“By sending an enforcer?”
“Keena isn’t just any enforcer, she’s the grumpiest enforcer in town.” Alanis winked then snagged the book and went over to the register where the woman she’d been helping arrived at the counter.
Brice gazed back at the door. Outside the snow continued to fall lazily. A sense of disappointment settled in Brice’s chest. She hardly knew the woman and yet she couldn’t stop thinking of the look in Keena’s eyes when their hands had touched. Or the brief laugh she’d allowed to escape.
She glanced over at the cookies. Did Keena evenlike sugar cookies? Or coffee? Surely she had to like coffee. It was winter in New Hampshire and Keena looked like an enforcer carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Coffee made everything better.
That was a woman who definitely needed caffeine. Maybe she could offer her something warm and sweet the next time.
Was there even going to be a next time?
Yes.
Yes, there would be.
Brice went back around the counter and finished putting the cookies in the case, then placed her sign next to them.
Freshly baked today!
As noon approached, the store picked up with customers. Even while dealing with the rush, serving up coffee and snacks, she couldn’t help but think of the brown-skinned enforcer. Brice smiled to herself as she wiped down the counter and reached for the milk pitcher next to the espresso machine.
If the universe felt generous enough to drop a gorgeous, brooding wolf shifter on her doorstep in the middle of the holiday season, then Brice intended to make the most of it.
Next time Keena came by—she refused tobelieve there wouldn’t be a next time—she’d have something waiting for her. Maybe she was a chocolate chip woman…or oatmeal raisin… Whatever she liked best, Brice would make sure she’d have them ready along with a good hot drink.
No one should be grumpy in December. Not in a town like Evergreen Hollow.
Not with all of the snow that had fallen, or the Christmas lights to light up the dark sky or the wonderful people who made a new girl feel welcomed.
Brice had moved here to build a new life. She had her bookstore, the fresh start she had desired, and a town that felt like home.
Something good was coming her way again.
She felt it deep in her bones.
And if that something happened to be a tall, grumpy woman with amber eyes and broad shoulders, then Brice was certainly not going to complain.
Keena barely remembered leaving the bookstore. One second she was standing in front of Brice who was smiling at her, and the next she was outside in the cold.
Her boots crunched over the snow and her lungs dragged in sharp winter air as if she’d been underwater too long.
Her wolf slammed against her chest.
Mate.
Keena nearly stumbled.
“No,” she whispered. Snow was steadily falling around her. She tried to ignore thecheerful hum of Evergreen Hollow as she jumped into her SUV. A horse-drawn carriage rolled slowly past the curb with sleigh bells jingling with every stop and Keena gripped the steering wheel.
Mate.
The word pulsed through her with every beat of her heart. Her animal clawed at her chest demanding she go back into the bookstore.
Hell, her hand still tingled from touching Brice. Keena gripped the steering wheel tighter. The moment Brice’s palm had pressed against hers, Keena’s wolf had surged forward with a force she hadn’t felt in years.
She leaned back in her seat and inhaled. The scent of Hearth and Story had followed her in. It clung to her coat.
