Page 49 of The Bear's Matchmaking Mix-up Mate
She is our angel,his bear swooned.
“I’m sorry I doubted you,” she whispered, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw.
“Don’t be,” he said, turning his face to kiss her palm. “Trust takes time. And we have all the time in the world.”
Her eyes darkened with desire as she began unbuttoning his shirt. “Speaking of time,” she murmured, “I think we should make the most of it.”
Finn groaned as her fingers brushed against his bare chest. “I couldn’t agree more.”
He swept her up again and carried her to the bedroom, his heart fit to burst with love for this woman.
His mate, his songbird, his forever.
As he lay her down on his bed, the morning’s fear and doubt melted away, replaced by the certainty that whatever obstacles came their way, they would face them together.
Because that’s what mates did. That’s what they would always do.
Chapter Twenty – Wren
Wren’s fingers hovered over the final chord, letting the last note of her new song drift into silence. The melody still hummed in her veins, electric and alive, as she set her guitar aside. Her third song this week! Whatever creative dam had broken inside her showed no signs of rebuilding itself.
She padded barefoot across the worn floorboards of Rowan Cottage, following the scent of coffee to the kitchen. There he was—her mate, her love, her muse—hunched over papers spread across the kitchen table. Finn’s brow furrowed in concentration as he scribbled notes on a diagram of the community garden fundraiser layout.
Her heart did that familiar flip it always did when she looked at him. Finn Thornberg. Bear shifter, landscape designer, and the man who had turned her world upside down in the best possible way.
Wren moved behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. The scruff of his stubble tickled her lips.
“What did I do to deserve that?” he asked, his voice a low rumble that she felt as much as heard.
“You’re my new muse,” she whispered against his ear. “Three songs in a week. That’s more than I wrote in six months before I met you.”
Finn tilted his head back to look at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled. She leaned down and captured his lips with hers, savoring the coffee-warmth of his mouth.
“My brothers have always found me amusing,” he said when they parted, his eyes dancing with mischief.
Wren laughed, moving around to lean against the table beside him. “Not as amusing as Alfie’s plant pun T-shirts. I still can’t believe he wore ‘Don’t Be So Chloro-phyll of Yourself’ to your mom’s birthday dinner.”
“You should see his Christmas collection. Mom threatens to disown him every year.” Finn’s smile softened. “They really love you, you know. All of them.”
“I love them, too.” A surge of happiness threaded through her veins. The Thornbergs had welcomed her without question, folding her into their family as if she’d always belonged there. After years of feeling adrift, she’d found an anchor, a home, a family who accepted her, famous singer or not.
Finn glanced at his watch and sighed. “I should get going. I promised Alfie I’d help put up the flyers for the fundraiser today.”
“I’ll come with you,” Wren said, the words out before she could second-guess them.
Finn’s head snapped up, surprise clear in his eyes. “Are you sure? There’ll be other people there.”
She drew in a deep breath. The old Wren would have hesitated, hidden away, kept her relationship a secret to avoid complications. But that Wren had been running scared for too long.
“I’m done hiding,” she said, leaning down to kiss him again. His lips were warm and eager against hers, sending little sparks of heat down her spine. When they parted, she looked straight into his eyes. “I don’t care if the whole world knows about us.”
Finn’s body went rigid beneath her hands. He pulled back slightly, something unreadable flashing in his eyes.
Wren stepped away, her stomach clenching. Had she misread everything? Her mind raced, searching for what she’d said wrong. Perhaps she was ready, but Finn wasn’t. After all, dating her would inevitably thrust him into a spotlight he’d never asked for.
“Or we can keep it a secret,” she offered weakly, hating how small her voice sounded. “If that’s what you want.”
Finn’s eyes widened. “No,” he said quickly, reaching for her hands. “No, I would love the world to know. My bear has been wanting to roar from the highest peaks and tell the world you are ours since the first day we met.”
