by Lola Kidd
The Tiger’s Summer Bride
Holiday Mail Order Mates
Lola Kidd
Copyright 2016 by Lola Kidd
Cover Design: Melody Simmons
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. No part of this work may be copied or reproduced without the express consent of the author.
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About This Book
Curvy girl Blair is looking for love in all the wrong places. She’s been on hundreds of dates but still can’t seem to find the One. Lately, the dating scene has been getting worse. She can’t seem to find one nice guy to date. Desperate, she signs up with LK Brides hoping to be matched eventually.
Tiger shifter Nate has been signed up with LK Brides for over a year with no luck. Just when he’s run out of all hope, he gets a match. He’s surprised to find that it’s his co-worker Blair. He’s had a crush on her for years but was too shy to ask her out.
The curvy office manager swiftly kills any hope for romance the tiger shifter had. He’s a friend and nothing more. Will the timid tiger be able to change Blair’s mind and win her over? Find out in the latest addition to the Holiday Mail-Order Mates series.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
A Note from Lola
Other Series by Lola Kidd
Chapter 1
The doors opened, and three women and two children entered James’s Furniture. Blair Carson recognized them immediately. One woman was the wife of her co-worker, and the other two were her friends.
Blair worked as the office manager at Maple Creek’s only furniture store. One would think that a furniture store in a very small town wouldn’t get much business, but Wagner’s was thriving. Although things were incredibly slow most of the year, when they had blowout sales they broke the bank. Just four sales a year was all it took to make enough revenue to keep the store open and pay the three employees a very good wage.
Blair had started the job when she was a senior at Maple Creek High. Her mother was friends with the woman who had held the position before her. When the woman was ready to retire, she had suggested Blair for the job. At the time Blair hadn’t known how lucky she was, but now she was incredibly grateful.
She loved her job, and she had the best boss in the world. Mr. James was one of the nicest men she had ever known. He paid each of his three employees more than a fair wage and treated them kindly. They really were more of a little family than just co-workers.
When they weren’t busy, she was mostly paid to answer emails and manage the store’s social media accounts. Truth be told, the social media accounts were a way for Blair to stay busy more than a useful marketing tool. In between sales, it could get very boring in the store if her co-workers Aaron and Nate were busy.
But Blair made up for it when they were busy. She put in long hours to make sure that every order was done correctly and everything got to where it needed to be on time. She called customers when there were delays and assisted Aaron and Nate when they needed it. She was also in charge of all the marketing campaigns for their big sales events, kept all the tax records for the store, and did payroll. Her job was varied and she loved every minute of it. The ability to manage herself and be independent made up for all the slow days.
Right now, she needed to find Nate Morton, the salesman, and make sure these new customers were waited on promptly.
“Ladies, what can I help you with today?” Blair greeted them with a bright smile. She didn’t know the women well, but they had all been kind to her.
“This little lady needs a twin bed,” Macy said, patting her little girl on the head. “I can’t believe she’s big enough to sleep in a twin bed now. It seems like just last year I was buying a crib for her.”
Macy had married bull shifter bar owner Jack Keller last year. They hadn’t had a child of their own yet, but Jack seemed more than content with Macy’s little girl Jill. The little girl had the same dark hair and blue eyes as her mother, except her hair was in two long braids. Macy had a short, stylish cut that accentuated her lovely face. Blair secretly coveted Macy’s haircut, but she would never be brave enough to cut her lustrous blonde locks so short.
“And I’d like to look at cribs,” Kira said, putting her hand under her baby bump. Her brown skin practically shone. Blair had always heard pregnant women had a special glow, but had never seen it until Kira got pregnant. She had married mountain lion shifter Cade almost two years earlier. She and Cade had been the first couple in Maple Creek to get engaged using the shifter mail-order bride agency, Lovely and Kind Brides.
The third woman in the trio, Emma, had actually beat Cade and Kira to the altar. She was married to Blair’s co-worker Aaron, and they were madly in love. Blair saw Emma often and had even had lunch with her a few times.
“Sure,” Blair said enthusiastically. She looked around the store, but still didn’t see Nate.
“I’ll go get our salesman, and he’ll be get right over to help.” She pointed to the far side of the store. “The children’s furniture is that way, if you’d like to start looking for yourselves.”
Chapter 2
Before the ladies could walk away, Nate appeared at Blair’s side, startling her. He moved so stealthily. The lion shifter was always sneaking up on her unintentionally. He seemed to forget that Blair was the only one in the store who didn’t have super shifter hearing.
“What can I help you ladies with today?”
“I’m getting a big girl bed,” Jill said proudly.
He bent down and smiled at Jill. “I’m surprised you waited so long. I swear you’ve grown a foot since the last time I saw you. Any special kind of bed you had in mind today, Miss Jill?”
She giggled. “I want a princess bed. But Mommy says I should get a regular bed and we can put a canopy on it. What’s a canopy?”
“A canopy is what princesses sleep under. I think I have one I can show you. I think you’re really going to like it.”
“That would be great,” Macy said.
“I want to see the cribs,” Kira said. “I was going to order one online, but I’d rather be able to see what it’s like in person first.”
Nate stood up and nodded. “Much better choice. If there’s a recall on the crib you buy here, we’ll come and ship it back for you.”
Kira’s face lit up. “That’s awesome. Do I need to buy a special warranty or something for that?”
Nate shook his head. “Nope. That’s included in our normal warranty. If you’ll all follow me this way, I can show you to the kids’ stuff.”
Blair nodded approvingly. Nate was a great salesman, but he was very serious and kept to himself at work. He wasn’t a bad looking guy—he was tall and muscular, like most shi
fters. He had brown hair, a shy smile, and deep blue eyes. Blair had always wondered why he didn’t have a girlfriend. He didn’t seem to date much, if at all.
She and Aaron were always trying to get him to come out of his shell. They were always good-naturedly teasing him, trying to start conversations, and trying to get him to come out with them. He almost always refused. She could count the times on one hand that he’d come out with them and had fun. Most of them had been parties that Mr. James, the store owner, had planned for the holidays.
Last she’d heard, he had moved out of his parents’ house and was now living with Aaron’s old roommate, Wyatt. They were a bit of an odd couple. While Nate was serious and quiet, Wyatt was quiet and strange. It was kind of a good thing, actually. Wyatt had no censor. He just said whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. It might be good for some of that candor to rub off on uptight Nate.
If neither of them could find a mate, a very likely scenario, at least they would be fine together. Blair hated thinking about two shifters not finding their mates, but at least they’d always have each other.
The strange thing was that Nate was signed up with Lovely and Kind Brides. Actually, Aaron had signed him up. But Nate still didn’t have a match, while Aaron was married and had already moved into a house with his wife.
Blair wasn’t one to talk about someone else’s lack of a love life. She pulled out her phone and sighed, looking at her calendar. There was nothing on the horizon. She was going through a major dry spell. It had been weeks since she gone out on a first date. And before that, all the dates she had been on had been downright terrible. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone out and had actually considered a second date.
She could swear she was cursed. She felt like she’d already dated every eligible man in the area. She had even tried out some of the online dating sites. She’d met men from all walks of life. As different as they were, they all had one thing in common: they weren’t the one for her. Some were nice and kind, and some were awful, but they were all wrong for her. And if that wasn’t cursed, then the universe was telling her she was supposed to be alone. And that was a thought too painful to bear.
Maybe she should try to get into a setup like Wyatt and Nate—find another single gal to grow old with. She liked living alone, but she didn’t want to be alone forever. She didn’t know if finding a roommate was the answer, but she had to do something different.
Looking at Nate, she realized she had never gone on a date with him. That was the moment she realized she was in real trouble. Even Nate was looking good!
She was going to ask her friends if they knew anyone they could set her up with. She would take anyone. As long as he was a living, breathing man, she was game. She had to get something moving or she was going to go mad.
Chapter 3
“If I can get your address, I can get the delivery set up quickly.”
Nate had the delivery order ready to go. He knew that Aaron was very busy this week. They’d had to call in help from bear shifter Leo, and it was still taking nine days to get packages out the door. The Easter flash sale the month before had been a big hit, and the guys were going to be slammed with deliveries for the next two weeks.
He was going to tell Macy two weeks, but he was sure Aaron or Leo would deliver the bed the same day. Nate didn’t want to promise, but he was sure the little girl would be in her new bed before Memorial Day.
“Did you hear that, Jill? You’ll get your new bed soon,” Macy told her small daughter.
Little Jill was so excited that Nate couldn’t help but smile. The girl was so full of energy and life. He wished he could have one of his own. Waiting on the three women had reminded him how long it might be before he found someone.
All three of the women were LK brides, and they were all gorgeous. Kira, who had come in for the crib, was heavily pregnant. She was a curvy African-American woman with long black hair. Emma had fiery red hair and a great figure, and Macy had short black hair and a gorgeous smile.
Nate would have been glad to have a wife as beautiful as any of them. He had been signed up with LK Brides for over a year, but he still had no matches. He had signed up to find a woman just like the three of them, a nice, pretty woman to start a family with. As desperate as he was to find his mate, his inbox was still empty. LK Brides hadn’t been able to find him anyone.
Macy gave him Jack’s address, and they all thanked him before leaving the store. Then Nate went to the back and started the order report.
He checked Aaron’s calendar and left a Post-it note on the day he thought would be good for delivery. He put a sold sign on the bed Jill had chosen and then went to order new beds for stock.
He was so grateful to have a job at the store. Mr. James had really taken a chance on him. He knew he wasn’t the most talkative guy and didn’t make friends easily. He could count the number of friends he had on one hand. Less than one hand, actually. He didn’t have any friends, unless you counted Wyatt.
He wasn’t exactly the best choice for the only salesman in the shop, but he loved his job, and he was good at it. He’d applied for a job in back doing shipping, but Mr. James had insisted that Nate take over for his retiring salesman. Nate had been nervous, but it had turned out that he was a natural. He’s always thought extroverts made the best salesmen, but he was happy to be proven wrong.
He also had two great co-workers, too. Aaron had been the one to hook Nate up with the room after the lion shifter had moved out to live with his wife. Blair was a sweetheart and always made Nate’s day brighter when he got to see her.
He was glad that he’d gotten Aaron’s room, but it seemed like everyone who signed up with LK got a bride automatically. He had been waiting for so long, but he still had zero matches. What had he done wrong? He was starting to think that maybe the people in town were right. Maybe some people were really too strange to have a wife. He might have been wasting his time when he filled out the LK forms.
He went up front to talk with Blair about what he had just done. “I just ordered new beds, but I think we need more. Did we get any new inventory recently?”
He talked to her often. She was average height, with blonde hair and big green eyes. She was easily one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. It was no surprise that she was always busy on dates. He was surprised she ever gave him the time of day.
He remembered her when they were both at Maple Creek High School. All the boys had wanted to date her, and she’d had a close-knit circle of friends. She was a total girl’s girl. Nate really respected her, and she was a wonderful office manager for the store.
“I did. You think we’re ready to get a little more for the Memorial Day sale? I’d really love for it to be a blowout and clean house again.”
“Me too. I know people are coming from out of town. Thank gosh, ’cause I’m sure everyone in Maple Creek has our stuff already.”
“I know. You’d think the whole town would be set for furniture by now.”
“So, what are you doing today?”
“Nothing much. Just going to order more inventory and do a little more planning for the Memorial Day sale.”
“No, I mean tonight. What are you doing tonight after work?”
“Looking for a date.”
“You’re looking for a date?” Nate asked, incredulous.
“Don’t say it like that. You make it sound like it’s crazy that I can’t get anyone to date me. I can get a date. I’m just having a little trouble finding someone worth spending the time on.”
“Looking to date or just mate?”
Blair wrinkled her nose. “I want to have a date.”
Her tone of voice made him think he had said something wrong. “I mean, you date a lot, so I was just seeing if you want to go on dates or if you… you know… just want to do that?”
“What?” Blair’s eyes were wide. “I thought you meant find my mate. Not like…well, that.”
He was sure he had said something wrong. He wa
s going to have to take his foot out of his mouth. “I mean, you date a lot. It makes sense because you’re so pretty.”
“Thank you.”
He still hadn’t gotten himself out of the doghouse, but he was on the right track.
“I think maybe you should check out LK Brides. They’re an awesome service, and you might be able to find someone.”
“They find shifters mail-order brides?”
“Yeah, but it’s not like the old-style mail-order brides. It’s very modern.”
“I guess that’s true. I’ll think about it. Thanks for the tip.”
Nate had just gotten LK Brides more business, but he hoped she wouldn’t get matched before him too.
Chapter 4
Blair pulled into the driveway at her sister’s house for her favorite time of the day. It was wine time. Nelly lived with her husband and two kids in a very nice subdivision in Maple Creek. Whenever they had a bad day, Nelly or Blair would call each other up and say “wine time.” They almost always met at Nelly’s, and Blair always left feeling better.
Nelly looked very similar to Blair, but she was petite even after having two children. Blair used to always lament that Nelly had the perfect body for fashion, but Nelly was always giving Blair compliments on her hourglass figure.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Nelly said as she let Blair inside. “I’ve got the wine ready.”
Blair grabbed a glass of red and sat down. “Okay, go.”
“I’m having such a boring day. But I did so much around the house today. All Ned wants to do is play video games. He’s still up there playing right now. I told him you were coming over for some wine time, but he didn’t even move.”
“Tough,” Blair commiserated. “I couldn’t find anything to do with myself after work today. I’ve tried to find something to do this weekend, but I’m having no luck. All my girls are busy, and there aren’t any guys worth going out with.”