Page 4 of The Bear's Perfect Mate
But his celebration was short-lived.
He sensed her before he saw her, his bear suddenly alert and wary.
When he looked up, Sophie Truro was striding toward him, her curvy body rigid with anger. Her dark eyes flashed dangerously, and her full lips—lips he longed to kiss—pressed into a thin line.
She does not look happy,his bear said.
She does not.Nero straightened immediately, suddenly aware of how that must have looked to her.
The man who had caused such a chaotic scene was laughing in the corridor.
She’ll think it was a set-up,his bear said.She’ll think we did it on purpose.
Nero opened his mouth, wanting to explain, wanting to tell her why he’d been so distracted. That the last thing he wouldeverwant to do was hurt her or make a fool of her. But no words came.
“So you thought that was funny?” Her voice cut through the air between them and sliced into his soul. “What was it, some publicity stunt? Did you get enough footage for your social media followers?”
“No,” he insisted, holding up his hands. “It was an accident. I was supposed to take that ring to stall twelve, not one.”
No, it was fate,his bear reminded him with absolute certainty.
Sophie crossed her arms, skepticism evident in every line of her body. “You know what I think?” she asked, her voice deceptively calm. “I think Tito Alvarez paid you to do this. Paid you to humiliate me in public.”
Nero felt as if he’d been slapped. “No,” he said, shaking his head emphatically, all humor vanishing instantly. “I would never…could never do that to you.”
The raw sincerity in his voice seemed to surprise her. She took a step back, her face paling as understanding dawned. “So, you’re one of those!”
Nero reeled at the anger in her voice. “One of what?”
I don’t think we want to know,his bear moaned. This was not how either of them had expected their first encounter with their mate to go.
Instead of answering, she spun around, her hair whipping through the air. “Stay away from me,” she threw over her shoulder, already walking away.
But how could he do that when she was his fate, his future?
Chapter Two – Sophie
Sophie would like to say she’d never been so humiliated in her life. But that would be a lie.
No, she had been much more humiliated than this. Just not quite to publicly.
“Sophie?” She turned at the sound of her name, momentarily disoriented by the commotion. With a start, Sophie remembered why she was at the wedding expo, and it was not for a proposal.
“Can I get a selfie and an autograph?” asked a young woman in a T-shirt with the slogan,Eat it simple with Sophie.
“Sure,” Sophie smiled, stepping forward to lean in beside the young woman who held out her phone. The camera clicked, capturing them both in a moment of forced cheerfulness that Sophie hoped didn’t look as strained as it felt.
“Thanks!” The young woman stepped back, beaming as she examined the photo. “I’m such a fan. Your simple lemon-thyme roasted chicken is the best thing I’ve ever made. My boyfriend proposed the night I cooked it for him! And now we’re here planning our wedding.”
Sophie’s smile tightened slightly at the mention of proposals, but she managed a warm laugh. “That’s wonderful! I’m so glad it worked out for you.”
Before she could retreat, two more women approached, phones in hand.
“Sophie! We love your Insta! Could we get a picture, too?”
She obliged, posing with them as they gushed about her five-ingredient pasta sauce and how they’d followed her series on simple and affordable dinner parties. Sophie found herselfcaught up in their excitement and enthusiasm, despite her earlier humiliation. Which they tactfully did not mention.
Or maybe it had not been that big a deal. Most of her followers knew she was a no-drama kind of person. That she wasn’t just an eat-simple kind of woman, but that she also followed a keep life simple mantra.
