Chapter Two
Sam rubbed his stinging cheek in astonishment as his cousin Flint slapped his thighs and roared with laughter.
“Damn, that was fast.” Flint could barely catch his breath, he was laughing so hard. “Usually you have to take a girl out on least one date to get that reaction.”
Sam shot him a glare. So he was married to his job and too busy to remember to call women back a lot of the time. Most of the time. All of the time. Flint didn’t need to advertise that fact in front of this deliciously sexy, very angry bear female who did not happen to be wearing a wedding ring.
Why was she so mad at him, and how fast could he sweet-talk her into accepting his invitation for a dinner date?
There had to be some kind of misunderstanding. He would very definitely have remembered if he’d met her before. She was stunning. She had a full, lush figure with the kind of hips he wanted to grab and pull towards him. Her plump lips begged him to nibble on them and her scoop-neck white T-shirt revealed a generous swell of cleavage and just the tiniest bit of her white lacy bra peeking out. She wore some kind of perfume that smelled like cinnamon and he wanted to lick her and see if she tasted like it, too.
“Did you actually go to the town hall last week, just as my sister and Jeffrey were walking up the steps ready to get married, and haul him off in your truck?” She bit out the words, tilting her head back to glare up at him.
Light dawned on him. “Clover Jones. My God, have you grown up.” He looked her up and down with an appreciative glance, the kind of glance that never failed to make a woman melt into a puddle at his feet. All women except for Clover. Apparently she was immune.
“Yes, Sam, that’s generally what happens.” She stood there glowering at him.
“I’ll let you two work this out on your own,” Flint said with a grin. “Unless you think you need backup, Sam.”
“I think I’m good.” Sam scowled at him, and Flint sauntered out of the room, chuckling quietly to himself. Jerk. Now that Flint was happily married to that redheaded wolf shifter, he was all smug and superior about Sam’s love life.
He returned his focus to the hot bear.
“Yes, is the answer. I did indeed do that,” Sam said. “But let’s talk about you. Where have you been all these years? What brings you back to town? Not that I’m complaining.”
“I’m the one asking the questions here. I cannot believe you are attempting to ensure that my sister is a single mother. I thought you McCoys had strong family values.”
He nodded agreeably. “Very strong.”
“So what the hell is it? The premarital sex? It takes two to tango, you know.”
“Tell you what. Let’s swap information here. Answer my question, and I’ll answer yours.”
“I’ve been travelling around the country with my parents and my sister,” she answered grudgingly. “Then I went to college to get a degree in social media marketing.”
He nodded. “I heard something about a family of bears coming to stay at Imogen’s. I meant to stop by with a gift basket to welcome you to town. Didn’t realize it was you, or I’d have come over sooner. Who are all the younger kids? Brothers and sisters?”
“Yes.” She wasn’t in a chatty mood, obviously.
“Are your parents coming too?”
“Really not your concern. It’s also not your concern whether your brother gets married or not; he’s a grownup.”
Sam let out a contemptuous snort at that. “Barely. And the wellbeing of my family is always my concern.”
“And you think that if Jeffrey marries the mother of his child, that will be bad for his wellbeing? Because a few members of my family are criminals, we must all be lowlifes?”
“I judge each person on their own merits. And in answer to your earlier question, no, the problem is not the premarital sex. I’d hardly be one to talk.”
“So what is the damn problem?” she yelled at him. “He asked her to marry him! He totally wanted to marry her until you stepped in, and now he won’t even talk to her! Who the hell are you to tell him no?”
He knew that if he told her the answer, she wouldn’t accept it. Not yet. She was a bear; bears were very loyal to their family. “I’ll tell you some other time. When you’re a little calmer. Or you could ask your sister.”
“She doesn’t have any more idea than I do!” Clover balled her fists and looked as if she was ready to take a swing at him. He’d bet she threw a mean punch. He liked that in a girl.
“She’s broken-hearted and crying all the time! I want answers!”
He shrugged. “When the time is right, I’ll discuss it with you.”
