“I wasn’t sure if you had a vase, so I thought I should err on the side of caution.”
“I do, but not one that’s pretty like this. Thank you so much.”
He smiled. “Ready, baby?”
Sliding her hand into his, she smiled up at him, warmth spreading through her. “Yes.”
The restaurant he picked was a cute little out of the way bistro that served homestyle food with a relaxed atmosphere. They talked about their days over baked chicken and mashed potatoes, with cornbread dolloped with honey butter.
When they were sharing a piece of chocolate pie, she asked, “What happens now?”
“After the pie, or in general?”
“In general.”
He took a bite of pie and set his fork down. “We keep going the way we have been, spending time together and getting to know each other. And when you’re ready, I’ll mark you with my fangs in your neck and you’ll officially be my mate. It’s like marriage for wolves. But I also want to marry you, too.”
He took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“The bite sounds kind of painful.”
He leaned forward a little, his eyes gleaming. “I promise you’ll be very happy before I do that.”
Oh, she liked his brand of promised happiness.
“I want all of that,” she said. She’d never really thought about forever with a guy, because she hadn’t met a guy who made her think about the future in a profound way. But Sigh made her think about all of that: marriage and babies, being his mate, belonging to the pack.
She wanted it all.
When they were walking up to the front door of his home, she said, “I think you may be the best guy I’ve ever known. I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
“I feel the same way.”
He opened the door and followed her inside.
She slipped off the jean jacket and draped it over the arm of the couch, then faced him.
She really did like him.
She liked everything about him. From the way his eyes sparkled when he talked about the future, or the way he protectively put his arm around her whenever they were out.
And he was just flat-out a nice guy.
She was already feeling more deeply for him after a short time than she’d felt for anyone else ever. And while she wasn’t ready to say the words yet, they were right there on the tip of her tongue.
She’d know when the time was right.
And she had a feeling it would be soon.
Because that’s what happened with love at first sight.
You just fell in love.
The tavern closed at ten on Sundays, and it had been a slow night, so they were able to get the whole place cleaned up forty-five minutes after they locked the front door. Juliette helped, not because he asked her to, but because she wanted to. And they were both excited that he was going to shift for her.
As he set the inventory list on the counter so that Trick could order supplies in the morning for the following week, he turned and found Juliette looking at the whiteboard with the list of potential burgers of the week.
“Do you pick the burger first and then come up with a name? Or vice versa?” she asked when he joined her.
