“Not my problem.” Propelling herself forward, Tiana made her way to the most romantic table in the restaurant. Tucked away in an alcove, it provided privacy for any couple wanting to spend the evening staring into each other’s eyes, without being watched by those around them.
It was also the number one proposal spot in the restaurant. And she would put money on that happening tonight. This guy looked nervous enough, and the way he kept touching the small bulge in his pocket was a sure giveaway. Unless he was some kind of pervert who liked touching himself in public.
Nope, this was a proposal just waiting to happen during the dessert course. It was always during dessert, as if the profiteroles sweetened the deal.
The death of her marriage and the subsequent fallout had robbed her of every romantic bone in her body. One day she hoped a man might sweep her off her feet and make her fall in love with falling in love all over again.
That thought also scared her to death. What if she made the same mistake again?
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” Tiana smiled politely and watched the young couple exchange glances. So much in love, so in tune with each other. If Tiana was a romantic she’d say these two would stay together for the rest of their lives. But, she wasn’t a romantic, she reminded herself. Life had taught her romance was for the movies, for the people who played make-believe, not for those who lived in reality.
“No, thank you, we have everything we need.” The young man spoke and took his dinner date’s hand, gazing at her adoringly.
Yep, impending proposal heading their way.
“I’ll leave you to your meal.” She backed away and glanced around the room, checking to see if any of her tables needed her. No. But table ten’s meals were probably ready, so she headed back to the kitchen.
“Why don’t you go?” Sorcha asked as Tiana approached.
“Go where?” Tiana asked, reaching for the plates of food for her table. She inhaled the wonderful aroma and wondered if sex with Bobby would be as good as his food.
She inhaled the delicious scent of garlic and chicken and her stomach rumbled. She’d had an early dinner before her shift started, but as the evening wore on, she was starting to tire. Her feet ached, even in her sensible shoes, and she couldn’t help fixating on her comfortable sofa just waiting to be collapsed into.
“To the hotel and meet my blind date,” Sorcha spoke as if it was the most obvious decision.
“Because blind dates aren’t my thing,” Tiana said bluntly.
“No dates are your thing,” Haley came up behind them and placed a pile of dirty plates on the counter.
“Thanks for being so supportive,” Tiana said, backing out of the kitchen.
“I am being supportive.” The sympathy in Haley’s eyes made her heart break.
“I can’t. I’m working until ten,” Tiana said, expecting that to end of the conversation. She turned around and walked away, to deliver more meals to the seated diners. Diners who lived normal lives, something she hadn’t lived for nearly twenty years.
Tiana skirted around the tables, collecting empty plates and taking orders while avoiding Haley and Sorcha. However, the two waitresses kept catching her eye in a way that made it obvious they had hatched a plan. A plan that no doubt meant trouble.
“We’ve fixed it so you can go,” Sorcha said excitedly as they met at the salad bar.
“Go where?” Tiana asked innocently. She knew only too well what Sorcha meant.
“To meet my blind date,” Sorcha said. “Come on,” she added when she saw Tiana’s expression. “He sounded like quite the catch.”
“If you wanted to catch a man.” Tiana sighed. “I like my life. It’s uncomplicated.
“Uncomplicated? I’m sorry, did you wake up one morning and take on another woman’s life?” Sorcha hissed, keeping her voice low.
Tiana’s jaw tightened, and she looked down at the wilting lettuce leaves, no longer crisp and pert, but limp and past their best. Whoever would have thought she’d one day compare herself to a lettuce leaf?
“Listen, Tiana. If nothing else, go and have a free dinner and talk to someone new. Flirt a little, even if that’s as far as it goes. Do you remember how it feels to have fun on a date?” Sorcha cocked her head to one side in that way she had of seeing inside Tiana and telling it like it was. No matter how hard the words were to hear.
“I don’t have anything to wear.” She looked up at the clock. “And I don’t have time to go home and change.”
“Oh, you are not going home to change. If you do, you’ll never go.” Sorcha looked at Tiana critically. “You’ll look fine. Just pull your shirt out and let it hang loose, it hugs your boobs just right, and let your hair down and shake it up.” She put her hands up to her head, pretending to ruffle her hair as if Tiana needed a lesson in shaking it up.
“Ladies,” Mr. Monroe, the restaurant owner, appeared from his office. “I said Tiana can go early, but only if you keep our wonderful diners happy. Which means feeding them.” He ushered them back to work.
“So you’ll go?” Sorcha asked.
No. Tiana should have shut this conversation down. She should have made it clear, with no room for ambiguity, that she wasn't interested. Instead, she heard herself say, “Yes.”
And just like that, her fate was sealed.
The next half hour ticked by as if someone had given the hands of the clock some steroids. Somehow, she managed to keep her cool and work her tables, earning some good tips, which all went in a jar to be divided up equally at Christmas.
Unless someone was in desperate need—like the time Sorcha needed a plane ticket to go see her sick mom. Or the time Tiana’s fridge broke in the middle of summer. Or the time Haley’s husband punched her in the face and she needed to stay somewhere safe for a few days with her two kids.
“Okay, time to go.” Haley slid up beside Tiana as she finished clearing the plates from her tables and stacked them in the washer.
Tiana shook her head, her forehead creased as she tried to get herself out of this absurd situation. “This is a terrible idea.”
“No, it’s not. It’s a great idea.” Haley took the plates from Tiana and set them down on the counter before pointing at the door. “Go.”
“Haley, I don’t know the first thing about dating,” Tiana protested. “You know how long it’s been since I went on a date with anyone.”
“That’s the point.” Haley placed her hands on her hips and sighed. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this.”
“Oh god, not the mom speech?” Tiana groaned.
Haley arched her eyebrows. “Do you want me to go there? Do you want me to tell you all the reasons why this is a good idea? How you are too stuck in your ways and how Sorch and I want you to find a good man, a decent man. It’s time.”
“Wait.” The breath left her body. “This never was a date for Sorcha, was it?”
Haley pressed her lips together. “He’s a friend from my college days. A self-made man. He’s kind and sweet and needs a little company. You two have a lot in common, believe me.”
“I can’t go.” Tiana shook her head and put her hands to her face, the heat from her cheeks warming her palms. “He’ll think I’m desperate. Or ugly. Or a lonely old cat lady.”
“You do have three cats,” Haley reminded her. Then her face became serious and she reached for Tiana’s hands and held them tight, so tight she might cut off the blood circulation. “Do this. For me, if for no one else.” Her eyes brightened as tears threatened. “Do this for all the times you’ve held other people and didn’t let them fall. For getting me and the kids through hell. For raising that kid of yours alone. And for helping that no-good father of his back on his feet even though he broke your heart into a million pieces.”
Tiana sobbed and looked away. “That doesn’t make me anything other than a decent human being.”
“And that is why you need this.” Haley pushed her out of the kitchen into the area where the staff locke
rs were lined up along one wall, and empty bottles stacked in crates along the other. “It’s your choice, T. Your shift is over. Go home to your normal life or take a chance and go meet this guy. His name is Mason Tennant.”
With that, the door shut in her face and she was left alone. With a choice.
Undecided, Tiana opened her locker to retrieve her coat and purse. As the door swung open, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Is this who she wanted to be for the rest of her life? Rhett’s mom. Quentin’s ex-wife.
“For you, Haley.” She pulled her shirt out of her skirt waistband and let it hang loose. “For you, Sorcha.” She dragged the scrunchy out of her hair, out of its smooth ponytail and let it fall loose before she plunged her fingers into her long auburn locks. When she looked back in the mirror her tousled hair hung around her shoulders, with soft tendrils framing her face.
“One more thing.” She went to Sorcha’s locker and opened it, there were no secrets between the three friends, and whatever the other had they shared, no questions asked. “I bet you never thought I’d share this.”
Tiana took out Sorcha’s favorite bright red lipstick and carefully applied it to her lips. Seconds later, she shut both lockers and went out to her car, ignoring her rapid heartbeat. She didn’t expect anything more from the evening than a good meal and a glass of wine.
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
Chapter Two – Mason
Love. The kind other people experience. The kind of love he read in many of the people seated in the dining room of the hotel. Love for a girlfriend or a spouse. Love for a child.
The only love he’d ever experienced was for his parents. The rest of it was a mystery to Mason Tennant. A mystery he was determined to solve.
Is that the reason we’ve lowered ourselves to a blind date with a friend of Haley’s? his bear asked.
Haley thought we’d get along with Tiana. She thought there was a chance we might click. Mason sipped his beer and looked at his watch then at the door of the dining room.
Haley obviously never told Tiana how much you value punctuality, his bear said with a huff and walked off to lie in the corner of his mind. Having already dismissed their date as a waste of time, his bear wanted no part of the rest of the evening.
His bear might well be right. Being a shifter meant the only woman he was truly interested in dating was his mate. No other woman would ever satisfy him. Which was why he sat here with silver hair at his temples and an unfulfilled life.
Which was crazy. He’d traveled to amazing places, built incredible houses and made enough money to never have to work another day in his life. But without a mate by his side and cubs at his feet, what was the point?
“Can I get you anything, sir?” The waiter, Austin, a young man with a serious expression hovered at his shoulder once more and fluttered the pages of the notebook in his hand. Mason was certain that working in the restaurant was new to Austin and he hadn’t learned to relax into his job yet. Mason’s missing guest and delay in ordering compounded his nervousness.
“Five more minutes and then I'll order. Whether my guest arrives or not,” Mason read the waiter’s mind. It wasn't difficult because the same thoughts were going through Mason’s head. He’d been stood up. His blind date was a no-show.
Mason pulled out his phone and placed it on the table in front of him. He’d already texted Haley and asked if Tiana was coming. He hadn’t gotten a reply. But Haley was at work, and her phone stayed in her locker. She wouldn't check it until the end of her shift. Or maybe on her break.
Mason took another drink of his beer, this time a large gulp, savoring the sweetness. It was the first time he’d tried Bear Creek Honey Beer and he wasn’t disappointed. The beer itself was almost enough to make him relocate to Bear Creek.
It was an idea Mason and his bear were toying with, which was why he was here at the hotel. This was pleasure, not business, an unusual experience for Mason. However, a long time ago, he and his bear had made a deal. They would live and work in the city, build their fortune, and then retire to the mountains.
Well, retirement time was here. Although, Mason always figured when he came to live here it would be with a mate by his side and a handful of kids. Not a lonely man with silver at his temples and creases on his brow.
He rubbed his neck; a strange prickling sensation started at the base of his spine and worked its way up. He shuddered, feeling odd.
Great, you’re gonna die before we even venture out into the mountains, his bear said bluntly.
Mason chuckled but couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off. Perhaps it was the beer? He lifted the glass and sniffed it. Smelled fine. He took another deep drink. Tasted fine.
But the feeling something was not fine grew stronger.
“Sir.” He jumped as Austin reappeared. Had it been five minutes already? He looked at the young man, with eyes that wouldn’t focus, and he fought for control of his senses.
“Yes?” Mason’s eyes slid past the waiter and rested on the person standing behind him.
“Your guest has arrived.” The young man looked faintly embarrassed as Mason simply stared at the woman.
Mate, his bear interjected drily. She’s not the woman. She’s our mate.
The words reverberated around Mason’s head, but he still made no reaction.
“I should go. This was a mistake.” Their mate backed away and his bear roared in his head, forcing him to wake up.
“No, don’t go.” Mason stood up so fast his chair tipped over backward. Before it clattered to the highly-polished floor, Mason reached out and grasped hold of it. Forcing himself to act normal, he set it down on four legs before straightening his suit and forcing a smile on his face.
Why was it forced? Because he was too shell-shocked to feel anything. He was numb.
“I’ll get you a menu.” The waiter made himself scarce as Mason slowly recovered. As if he was on pins and needles, the sensations slowly came back to him, painful and prickly, from his toes to the top of his head, his body woke as if it had been asleep since forever.
“Sorry.” Mason shook his head as if trying to get rid of a bee.
She, his mate, leaned forward and asked, “Are you drunk?”
“No.” He looked at her as if she were crazy.
“Drugs?” She raised one eyebrow.
He smiled. “No. I don’t do drugs, never have and only drink occasionally. I do eat red meat, but I also make sure I eat all my vegetables.”
His bear groaned, but she smiled.
Tiana, his bear reminded him. She does have a name.
He thrust his hand out—a little too fast. “Tiana. I’m Mason.” Wow, he really needed to rein it in or she’d run for the mountains.
“I know.” The corners of her mouth twitched. “Good to meet you, Mason.” She slipped her hand into his, it was warm, and the heat in his body crept up until he thought he might explode.
Mason held her hand, not really shaking it, just holding it as if he never wanted to let go. Which he didn’t—because she was his mate. Those words were never going to grow old.
“Shall we sit down?” Tiana prized her hand out of his. Only then did he realize his palms were sweaty with nerves. He wiped them on his pants, feeling like a nervous schoolboy on his first date. But in some ways, this was his first date. At least the first date that mattered.
“Yes. Please.” She moved toward the chair on the other side of the table and he hopped around to pull it out for her. “Thank you.” Tiana kept her expression cool, but he could see the amusement dancing in her eyes.
He groaned. He’d just made the worst first impression on the most important person in his life.
What gave it away? his bear asked.
Ignoring his bear, Mason walked around the table to his own seat, composing himself as he sat down. The waiter reappeared and passed Tiana a menu and went over the specials, while Mason breathed deeply and exhaled, ridding himself of the fog that had cloude
d his mind.
“I’m Austin, I’ll be your waiter this evening,” Austin began his little speech again, keeping his eyes firmly on Tiana.
“Thank you.” Tiana smiled at the waiter and looked down at the menu.
“I’ll give you a moment to decide.” The waiter smiled warmly and backed away, only when he was five or six paces away did he risk looking at Mason. Great, everyone in the restaurant probably thought he was a lunatic.
“I’m sorry about my behavior,” Mason told Tiana as she read the menu. She looked up at him through her eyelashes. Her cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were drawn to the bright red lipstick on her lips. Damn, he wanted to kiss her until it was all gone.
“No need to apologize.” Tiana closed the menu and set it down on the table. “I don’t suppose I’m what you expected.”
“No,” he agreed and then his eyes widened. “I mean, no, you aren’t. But then I don’t know what I was expecting with this being a blind date.”
She settled back in her chair and surveyed him with an experienced eye. “You don’t look like the kind of man who would need to go on a blind date.”
He gave her a lopsided smile. “I could say the same about you.” He picked up his beer and took a sip, realizing he should have asked the waiter to bring her a drink. “I told Haley I was thinking of moving to Bear Creek and planned to come over for a few days to check the town and the surrounding area out. When Haley suggested a blind date, I nearly said no.” He leaned forward and said, “But I’m glad I didn’t.”
“Mason, can we get one thing clear before we order?” She fixed him in the eye and he was certain he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. “After dinner, I’m going home.”
His brow creased as he tried to figure out what she was implying. “Oh, you think…” He pointed upward. “I never expected you to.”
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