The Bear's Bride (Mail-Order Mates #3) (2 page)

Amy checked her directions one more time once she got into Sunset Falls. It shouldn’t be hard to find the bakery but she wanted to be sure. It looked just like her hometown, really. There were a lot of ranch houses. The further from the business section and “old town” you got, the newer and bigger the homes got. She’d passed a very nice subdivision coming into town. Sunset Falls was a little better off than her town but not by much. Looking around at the people walking through downtown, she guessed they also catered to older citizens.

It was always an issue in spots like these. The warm climates attracted retirees. Somehow that also meant slightly more expensive homes than the norm. Amy herself couldn’t have afforded a home. Maybe at one time, but after the economy collapsed, home ownership was outside of her reach. She wondered if Frank had a house. He did own his own business.

She found the shop on the main drag and parked two blocks away. She was being paranoid but she didn’t want him to see her car. It would make her easier to follow. She walked the two blocks to the shop, smiling at people as she passed. More than one man looked her up and down as she walked. It helped to put a little pep in her step.

Amy had put on an extra ten pounds over the last year. The downside to being a writer was the sedentary lifestyle. She made sure to get out for walks with Max and Karen and that helped somewhat. The extra weight must not have made much difference if she was still turning men’s heads. She’d worn tight jeans and a V-neck sweater for the occasion. It was just cool enough for a light sweater and this one was one of her favorite items of clothing. The shade of pink set off her dark red hair and green eyes perfectly.

There was a very nice Mercedes parked in front of the shop. She took a minute to admire the vehicle. She wasn’t into cars or anything, but this one was slick. It had dark-tinted windows and was shining like it had just been washed and waxed. Whoever owned it really took care of their vehicle, or they could afford to pay someone to take care of it.

Nerves hit her hard when she put her hand on the door handle. She paused to take a deep breath. He was just a man, she reminded herself. He didn’t even know who she was, so there was no pressure. When she opened the door, the smell of coffee and pastries helped ease her mood. The store was so warm and inviting. There were little tables near the window, and two comfy chairs. The entire front by the cash register was dominated by a dessert case. There were no sandwiches on the menu at Frank’s Treats. This was her favorite kind of pastry shop.

Her mouth watered looking at everything. There were the brownies that Karen had brought her and so much more. According to Frank’s menu, the donuts were his best seller and a customer favorite. She would get a dozen for Karen’s family. The coffee smelled good too. She was glad she had brought her laptop. This was a perfect place to get some editing done. There were only three other customers in the shop. Mother, daughter, and son-in-law, if she had to guess. The two women looked similar, but the guy didn’t really match either of them. He was both too old to be the daughter’s boyfriend and too young for the mother. He also looked like a badass biker while the ladies were both clean-cut.

She rang the bell for service after making up her mind. To her surprise, the man with the women stood up and walked over.

“Made up your mind?” he asked her pleasantly.

It was him. The biker was Frank! She was completely thrown and couldn’t think of anything to say. He looked very different from his picture. Not in a bad way, but it was surprising. In his photo, he had been clean-shaven. Now he was sporting an impressive beard. His eyes and smile were the same, though. And he was big.
Huge
. Amy was no petite woman, standing 5'9" without heels. But the man behind the counter towered over her. And he was so wide. Her first thought had been biker but her second was Viking.

“Miss?” He looked at her expectantly. When she continued to stare, he tried again, moving his hands as he spoke. “Can I help you?”

The hand movements were familiar. “Was that sign language?”

He laughed. “Yes, it was. I thought you might be deaf. I know it’s harder to read my lips with the facial hair.”

Amy’s eyes went right to his full lips, which were easily visible under his bushy beard. She looked him up and down and couldn’t help but smile. “No. I just…forgot what I wanted.”

“Oh, no problem. There’s a lot to choose from. I’ve been stress baking.”

“Good for us,” the younger woman at the table said. She raised her giant cookie in Amy’s direction. “Everything here is great. Whenever Frank gets stressed, the entire town gets a treat.”

“You bake these all yourself?” Amy was impressed. There were hundreds of items in the case. The independent bakery she frequented at home only had a few options in the case. You had to special-order most items and even then, the inventory was small.

Frank nodded proudly. “I did. I’m a one-man show, usually. I do have to call in reinforcements for the holidays, though. I never want to turn anyone away, but I get a lot of orders.”

“Your hair is so gorgeous,” the older woman at the table said.

“Thank you. It’s natural.” Amy added the second statement all the time now. People always assumed she dyed her hair because she was Hispanic but her hair was dark red.

“It really is pretty,” Frank said softly.

Amy turned back to him in time to catch him staring at her intensely. When he caught her looking, he blushed. “Are you new in town?”

She shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m just passing though. Doing a little research for an article.”

“Really?” The younger woman at the table gave Amy a curious look. “We don’t get a lot of reporters out this way. Researching anything special?”

Shoot. She shouldn’t have lied. With all of them watching her she couldn’t come up with an elaborate lie. She hung her head. “I’m not a reporter. I’m a writer, and I was just looking for a quiet place to finish my book.”

“A writer? How exciting!” the older woman said.

The younger woman and Frank exchanged a glance and then both of them broke into laughter. Amy looked from one to the other. Jealousy made her stomach turn. He couldn’t be with the curvy little woman. Could he? She had called him Frank, so he had to be the one who owned the shop. Yet they were sharing an inside joke. Amy knew she had no right to be territorial, but she didn’t like it.

“You’ll never believe this, but I used the same lie when I first got to town!” the woman said.

“Molly sure played a number on me.” Frank smiled as he spoke. “She tricked me with the reporter lie too. Is that the new ‘I have to wash my hair’ line for you ladies? Another easy way to let men off?”

“You came to the right place…almost,” the older woman said. “This place isn’t usually this empty, but there’s a bookstore around the corner that’s great. Get yourself one of Frank’s treats and coffee, then park yourself over there. You can edit in peace.”

“Oh.” She didn’t want to go around the corner to write. She wanted to sit where she could see Frank and talk with him. “Thanks for the tip.”

Amy had planned on getting a little editing done, but she didn’t need quiet for that. The women were nice, though. She wondered what their relationship to Frank was. No man would be dumb enough to sign up for a mail-order bride service when he already had a girlfriend. Would he? She would stick around for a bit and try to find out more.

***

Frank’s bad day had started looking up the minute the sexy redhead walked into his shop. He had been talking with Janice and Molly when she came in, thankfully. Without the distraction, he didn’t know what he would have done.

She was beautiful. Tall and curvy in all the right places. She looked more like an old-time movie starlet than a writer. When he’d taken her order, he’d only snuck a peek when she wasn’t looking. Her cleavage was right there, exposed by the neckline of her sweater. It had taken a gargantuan effort on his part to keep his eyes on her face. That was saying a lot, since she had one of the most perfect faces he had ever seen.

His bear agreed. It had stirred when the woman had walked in and when he got a whiff of her, it was over. This was it; she had to be his mate. He knew that was crazy, but his bear told him it was true. This stranger had walked into his shop and he couldn’t let her leave.

Frank couldn’t believe it. He’d been up baking all night after Olivia had left the shop. She’d told him that his match wasn’t interested in seeing him. She was going to try one last-ditch effort to win the girl over. It didn’t look good, though. There had been some kind of mix-up and the woman was backing out. He had been crushed. All day he’d been jumpy and nervous. Whenever the phone rang, he was sure it was Olivia calling to tell him it was all over and they were back to square one.

It looked like that was all meant to be now. His match with LK Brides had to fall through so he would be free to pursue this beautiful redhead. He came over with a coffee refill.

She looked up from her laptop and smiled. “Thank you.”

The shop was mercifully empty. He had no idea why, but it had to be fate working in his favor. He never had an empty shop from five until close. People loved stopping in for an after-work treat.

Frank went back to the counter and wiped down the glass again. He counted out his register and checked the mail that had come in. Once he ran out of busy work, he went and sat across from the woman.

“I’m Frank.”

She looked a little confused. “I know. Your name is on the sign.”

“Yes, but this is the part where you say your name.”

She blushed. “Oh. I’m Amy.”

“Nice to meet you, Amy. Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?” He bit the bullet and just asked her. No harm done if she said no. She was from out of town anyway. This was his only shot.

She blinked a few times. “Oh. Well—”

He stood up quickly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed you were single. I had to try. Sorry for bothering you.”

“I’m single.”

He didn’t turn around. “Oh. Sorry for bothering you again.”

“I’d like to have dinner with you.” She put a hand on his shoulder and Frank turned to look at her. She was tall for a woman but Frank still dwarfed her. Not surprising, since even shifter woman were much smaller than he was.

“You would?” He needed to hear her say it again.

“I would.” She nodded enthusiastically. “It’s not like I can live on coffee and donuts alone. I’ll need to take a break.”

“Great! I close down in an hour.”

“Perfect.” She smiled at him shyly. “Thank you for asking.”

He walked to the back of the shop with his chest puffed out. He’d taken a chance and it had paid off. He didn’t need a mail-order bride agency. He had found his mate all on his own. He couldn’t wait to tell Olivia that he didn’t need her help anymore.

“Are there any motels in town?” Amy asked Frank as they sat outside the Two Wolves restaurant. The dinner had been wonderful. He was perfect. He had lived in Sunset Falls his entire life and had opened the bakery when he was twenty. His father had helped him just before he passed away. He gave Frank the money and told him he was proud of him. The story brought tears to her eyes. She was close to her parents and couldn’t imagine life without them.

Frank wanted to get married and have children. He had hoped it would happen before now, but he was in no rush. When the right woman came along, he would know. He had his own little house in the new subdivision. His mother still lived in their old home in the old part of town. Frank visited her every day. She was still very active and had a busy social calendar. Right now, she was vacationing in Canada with her ladies’ group.

Amy could tell he was very close to his mother. He was so animated when he talked about her and her antics. He didn’t talk about himself all night, either. He asked questions about her, her family, her job, and her friends. They had stayed until the waitress ushered them out so she could close the place down.

It had gone so well, but there was still something niggling at the back of Amy’s mind. He was perfect and had said all the right things. He was too good to be true. She’d met men like him before and none were ever as good as they seemed. That wasn’t how life worked. He had to be hiding something or have a less than desirable trait. No one was perfect.

She needed a little more time to get to know him. This was starting to feel like something good. Something that could really change her life. If she could spend more time with him, maybe she would be able to figure out if he was as wonderful as he seemed. It wasn’t a hard drive home but she didn’t feel like doing the drive anymore. She hadn’t planned on staying out all night with Frank. It would be so much easier to sleep in town.

She always kept a stash of clothes in her car. She never knew when she was going to sleep over at Karen’s house. It was so much easier to keep a few things in her car for unexpected events, like the time she had spilled chili on herself before a meeting with her editor. Things happened, and she liked to be prepared for anything that life threw her way.

“There’s one just down the road. I’m parked at my shop. I can drive you over to the Lunar Motel. Or I can take you to your car and you can follow me there.”

“I’ll follow you there. I’m actually parked near your shop.” They split up and Amy drove back to his shop once she’d retrieved her car. He drove a big black SUV. Not too surprising. He wouldn’t have fit comfortably in Amy’s little car. She barely fit in the damn thing herself.

She pulled up next to him and rolled down her window. “Lead the way.”

“Sure thing. If you lose me for some reason, it’s just at the end of this street behind us. You can’t miss it.”

Amy nodded and followed him. There was no way to lose him. There was no one on the street. Much like home, everything closed down at nine o’clock weeknights. The only thing open was the gas station.

The motel looked pretty nice. It had two levels and was very well lit. The Lunar Motel’s sign featured a howling wolf, so she supposed it was owned by a wolf. There was a high concentration of shifters in Sunset Falls. Akron had its fair share of shifters, but not like this town. More than half of the inhabitants of Sunset Falls were shifters.

Frank parked and met her at the front of the hotel. “Since you’re going to be in town tomorrow, I was wondering if you’d want to help me with a little project I have underway.”

“I’d love to.” Amy stared at his lips expectantly. Was he going to kiss her? This was technically the end of a first date. She wanted him to kiss her. But she didn’t want to seem too forward. They were in front of a motel, after all. She didn’t want him thinking she was some kind of goodtime girl.

“Great. Come by my shop whenever you want. I have a rush in the morning and afternoon, but I’m usually quiet between three and five on weekends.”

She nodded and licked her lips. “Sounds great to me. I’ll come by a little early so I can have a cup of coffee.”

“Good.” Frank nodded twice before leaning down and taking her in his arms. He pulled her close and folded his body over hers. His lips gently brushed against her own, barely opened. As his lips warmed on hers, Frank deepened the kiss. His tongue gently caressed her mouth as he held her close. One of Amy’s hands gripped his giant bicep while the other anchored to his waist. She lost herself in the kiss and shut everything else out.

When Frank pulled back, her eyes stayed closed. She sighed deeply. “Good night.”

“See you in the morning.”

His voice was thick and he looked over his shoulder not once, not twice, but four times before he reached his car. Amy looked up to see a red-haired woman watching from inside the hotel lobby. She felt like a teenager caught necking on the doorstep after curfew. She dipped her head and smiled. Frank Franklin was going to be trouble, alright. She hoped it was the kind that lasted a lifetime and not the kind that drained your bank account after promises of forever.

That kiss had been perfect like everything else about Frank. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been kissed like that. Probably never.

The woman behind the counter gave her the side-eye when she came inside with her backpack. Amy had to ring the bell for service even though the woman could clearly see her. “Hello? I’d like a room, please.”

The woman blew out a puff of air. “Were you out there kissing Frank?”

Amy stood up straighter. It looked like Frank was very popular in town. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

The woman looked glum and crossed her arms over her very large chest. “Dammit. You’re his Lovely and Kind Bride, aren’t you?”

“No! I mean…how did you know?” Amy felt like kicking herself. How the hell had this woman figured it out? “Do you work with Olivia or something?”

“Frank’s only been signed up for a few days. How the hell did he get a match before me?” The woman shook her fist in the air. “It’s not fair, I tell ya! I’ve been waiting for more than two months. Everyone is getting paired off but old Gwen.”

“You’re an LK Bride too?” Amy looked the woman up and down. She was a knockout. She had a to-die-for figure and she was tall without being
too
tall. Amy always felt like she was all arms and legs but this woman wore her height well. She looked like the pin-ups from the World War II era. Amy couldn’t think of a single man who would turn this bombshell down. Nor could she imagine this woman signing up with LK Brides.

“I want to be a bride,” the woman said. She put out her hand. “I’m Gwen Johnson. Obviously, I work the front desk here. I can help you get a room. I think I’ve whined enough for the night. I’m sorry.”

Amy shook her hand. “It’s fine. I’m Amy. I know how frustrating dating can be. I’m still not sure about this whole LK Bride thing. How did you know I was with Olivia? I haven’t even told Frank. You’re one smart cookie.”

Gwen laughed. “Are you kidding me? Honey, I want to hear this story.”

Amy realized her mistake. Gwen had no idea that she was hiding being Frank’s match. She’d just made an educated guess. It was too late now. She had a good feeling about Gwen. She’d never met a fellow redhead she didn’t like. Amy gave her the quick version of how her sister had signed her up. “I had to meet him. Curiosity got the best of me.”

“Frank’s a great guy. If you got matched, I think you’re going to be fine. They’ve got a one hundred percent success rate in town.”

“Really? That’s comforting, at least.” Amy leaned on the counter. “Frank seems really nice. Too good to be true, really. I’ve met a lot of nice men who turned out to be less than nice in the end.”

Gwen scowled. “I know how that goes. Frank’s not like that.”

“Have you ever dated him?”

Gwen laughed loudly and pounded her hand on the counter. “Heavens, no! We’ve been friends since we were cubs. He’s a great man, but he’s not my type.”

“Why is that?” Amy pried. It couldn’t be bad to get a little backstory on Frank from an outside source.

“No, you misunderstand. I’m more a rough-and-tumble girl. I need a little…fire in the bedroom. Frank’s a gentle giant. Not exactly a match.”

Amy nodded. That was a little bit more than she wanted to know but an interesting aside. Gentle giant? She hoped that wasn’t code for boring in the sack. “I see. Thanks for the insight.”

“No problem. I hope it works out for you two.”

“Could you maybe keep my Bride status just between us? I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag yet.”

Gwen mimed zipping her lips. “You can count on me to keep your secret. But don’t make me wait too long!”

“I’ll do my best.”

Gwen set Amy up in a room on the second floor of the hotel. The rooms had obviously been remodeled since the hotel was first built. It was cute and very clean.

Amy flopped back on the bed. So far, so good. She was starting to feel hopeful about the whole mail-order bride thing. Maybe she had found her match.

***

Frank got to work once he dropped Amy off. It was only a week until his interview with Allison. He needed to get his menu set and go over what he was going to say when he was cooking. It wasn’t too late, so he pulled out his phone before he started baking.

It rang twice before Olivia picked up. “Hello?”

“Olivia, it’s Frank Franklin out in Sunset Falls.”

“Hi, Frank. I’m sorry to say I don’t have an update to give you.” Olivia still sounded chipper. “I’m not quitting on this woman yet. I feel very strongly about this match. I think she’ll come around.”

“That’s why I was calling, actually. I don’t need to get matched anymore. If the woman is this unsure, she doesn’t want to meet me. It’s fine. You know LK Brides has to strike out sometimes.”

“Are you sure? I have no problem starting over, but I’ll repeat, I feel
very
good about this match. Don’t give up on me now, Frank. I think she’s starting to come around.”

“No, I don’t want to start over. I don’t want to get matched at all anymore. I think maybe I need to cool it for a bit. Play the field a while longer.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Olivia’s voice was cold and formal when she spoke again. “If that’s how you feel, Mr. Franklin. Best of luck to you.”

She hung up without even saying goodbye. Frank felt terrible, but he didn’t want to explain to Olivia why he had to ditch the service. He didn’t want to jinx anything with Amy by telling Olivia he’d found his mate. He still had to woo the woman. He hadn’t expressly told her he was a shifter yet, and for all he knew, she would run for the hills screaming when she heard he was a bear-shifter.

He hoped not. If she ran, he was going to spend the rest of his life alone. There was no doubt in his mind that she was his mate. His bear wouldn’t be able to settle for second best now that he’d met her. It happened now and then. Some shifters ended up missing out on their match and being alone for life. At least he’d still have his shop and his friends to keep him busy.

He tried to push that possibility out of his mind as he set up all the ingredients he would need. He had to stay positive and not put those negative thoughts out into the universe. His mom had told him that if you thought in a positive way, positive things would come your way. With that in mind, Frank spent the rest of the night thinking about all the things he would do to Amy when he got her alone and how much she would love it. He was going to send the best thoughts into the universe and hope they came back to him soon. It couldn’t hurt to try.