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I studied him while he ate, my eyes tracking over his handsome face. When we were walking to the restaurant he’d hovered his hand behind my back. He hadn’t touched me, but I’d felt the heat nonetheless, even through the thick cotton of my hoodie and the shirt I was wearing. His phantom touch had somehow felt like a brand.

Sitting across from him, separated only by three feet of scarred wood, I felt a little overwhelmed. It was like his essence was everywhere. I could smell him, which seemed weird, but it wasn’t a bad smell. And when I unfocused my eyes the way Sage taught me, I could see the colors of his aura spreading out much more than a human’s did.

“What kind of work do you do?” I asked, nodding my thanks as he pushed the fry basket closer.

“I’m a freelancer,” he said. “I do computer research for companies.”

“Computer research?”

“Like if a company wants to try a new idea or wants to know what competitors are doing in a certain area I do deep research for them, using a variety of tools,” he explained. “I also work with a couple of security companies, running background checks on individuals.”

“That sounds interesting.”

“It is,” he said. “I like that it’s flexible and I can work at home instead of going into an office.”

“That’s exactly what I like about my job,” I shared. “Although sometimes I wonder if I’ve missed things by not going into an office and having regular contact with other humans. Especially once my kids were all gone.”

“Tell me about your kids,” he invited.

I told him the basics while he finished his lunch, and then we kept on talking. At some point we ordered dessert, with apple pie for me and a giant banana split for Ollie.

He was easy to talk to, I realized. Charming and attentive, but also interesting. I could see us being friends.

That is, if friends found themselves sitting in dark restaurant booths with a telltale dampness seeping into their panties. I couldn’t remember another time when I got turned on just being near a man. Even in the early days of my relationship with my husband when we were having sex multiple times a day I hadn’t felt a sexual attraction this strong. What was happening to me?

Then I remembered my younger cousins talking about how things were when they first met their mates. I’d dismissed it as strong emotion or some kind of lustful haze and maybe that was true, but I also wondered if whatever was happening biologically for the shifters impacted their human counterparts.

Digging my phone out of my bag, I shot off a text to Cami telling her that I got held up. Her response came instantly.

Cami: Enjoy your lunch with Ollie.

Damn these small towns! Shaking my head in bemusement, I turned back to my companion who was finishing a half sandwich with only two bites.

“How did you end up moving to Greysden?” he asked.

He listened attentively as I told him about my realization that I’d devoted my entire adult life to my kids and was ready to figure out my second act.

“What do you wish you’d done?” he asked. “Something that you would have done if you hadn’t gotten married and had kids.”

No one had ever asked me about that, but I knew the answer right away. “I always wanted to get a dog. I had this vision of me and the dog going hiking or jogging in the mornings. And I thought that one day I’d be a writer.”

“What kind of writer?”

“Fiction. Sometimes when I can’t sleep I dream up these epic adventure stories to pass the time. I used to tell them to the kids for bedtime stories.”

“I like bedtime stories.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“But seriously, you should do that Nora. Write your book. Get a dog. Have your adventures.”

I stared across the table at this man who thought I was his mate, surprised to hear him encouraging me to do something that didn’t involve him. To focus on myself.

“Tell me more about fated mates.”

Ollie looked pleased by my question, and I reminded myself that I needed to be careful not to lead him on. If I’d met him on vacation or something I’d definitely consider having a one-night stand with this male, but I knew enough about shifters to understand they couldn’t keep things casual like that. Not when they thought the person was their mate.

“Shifters believe that fate has ordained a match for them,” he started. “That there’s one person in the world who is a perfect match for them. Like two halves that fit together to make a whole. It starts with a smell. You scent your mate, and you’re kind of in disbelief, even while your inner animal is telling you that you’ve found your person. Then you see them, your eyes meet, and you know, deep in your soul, that you’ve finally found the person you’ve been waiting your whole life for.”