Page 26 of The Bear's Chosen Mate
“Maybe?I don’t know for sure,” he admitted.
Kaylee growled softly before taking a ferocious bite out of her sandwich.“I have to say this whole cone of silence is pretty stupid when it comes right down to it.You’d think male polar bear shifters would be more willing to share details.”
“The only details I know guys dish about are ways to avoid getting trapped by the mating fever.”He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth because she looked sad again.“Kaylee, I didn’t want to avoid the mating fever this year.”Normally he never would’ve shared this intel, but considering they were going to be together forever, she needed to know.
“Grandpa gave us an ultimatum earlier this year.Says he wants the three of us mated or he’ll sell Borealis to Midnight Inc.My brothers and I agreed we’d—” He stopped as the expression on her face changed from annoyance to concern to utter horror.“What?”
She sat stick straight and rigid in his arms.“Normally you would’ve done everything you could to avoid the mating fever.Grandpa Gilesforcedyou to get stuck with me?”
Dammit, this was not going to end well.
“No, it wasn’t like that,” James began before he had to kind of acknowledge the truth.“Well, okay, itwaslike that, but he didn’t force me.Really.”
“I’m going to kill him.”The fury in her eyes said she might not be joking.
“Hey, it’s okay.I mean, yes, he was a bit of a jerk to lay down the law like that, but at the same time I’m glad.”
Kaylee wouldn’t meet his gaze.“Yeah, right, because you were just dying to end up trapped with me for the rest of your life.”
Okay, enough of that bullshit.James caught her by the chin and turned her face toward his.Glaring, he let her see every bit of his annoyance.“You do that again and I’ll put you over my knee.How many times do I have to tell youI chose this?Yeah, maybe my hand was pushed at the start, but this isn’t a disaster, andyou’renot a mistake.And if you keep saying that, I’m going to get pissed off.Stop it, Banks.You’re bloody perfect, and that’s the end of the fucking story.”
He glared at her.She frowned back.
The corner of her mouth twitched.Her entire body was one tight bundle, and she looked as if she were about to burst into tears.
Guilt sauntered in.“Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry I shouted at you.”
Her lips quivered.Then again, harder, and he was about to apologize again when a burst of laughter hit him smack-dab in the face.
Memories flooded in of first seeing that same delight and amusement.Ten years old and thick as thieves since the moment her family had moved in next door to his.They’d become best friends overnight.Inseparable, whether playing, or fighting, or just dealing with growing up.
There was always laughter.
Like the time he’d decided he was going to shave.Which wouldn’t have been a terrible disaster, except Kaylee, his ever-present friend, somehow convinced him that shaving included armpits, arms and legs as well as the peach fuzz growing on other parts of his body.
Hey, they saw that in commercials all the time, right?Yet it wasn’t the shaving that had made her lose control and laugh like a hyena, but his screams after he’d realized the soap he’d lathered up with had been studded with cinnamon.
The memory blurred with others: years of homework, and camping in the backyard, and yard chores, and Halloweens spent together.The connection between them grew clearer in his mind than ever before.
James put their plates aside for safety’s sake, ignoring her laughter, which had devolved into giggles, slowly fading into hiccupping snorts.
He waited.A long time.
Her lips were still quivering as she placed a hand on his face.“You really need to learn how to speak your mind.”
A wry smile escaped.
“I mean, how am I ever going to know what you’re thinking when you won’t share what you’re feeling with me?”she teased.
She leaned in and kissed him, right on the tip of his nose.
He shook his head.“Nice try, baby, but that’s not good enough.”
Kaylee sighed as if hard done by.“You’ve said it clearly, so I will listen instead of arguing—”
“Can I get that in writing?”
“—and I believe you.You wanted this.And while I don’t understand exactly why, I’m glad.Because youaremy best friend.I want to make you happy.”
