When shifters found their mates, that was it for them. No cheating, or it was rare. Complete devotion. The care and protection and happiness of their mates was everything to them, especially the males. Some women complained they could be a bit caveman-ish in their protective ways, but that seemed better to me than men who only thought about themselves.
I wondered if they would let me see them change into their reindeer. How big were their animals?
And then there were the questions about intimacy. I had about a million of those.
My stomach swirled with butterflies, thinking about meeting them the next day.
Anything could happen.
That night, they did message me again. They told me they were excited to meet me and asked if I’d changed my mind.
I haven’t changed my mind. I can’t wait to meet the three of you.
I stood at the closet after they said they were going to bed, and decided what to wear. I wanted to look nice but not come off desperate for attention. We were going to a small café. Casual, but some people dressed up a bit more.
I decided on a red off-shoulder sweater and black pants that hugged my curves.
I lay in bed and tried to scare off all the what-if questions and catastrophizing, which was hard. Yes, I had some information about them but tomorrow, I was going to meet three strangers. Three male reindeer-shifter strangers.
My life might never be the same.
Chapter Eight
Dash
“How lucky are we that our mate lives so close?” Blitz said, breaking the silence of the past forty-five minutes. Not uncomfortable but as close to it as we’d ever been. “She could have been on the far side of the world.”
“I suppose so.” The countryside outside the car flashed by. “How fast are you driving?”
He cleared his throat and lifted his foot from the gas. “Too fast. Ninety. I guess I was anxious. Sorry.”
“It wouldn’t be good to be late because we had to wait while you got a speeding ticket,” I replied. “But I get it. My beast insists that every minute apart from our mate is wasted time. Lucky, reindeer can’t drive a car.”
“Actually, mine suggested flying. Seems he feels as if we can do that without Christmas magic,” Comet put in. “I tried to convince him we cannot, and also that we haven’t even met this female yet. She’s just our first match. What if she’s not the one? Or she doesn’t like us?”
“Negative thoughts, Comet.” I reached over the seat and patted his shoulder. “Getting cold feet?”
“Not exactly, but I think we should be cautious, take our time, and not jump in with both feet the second we meet her. If we haven’t already,” he grumbled.
“We’re having lunch.” I left my hand on his shoulder. “Not dragging her into the car for mating and marking. It will be all right.”
The town rose in the distance, not unfamiliar at all. The town closer to us had a small grocery and a few other shops, but we did all the big shopping here as well as some errands for our business. But we had not been to the [lace Aideen suggested forour meeting. “If we’d been here before, we might have met her already,” Blitz said. “How much time have we lost?” He found a spot halfway down the block and parallel parked—a skill I lacked and much admired in my friend.
As we strolled toward the restaurant, I considered his words. “I don’t think we’ve ever even been in this part of town, have we?” Surrounded by professional buildings and a few other multistoried structures, the café standing amid a stretch of boutiques, coffeehouses, bakeries, and other stores that those who worked in the area might enjoy visiting at lunchtime. And, judging by the filled sidewalks, they were doing just that. Food trucks were parked in a nearby lot as well, the scents of grilling meat and onions wafting our way.
“No.” Comet lifted his nose and sniffed. “But we should come again and try whatever those chefs are preparing.”
“Kebabs,” Blitz sighed. “I don’t suppose our mate, err date, would like to change up and go there?”
“We agreed to let her pick the first time.” Not that I disagreed. “But it’s something we can suggest if we think she’d like to see us again.”
The restaurant was crowded, but a couple of tables were unoccupied. “Can I seat you, sirs?” the hostess asked, picking up three menus.
“We are meeting someone, so we can wait,” Blitz told her.
“All right, but I can’t guarantee anything will be open.” She set the menus down. “This is our busiest time.”
“Maybe we should go ahead and take a table now. I don’t see Aideen anywhere, do you?”
