camera.

  Tatum did her best to see Anthony as someone she loved but had a hard time getting over his bad breath. No wonder the other model didn’t want to work with him. When he looked at her with lovesick eyes, she laughed. It was too hard to pretend that this was real. He looked younger than anyone she found attractive. Steve threw a fit and told Connor to forget about the whole thing.

  “Give me a minute, Steve.” Connor put his hand on Anthony’s shoulder. “Hey, buddy do you mind if I sit in for a minute? I think I can settle this.”

  A small zing jolted her stomach when Connor sat next to her. “I don’t think he wants you in the picture.”

  “Look I have experience with posing for fake photos. Let me see if I can help you.” He put his hand on h
er knee, an arm around the back of the swing, and brought his face close to hers. “The secret to pretending is to imagine yourself in the ideal situation.” He licked his lips and leaned in closer.

  Tatum watched his mouth move as he talked, but had a hard time focusing on what he said. She imagined tasting him and running her fingers through his hair. He smelt of sandalwood and leather. The closer he leaned in the harder it became to breathe. Just before his mouth met hers he stopped.

  “… and before you realize it, you’ve become what the camera needed.”

  Tatum shook her head and pulled away. “Excuse me, I’m sorry I missed what you said.”

  “Let me show you again.” Connor put his hand on the back of her head and moved his other hand higher on her knee. This time when he leaned in he didn’t stop.

  The strength of his kiss came as a huge surprise to Tatum. As he pulled away, she wanted more and put her hand on his hand bringing him closer to her. His tongue parted her lips and danced inside her mouth.

  “And that’s what I’m talking about,” Steve said. “That was a good picture for your brochure.”

  Connor sat back and said, “I’m glad you got that.”

  Tatum shook her head a little frazzled. “Is that what you needed?”

  “We have plenty of pictures to use,” Steve said. “Let’s get everybody together and I think that’s a wrap.”

  Connor joined Steve, and Tatum sat on the porch watching the crew pack up to leave. She tried hard to convince herself that kiss was just business but couldn’t help wanting more. There was a quiet strength about Connor that she had never seen.

  After everyone left Connor sat down next to her. “Thank you for helping. I suppose we’ll have some kind of release form for you to sign in the next couple of days.”

  “That sounds good. I’m glad I could help.” She checked her watch. “Shit. The dining room is closed, and I haven’t had dinner.”

  “Well, there’s a place that’s still open, if you’d like to come with me.”

  “Is it in town?”

  “No, it’s closer than that. I have an apartment on the other end of the compound. The least I can do for your help is make you dinner.”

  Her growling stomach canceled any of her concerns about being alone with him. “That sounds good. Let me lock up.”

  Having dinner with Connor was much better than falling asleep on the couch again.

  Connor couldn’t believe she agreed to have dinner with him. What was he going to fix? He wasn’t home enough to keep a lot of food. He ate at the on-site, gourmet kitchen. Connor’s cooking was far from gourmet.

  “Sit in the living room and give me a few minutes to pick up my stuff.” Connor pointed to the front room. “Make yourself at home.”

  Tatum looked around at the artwork hanging on the wall. “You have some terrific pieces.” One, in particular, caught her eye, and she gasped when she read the name. “Shit, you have an actual Veronica Hall?” Her paintings portrayed the New York City skyline with a steampunk twist.

  Connor peaked around the corner. “Yeah. Do you like it? My brothers give me a hard time about it. They think it’s weird.”

  “It is weird if you don’t like that style.”

  Connor hustled around the kitchen picking up the empty food containers and empty bottles. His falcon paced inside itching to spread its wings. Tatum’s pull grew stronger each time he saw her. He didn’t know what she knew about the shifter world, and he would never think of scaring her off, but he knew she was his mate.

  Looking for food in the refrigerator proved pointless. He found a jar of marinara sauce, half a dozen eggs, and a bag of pre-cut lettuce. His cupboards didn’t provide many other choices.

  He went around the corner and found Tatum staring at the framed photo on the mantle. His connection to this picture moved him every time he saw it.

  “Was she an old girlfriend?”

  Connor studied the picture then glanced to Tatum. He wanted to be honest with her, but the story behind this photo was too raw.

  “She was a friend. She’s dead.”

  Tatum reached for his hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories. It’s just a striking photograph, and it’s right above your fireplace. She must have been more than a friend.”

  “She was my best friend. It never went beyond that though. We tried it once, and we didn’t click on that level. It’s hard to explain.”

  “I think I get it. Something connects us to people in different ways. Not all those connections are romantic and sometimes the nonromantic ones are the strongest. Let’s talk about dinner instead. I’m starving.”

  He ran his hand through his hair. “Well, about that. I don’t know if I have much to eat. We may have to raid the kitchen again.”

  “I don’t think Caleb would be too happy about that.”

  “He’s not happy about much these days. You’d think for someone who is such a Zen freak like him, he’d be more relaxed.”

  “Wednesday seems like a nice girl.”

  “She’s great. Way classier than him. What does she see in him?”

  “They aren’t married? Hank and Sybil aren’t married either. Is that a thing around here?”

  “Huh. I guess I didn’t notice. Is getting married a big deal to you?”

  “I haven’t thought about a relationship in a long time. I don’t have time for anything like that. But yeah, I think marriage is important, as long as it is with someone you love.”

  “Why do you need to go through the ceremony to prove you love someone?”

  “It’s more than a ceremony. It’s a proclamation. You’re telling the world you are with this person forever.”

  “But who stays together forever anymore? It seems like more people divorce than stay married.”

  “Not every marriage ends in divorce. I like to think my parents would still be together if they were alive.”

  “Well, my parents are still together, so maybe you’re right. They’ve been married for over twenty-five years.”

  “If your brothers are like you, it’s a wonder you didn’t drive them bonkers, and one of them left.”

  Connor threw a couch pillow at her. “You don’t even know my brothers.”

  “I’ve seen enough, and I can only imagine.” She threw the pillow back. “Now I don’t want to piss off Caleb again, so let’s see what you have in that kitchen.”

  “Do you cook?”

  “Well, I can hold my own.”

  Watching her gather ingredients from his refrigerator and cupboards fascinated him. She found a hunk of cheese he missed and pasta he didn’t see.

  “Do you like pasta carbonara?”

  “Do I have what you need for that?”

  “I found a half a pack of bacon and you have Parmigiano. Combine this with the eggs, and we’ll have a good pasta dish.”

  A hot woman who can cook? This can’t get any better.

  He watched her cook the bacon and boil the pasta. She whisked in the eggs to make the sauce.

  “Oh, I can help with this.” He took out the jar of marinara.

  “You don’t always have to use tomato sauce with pasta. Put that back and taste how creamy this is.” She scooped out a dollop of sauce, blew on it, and offered it to him.

  He closed his eyes. “I haven’t tasted anything that good. That’s amazing.”

  “After my mom died, I did most of the cooking. I watched a lot of cooking shows and tried to cook like they did.”

  “You did the cooking?”

  “And most of the cleaning. My father worked so much he didn’t have time. My brother helped a little but always seemed to leave me with the housework. Since he was a foot taller than me, and much heavier, it was easier to do what he wanted rather than fight with him.”

  “I get that. I’m the baby too. It sucks most of the time.”

  She wiped her hands off on a kitchen towel. “Do you have plates?”

  “Yeah, of course.” He found two plates an
d placed them on the counter. She ladled the pasta on the plates and spooned on the sauce.

  He carried the plates over to the table. “What would you like to drink?”

  “Water’s fine for me, but please drink whatever you want.”

  “Water’s all I have.”

  They sat across from each other at the table. “Sorry, I have no candles,” Connor said.

  “That’s fine. I mean, is this a date or something?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it. Would you like it to be a date?”

  “It’s been too long. I don’t remember what real dates are like.”

  “I’ve been on too many. The best way to enjoy a date is to relax and be yourself.”

  “Who do you date out here? Do you have a girlfriend?”

  Did she just frown?

  “No, but when I was modeling, I went out a lot. They staged most of it. My manager found the girl she thought I needed to be seen with and set it up with that girl’s manager.”

  “That doesn’t sound like much fun.”

  “It wasn’t. I can’t remember one of those girls relaxing and just going with the flow. They wouldn’t eat, so that was dull. Most of the time I’d eat alone and listen to them complain about how they could never enjoy their food way I did. At least one reporter would wait around the corner to take our picture, and if we were lucky, we’d be a hashtag before the end of the night.”

  “Is that why you came here to work with your brothers?”

  “That’s part of it.” He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I came back because of Leah.”

  “Leah?”

  “She’s the girl in the picture. The one you were asking about. She was my only friend.”

  “What happened?”

  “She killed herself.”

  “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. That had to be rough.”

  He harrumphed. “The worst part is I think I could have stopped her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He interlaced his fingers and cracked his knuckles. “She sent me five texts the week before she did it. She wanted to talk and catch up. I didn’t make the time. The night she called I was at a shoot and by the time I made it to her place, she was already dead.”