by Rayne Reilly
“I want to talk to Austin alone,” she said, looking at Marcy.
Austin put his arm around Marcy and pulled her close. Marcy was stone-faced, revealing no emotion. She stared down Sheila, not taking her eyes off her.
“Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of Marcy,” he said firmly.
Sheila looked up at Austin with her hands on her hips, “Fine. I guess it’s clear who you want to be with… I quit… I’ll have my desk cleared out on Monday.”
She put her nose in the air and waltzed off.
Austin sighed with relief and ran his hand through his hair.
“What was that about?” Marcy asked.
She turned to him and he looked down at her as they put their arms around one another.
“It seemed to be one last attempt to get me to go out with her.”
Marcy put her head on his chest and held him tightly. She pulled back and looked up at him.
“I’m glad she quit. She’s the only staff member I can’t stand,” Marcy said rolling her eyes.
“Me, too…Besides, you’re the only woman I want, ever.”
He leaned down to kiss her. They broke their embrace and held hands to go back inside.
“Austin?” Marcy stopped and looked at him. Her face looked a little puzzled.
“Yes?” he replied.
“Why did you want me outside while you spoke with her?” she asked.
“I didn’t want her to lie about what we were doing out here. I knew that if we confronted her together, she couldn’t cause any more trouble. I didn’t expect her to quit…not that I mind,” he laughed.
Marcy pulled his hand to her lips and kissed it.
“I’m sorry about letting her come between us before,” Marcy said sadly.
Austin gave a warm smile and squeezed her hand.
“I understand why you did. I’m glad you’re with me now,” he said seriously.
Marcy grinned. "Would you like to dance?"
He raised his eyebrows.
“I’d like that,” he said as they made their way inside.
When they reached the party room where the other staff members were dancing, they both stopped and turned to one another. A slow song was playing. He grinned and put out his hand. She placed her tiny hand in his as they pulled each other close. His arms went around her waist as she slipped her arms around his neck. She was a good foot shorter than he was, but he loved the way she fit so perfectly in his arms. He could feel her breathing change under his embrace. As they moved slowly, she put her head onto his chest. When the song ended, they walked hand in hand back to their table.
Bern smiled at them as they approached, “What happened with Sheila? She stormed in and grabbed her purse and left.”
Austin laughed, “She quit. I guess we need a new marketing person. We’ll discuss it later.”
Bern’s mouth formed a perfect circle. “Oh,” he shrugged.
Marcy put one finger in the air.
“I know someone who might be perfect for the job. I’ll make a call next week.”
Both men nodded. Marcy winked at Austin when Bern looked away. Austin wondered what she was planning.
Chapter Twenty-One
Marcy enjoyed herself at the Christmas party a lot more than she thought she would. It helped that she’d had several weeks to get used to being Austin's girlfriend. When she was around him, her anxiety never reared its head. His presence made her feel safe and loved. When he’d asked her to move in with him permanently, she was ecstatic. He’d hired helpers to pack up her apartment and brought everything to his huge home. Now their home.
He still hadn’t told her he loved her. She also hadn’t said it yet. She was sure he did, but a part of her was reluctant to be the first to say it.
Dancing at the party with Austin had been incredible. The entire night, it was like she was walking on air. That is, except for the part where she saw him and Sheila outside talking. When she’d returned from the ladies' room she noticed he was gone. She asked Bern where he went and he pointed toward the front of the restaurant. When she headed toward the front of the restaurant, she saw Austin pushing Sheila away from him.
For a moment, her stomach did flip-flops as the thought quickly entered her mind. What if he’s slept with her? The thought was quickly dismissed when she saw the look on Austin's face. He’d seen her and asked her to join him. No guy would do that if there was a chance he’d be caught in a lie. He had told her the truth. Inside she was leaping for joy.
When they got home from the party, Austin turned to her, ”Have a seat in the living room. I’ll be right in.”
He was grinning and Marcy got the sense that he was up to something. She narrowed her eyes and smiled at him.
“What are you up to?” she asked.
He smiled, “I’ll be right back.”
After putting on some soft music, he returned to stand in front of her.
“You’re very romantic this evening,” Marcy said, teasing as she settled into the soft cushions on the sofa and tucked her feet under herself.
Standing in front of her, Austin paused for a moment and gazed lovingly into her eyes.
With one hand in his jacket pocket, he bent down on one knee.
Astonished as she realized what was about to happen, Marcy’s hand flew to her lips in surprise at this unexpected turn of events.
“I’ve been waiting my entire life to find you, Marcy,”offered Austin, emotion evident in his voice as he withdrew a blue velvet box from his pocket.“You mean everything to me. I can’t remember my life before you, and I can’t imagine it without you now. I love you, Marcy…will you marry me?”
Opening the box, he presented her with the most stunning ring she had ever seen, a two-carat diamond with a deep blue sapphire on each side. Marcy’s eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open. I must be dreaming! she thought. Please don’t wake me up!
Leaning to hug him, she pulled his face toward hers and kissed him tenderly.
“I love you, too! Of course I’ll marry you!”
She squealed with joy as she hugged Austin again and moved her feet to the floor. Austin chuckled and moved to sit next to her on the sofa. He removed the ring from the box and placed it on her finger. She beamed as he pressed his lips to hers.
His kiss was long and sensual, a reminder of what was to come. Her insides quivered at his touch. She could feel the passion rising in them both. He was the perfect mate for her. She would never want for anything, as long as they were together.
“This night is perfect!” she said blissfully.
“It’s about to get even better,” he smiled as he picked her up and carried her upstairs to bed.
Epilogue
The week following the Christmas party, Marcy was true to her word. She called her friend Amara who lived a couple of hours away in New York City.
“I can’t believe you’re engaged and I haven’t even met Austin yet,” Amara gushed.
Marcy squealed, “I know. It’s crazy right? I miss you so much. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you… So much has happened.”
Marcy thought about the last few months. It felt like years had passed instead.
“So when is the wedding?”
“In May…I’m calling you for two reasons actually,” Marcy held her breath after she spoke.
There was a pause.
“Okay, don’t keep me in suspense. What?” Amara asked impatiently.
“I would like you to be my maid of honor,” Marcy said.
Amara gasped.
“Oh my god. For real? Oh, I’d be honored. Of course I will,” Amara said excitedly, “And? The other thing?”
Marcy paused, knowing this request might be met with more resistance, “The other thing is that the company I work at…that Austin owns…well they’re looking for a new marketing person…the last one quit unexpectedly. They've hired someone temporarily to assist the other people in that department, but they want someone to fill the head of the depa
rtment position, permanently.”
Amara was silent for a moment.
Marcy waited, giving her time to think about what she’d just said. Amara was a city girl now, but they both came from the same small town out west. She knew that Amara loved the convenience of living in the city. She also had a job that she apparently liked, since she never told her otherwise. Marcy thought there was a good chance that she would turn down the job.
“You know I work in public relations, right?” Amara remarked.
Marcy scoffed, “I know. But you studied marketing and I know you'd be perfect for the job. I just know it. The last person was in a low key position and they've been able to cover for her with temporary help. I convinced Austin to create a department head position for you to fill. The job could be yours if you want it.”
Amara was silent for a moment longer, “I’ll think about it. I can't be there until spring and I would want to talk about it first...so can my decision wait? Or am I asking too much?
Marcy squealed into the phone again, “Not at all, I can talk to the guys...I can't believe that you’re seriously going to consider it. Do you realize what this means? We could end up working together. Finally…oh it’ll be so much fun…I can’t wait.”
Amara interrupted her, “Hang on, I said I’ll think about it. We’ll talk more in person,” Amara laughed.
Marcy rolled her eyes. She knew Amara wouldn’t have said she was thinking about it if she wasn’t seriously considering it. She couldn’t wait to tell Austin and hoped he would hold the position open until May. Amara would like him, she just knew it.
“I can’t wait for you to get here…I’m so excited to see you. You’re going to love Austin. He’s amazing,” Marcy gushed. Amara was not only going to be her maid of honor, she was going to spend the week before the wedding helping Marcy prepare.
“I’m so happy for you Marcy. You deserve a great guy and he sounds like one. Especially after the nightmare that was Mick the dick,” Amara said.
Both women laughed.
Five months later as summer quickly approached, wedding plans were in full swing. Marcy was excited to be having the wedding of her dreams, with the man of her dreams. Life in Pleasantville had returned to normal for the most part. The good news in town was that the there weren’t any more women being attacked and the small group of shifter haters seemed to be gone or disbanded with Mick out of the way.
Marcy had also been relieved to hear that Mick had been sent to prison for attempted murder. She was shocked to hear that he’d been stabbed not long after arriving in prison. Apparently he’d picked a fight with the wrong person. Part of her felt sorry for him but she was glad he was locked up and unable to hurt anyone else again. Marcy had since found out that Mick had been the organizer of attacks on women who dated shifters. Though she didn't know Mick very well, she had seen his violent side and knew that he was a danger to women, even if they weren't dating shifters.
Marcy’s job was going well and the business was doing great. Her relationship with Austin was better than ever. Thankfully Sheila's role in the marketing department was not a critical one. The marketing department was managing well enough with temporary help to get by for several more months. Marcy was glad that she'd spoken to Austin about her idea to fill the vacancy. It didn't take much to convince them to create a new managerial position for Amara to fill if she accepted a job with them. He and Bern agreed to create the position and hold it open until the week after the wedding. That would give her time to talk more with Amara about it. And for Bern or Austin to interview her to see if they agreed with the fit.
The only thing that now worried Marcy was the fact that the she hadn’t told Amara about Austin or Bern being shifter's. Amara’s previous experience with a shifter had scarred her in more ways than one. Marcy hoped her friend would be accepting of Austin and Bern, because she intended to play matchmaker when Amara arrived. She had just the man for her to meet.
But for now, the beautiful young bride-to-be was thoroughly ensconced in planning her wedding. It promised to be magical; she had met her Prince Charming and all she needed now was her Happily Ever After. And if she had anything to do with it, Bern and Amara might just find theirs, too...
Werebear’s Mate
Shifter Series Volume 2
By:
Rayne Reilly
Chapter One
Springtime had finally come to the city. People were a little more cheerful as the days grew sunnier. Amara loved the warmer weather and looked forward to a little getaway outside of the city. In another week, she'd get to visit her close friend Marcy who lived in Pleasantville. It was a two-and-a-half-hour drive by car to a small town of a little over seven thousand people.
Though she'd made the city her refuge for the last six years, at the age of twenty-nine she was feeling less like it was home to her any more. Her family lived on the west coast and she never visited them, though she phoned her mother every other week to update her on her life. There wasn't a whole lot to tell. She hadn't really ever had a steady boyfriend, choosing to have one night stands when she felt the 'urge for affection', as she liked to call it. Her mother wasn't privy to such information of course. Amara told herself that she was a curvaceous and sexy woman, but knew that her larger than average body size was an issue for some men. That was until it came to having sex; they didn’t complain then. She felt that by choosing not to get involved in long term relationships, that it somehow protected her from rejection.
Amara's updates to her mother were usually about her job and that was about it. She was sure her mother thought she was either gay or not interested in dating, because she never asked her about her romantic life. Up till now Amara's life had ticked along comfortably. She only had herself to think about and she liked it that way. Her job had always been the thing into which she put most of her energy but lately, things had taken a strange turn.
Over the last month or two, Amara's boss had become more moody and temperamental. He seemed to have the sniffles constantly and there were moments were he went from seeming to be depressed, to aggressive. While she'd never had a great like of him, she was beginning to loathe going in to work lately.
It wasn't as if she didn't speak up for herself either. She was very good at giving people a piece of her mind when she felt compelled to do it. She just didn't appreciate being insulted and put down by a man that she thought of as a rich spoiled brat.
Wilbur and Company was a public relations firm that her boss's father had started twenty years earlier. His son was not even close to being the hardworking, intelligent man that his father was. Sitting at her desk, she was startled from her thoughts when her boss, Mark, entered her office without so much as a knock. He had a piece of paper in his hand, and his face was red with rage.
"What do you mean Samford is leaving us? I told you to do whatever it took to keep him on board. What is wrong with you? Are you an idiot?" He screamed at her.
Amara quickly realized he had just read the message that she'd left on his desk earlier. She had been in charge of taking care of a client who had decided to take his business elsewhere. This was not the first client to leave recently. Many were jumping ship and it left her wondering why this was happening.
She had done what she could to try to keep him with the company, but he had already made up his mind. Now she was sitting at her desk, rolling her eyes at the manner in which Mark was speaking to her. This was not the first time over the past couple of months, but she was getting tired of him over-reacting. What she wanted to say was, What's your problem? But instead, she smiled and spoke quietly.
"He appeared to have already made up his mind about leaving us before I spoke with him. What would you have me do?"
Pursing her lips, she glared at the raging fool in her doorway. With a glazed look, his bloodshot eyes stared back, making her wonder if they were due to a lack of sleep or perhaps some kind of drug addiction. She wasn't sure what was happening to him.
"I don't care what
you have to do," he barked, pointing a trembling finger at her. “We can't afford to lose another client. If you still want a job, you'll get him back."
Shaking her head, she went back to work, paying him no attention. She knew there was nothing she could say that would calm him when he was in this state. Mark turned and walked away, slamming her door for effect, causing the pictures on her wall to rattle slightly.
Shrugging, she pushed on with her work, doing her best to ignore his latest tirade. Inside, it shook her up but she always did a great job at showing a strong exterior to people. She never liked to give people the satisfaction of letting them see that they had hurt her. Being called an idiot was not the worst insult she had ever received. I need to find a new job, she murmured to herself.
Her cell phone rang. She looked at the call display and saw that it was Marcy. She took a deep breath and let it out. Then planted a smile on her face so that her friend would not pick up on her mood. It was important to Amara that she not put any of her problems on her friends or family. She had managed to get through her life without burdening others with her problems and she would continue to do so, for as long as possible. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to dump her own miseries on her friend, especially now that Marcy's life was finally falling into place.
"Hi. How are you?" Her cheery voice sounded fake even to herself.
"Hey...I'm great. Just eight days till I get to see you...I can't wait," Marcy responded.
"Me too. Can't wait to get away for a while...how are the wedding plans coming along? Are you all set?"
Amara closed her eyes. She loved Marcy but at this moment she also envied her. She and Marcy had known each other since childhood and even went to university together. Amara was always the outgoing one who stuck up for her quieter friend.