Page 89 of Bria and the Tiger

“Sure. But before we start, you have to promise you won’t judge me based on what I tell you about my slightly crazy family.” He grinned at her as she laughed.

“I promise not to judge. Now, you’ve got two hours to give me a crash course in the Shepherd family. Start talking.”

* * *

Rosalie smoothed her dress down and fluffed her hair a bit. The woman standing at the sink next to her smiled. “Love your hair.”

“Thank you. That’s a great lip colour.”

“Isn’t it?” The woman shook drops of water from her hands. “It’s called Voluptuous Violet which, between you and me, is the stupidest name ever but I love the colour.” She grabbed some paper towels and dried her hands. “Have a great night.”

“You too.” Rosalie checked her teeth for lipstick before leaving the bathroom. She could see Lincoln ordering at the snack counter and she made her way through the crowded lobby of the theatre.

Stupidly, she still wasn’t entirely sure if they were on a date or not. Lincoln was wearing jeans with a dress shirt, so she didn’t feel overdressed, but it wasn’t like he was holding her hand or anything. He told her she looked beautiful when he picked her up, and they chatted about his plans for the rest of the weekend on the drive to the theatre. She paid for her own ticket, but he offered to buy her a drink at the snack bar.

Her steps slowed. Was Lincoln flirting with the woman behind the snack counter? She took a deep breath. Probably. Lincoln was a flirt. If she was going to have a relationship with him, she needed to remember that and not act so jealous. She’d read the lion shifter sex book from front to back, and it had an entire chapter devoted specifically to the lion shifter’s flirtatious nature.

“Hello, human.”

She stared up at the polar bear shifter who had appeared in front of her. He was holding a giant tub of popcorn in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. “Hudson, hi. What are you doing here?”

“Watching a movie.” She decided his usual look of irritation was maybe just a touch less irritated. “What else do people do here?”

“I just didn’t think you liked crowds very much.”

“I don’t. But I like movies.”

“Me too.” She cleared her throat. “Are you here with someone?”

“No.”

“Oh. I’m here with, um, Lincoln.”

He didn’t reply, and she cleared her throat again. What movie are you -”

“Oh my God! Hudson, you’re here too. Like, what are the odds of us both having a Friday night off, and being at the same theatre?”

The polar bear scowled fiercely at the high-pitched voice, before grunting, “Hey.”

Rosalie’s stomach sunk to her feet. Lincoln had come up behind them carrying a bag of popcorn and two bottles of water. The waitress from Bud’s Bar was hanging off his free arm. Lincoln grinned Rosalie. “Look who I ran into, Rosalie. You remember Tori, right? She works at Bud’s.”

“I do. Hi, Tori.”

“Hi.” The rabbit shifter wiggled her nose at her. “You’re the tallest female human I’ve ever met. I’m jealous. I hate being so tiny and short.”

“Being tall does have its advantages.” Rosalie ignored her urge to punch the tiny little shifter in her tiny little face.

“Are you here on a date with Hudson?” Tori asked brightly.

A look of alarm passed over Hudson’s face. “No.” He turned and trudged away.

“I’m here with Lincoln,” Rosalie said. “If you’ll excuse us, we should probably get our seats before - ”

“Actually,” Lincoln said with a cheerful smile, “I invited Tori to sit with us. She’s seeing the same movie as us and is all by herself.”

“My mom’s watching the kids for me tonight because she knows how much I wanted to see the new Star Wars. But then, like, my friend Lori totally bailed on me. But I still really wanted to see the movie, so I said to myself – Tori, you are a strong independent woman and you can totally go to the movies by yourself. But then I ran into Lincoln, and he was, like, totally sit with us. Isn’t he just the sweetest?” Tori said.

“The sweetest.” Rosalie took the bottle of water from Lincoln. “Thank you.”

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