Page 24 of A Bear's Journey

Olivia laughed and blushed, just a little, mostly glad to have someone who didn’t dance around the truth that she was weird and damaged.

“I’ll be fine,” she said.

She leaned back against the wall of the barn and watched the dancers. There was a hypnotic quality, she thought, about a huge group of people all dancing together, all turning the same way and doing the same steps. It was really something lovely to watch, and the music and the sound of feet on the floor soothed her.

The barn was fairly full, and though most people were dancing, there were a few hanging around the outside of the dance floor, drinking beer and laughing and talking.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two more men enter the barn, and instantly, she recognized them, even from a hundred feet away.

The one on the left was Jasper, and the other one was the man he’d been with at the coffee shop. Worse, they were in front of the only door. If she were going to run, she’d have to run right past them.

They’re looking at me, she realized. Once more, her blood was banging through her ears, her fight-or-flight instinct in full swing.

Then Olivia took a deep breath. She closed her eyes for a moment and imagined an hourglass.

They’re just two attractive men, she told herself.

Understatement of the year, but still true.

She opened her eyes. They were walking casually around the perimeter of the barn, slowly coming toward her.

If they say something, you can just have a conversation with them, she thought. Try not to think about them naked and just do it.

Olivia sat perfectly still and the two men, Jasper and his mate, moved toward her.

Do I act like I recognize them?She wondered. Is that weird?

If I act like I recognize them, will they know that I think about them naked?

They came closer, both watching the dance going on.

Olivia stared rigidly straight ahead. She pretended not to notice them until they stood almost directly in front of her. She was still nervous, sure — okay, terrified, maybe —but she felt like she had no idea what to do, no road map for this sort of thing.

Then they were there.

“It’s Olivia, right?” Jasper said.

Olivia looked up and forced a smile onto her face, feeling the adrenaline spike through her veins.

“Right,” she said.

Was that so bad?

“I’m Jasper,” he said. “Sorry I didn’t bring your book.”

Olivia felt a little bit of warmth rise to her face and forced herself to keep smiling.

He still has your book because you literally ran away from him the last timeyou spoke to each other, you know.

The other man — a huge, tall bear shifter wearing blue flannel, with blue eyes and a reddish beard — was blocking her only real exit. Olivia was pretty sure that if she ran again, they wouldn’t chase her, but she really, really wanted not to make a spectacle in front of all these people.

The last thing she needed was more people talking about how she ought to be locked up somewhere.

“It’s all right,” she said. “I’ve read it a thousand times anyway.”

“This is my mate, Craig,” he said, introducing the other man.

“Hi,” she said.

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