Page 21 of Wrong Number, Right Cougar

“Cousin! What’s up?”

“Well, you got a minute?” I wasn’t sure how to even begin, but if he was going to be heading into a meeting in another minute, I’d rather call him back than have to begin again.

“For you? Always. Hold on—” A few seconds later I heard a door click, probably to his office, and then he got back on the phone, and I told him all about my mate.

“Well, simple. You need to ask him. Maybe even ask him to get married. Humans like that.”

“Maybe. I don’t fully understand the whole married thing, if I’m honest.” I’d feel my mate out on that one, because I had no problem following his traditions if they were important to him. “But yes on the mating part.”

“You know your mate better than I do. It wasn’t like you invited me over to meet him yet… hint, hint.”

We really did need to get together more often.

“I need you to truth bomb me—how bad is it living in the city?”

He let out a long sigh. “In the beginning, it takes a while for your beast to get used to it. But he does. And for me—I mean, this city’s not big, but it was hard because I was alone. If you go back with him, you won’t be alone, so it won’t be as bad.”

“And what about Cougar Lake?” It was already declining at a quick pace.

“What about it? It’ll still be there. You don’t have to sell your place. You can let one of the younger generation use it in exchange for carrying forward or something. Don’t worry about that. That’s the chicken-shit in life. Worry about being with your mate.”

And he was right. Thorn was my priority.

By the time I got home, I was resolved to tell my mate what I wanted in life—to woo him, and, if need be, go back with him. The choice would be his, because at the end of the day, his happiness was more important than mine.

One of my cousin’s suggestions was a nice dinner out. About 45 minutes south of us, there was a steakhouse that had a good reputation and was known for being shifter-friendly. They didn’t exclude humans from coming, but it was more shifter-frequented, and I figured that would be good, because we could talk there.

Thorn seemed excited about the idea of me taking him on a surprise date, and on the way down, we talked about the progress we’d made on the resort. It wasn’t at all what you would call romantic—but it didn’t need to be. Not everything was about romance. In fact, the real stuff wasn’t. It was just the two of us living our lives together.

And while nothing had been settled, nothing determined, it felt like that’s what we were doing—living our life together, and I loved it.

We pulled into the parking lot, and I was happy to see there weren’t many cars.

“This looks so fancy. I’m wearing jeans.” Thorn unbuckled and faced me. “We can go elsewhere if you think I’m underdressed.”

As if I, too, wasn’t wearing jeans.

“It looks fancy. It’s not,” I promised him, then walked around to help him out. He didn’t need the help, obviously. Getting out of the truck was no big deal. But I liked to, and he let me.

We walked inside hand in hand, and the host brought us straight to our table. I’d managed to get one with a lot of privacy when I made the reservation, thanks to the promise of a big tip—and letting it slip that I was going to ask him to be my mate.

Shifter-owned places were really awesome like that. They let us blend the old ways with the new.

“Smells amazing in here.”

Thorn was right. It did—but he was referring to the food, or me? I meant my mate. I couldn’t get enough of his scent. It was him.

We ordered our dinner, and he turned to face me, both of us sitting side by side in the circular booth.

“You seem nervous all of a sudden.” He took both my hands in his. “What’s going on?”

“It’s… I—” I let out a long breath. “It’s because I am nervous. And I want to tell you about something. Something that’s specific about my kind—but also about us.”

“Okay.” He sounded unsure, and I knew I was botching it up. So, this time when I began talking, I just blurted it all out—everything I’d ever learned about mates. I only stopped when the server dropped off the bread, then started back up again.

It sounded more like the stupid health-and-lifestyle class I took as a teen than the romantic gesture I wanted it to be. But he just nodded along, and when I stopped, he asked a couple clarifying questions, then pulled his bottom lip in with his teeth and leaned back.

“Did I scare you away?”

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