Page 56 of The Bear's Matchmaking Mix-up Mate
Wren tried texting instead:It’s not what it looks like. Vince showed up uninvited. I sent him away. Please call me.
The message was marked as delivered, but there was no immediate response. She tried calling again, but got the same result. Her anxiety spiraled tighter with each passing minute. What if he saw the post before he saw her message? What if he thought she’d invited Vince? What if he believed she was reconsidering her choice?
She paced the living room, hugging herself tightly. “Don’t let old fears ruin this,” she whispered fiercely. “Finn trusts you. He knows you.”
But the doubt crept in any way, insidious as smoke under a door. She moved to the window, watching the lane, willing Finn’s truck to appear. She would explain everything when she saw him. She had to.
Wren pressed her forehead against the cool glass, gathering her courage to fight for the life—and love—she’d finally found.
Chapter Twenty-Three – Finn
Finn buried his hands in the rich soil, his fingers working through the loose earth with practiced ease. Mrs. Henderson’s rose garden stretched before him, imagining what it would look like when all the roses were in bloom. The scent would be heavenly.You’re looking at the future through rose-tinted glasses,his bear teased from within.
Finn grinned, patting the soil around a newly planted Queen Elizabeth.Well, it is all coming up roses!
The sun warmed his back as he worked, mind drifting to Wren and the life they were building together. Her moving in, their mating, the way she’d stood beside him in public without hiding anymore. Even the prospect of her possibly carrying his child—a hope he hardly dared voice even to his bear—made his chest tight with emotion.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He ignored it, focusing instead on the delicate root system he was settling into the ground. But then it buzzed again, and again, lighting up with multiple notifications. Something about the insistence made him pause.
Wiping his hands on his jeans, he pulled out his phone and froze. The screen displayed a community page post—a photo of Wren on her porch with another man. Not just any man. Even through the small screen, Finn recognized the polished good looks and practiced smile of Vince Carter, country music star and Wren’s ex. The man had his hand on Wren’s arm in what looked like an intimate gesture.
“Reunited! Are they back together?” the caption read.
For one terrible moment, Finn’s world imploded. The garden around him faded, colors leaching away as his stomach plummeted. His bear roared with fury and pain, clawing to be released.
But then, like sunlight breaking through storm clouds, he remembered Wren’s smile that morning. The way she’d kissed him goodbye, her eyes full of love. The trust they’d built between them when she’d nearly misunderstood each other over Alfie’s post about the mystery band.
We are mates,his bear reminded him.True mates.
Finn took a deep breath, his racing heart gradually slowing. Why had Vince shown up now? What did he want? The questions circled in his head around and around.
You should text her, or call her,his bear said.
I should. He tapped the screen and scrolled down past all the new notifications. There. A text from Wren:It’s not what it looks like. Vince showed up uninvited. I sent him away. Please call me.
Relief coursed through him. Of course, she hadn’t invited the man who’d hurt her so deeply. Of course, there was an explanation.
But before he’d had time to write a reply, a familiar sensation washed over him. A tingling awareness that made his skin prickle. Wren. She was close. And getting closer.
Finn dropped his tools without a second thought and strode toward the front of Mrs. Henderson’s property. He rounded the corner just as Wren’s car pulled up, tires skidding on gravel.
She stumbled out, her face streaked with tears, eyes red and swollen. The sight of her distress hit him like a physical blow.
“Finn,” she gasped, nearly tripping in her haste to reach him. “I’m so sorry…he just showed up…I didn’t invite him…I would never…”
He closed the distance between them in three long strides and pulled her into his arms, cutting off her frantic explanation. She trembled against him, her tears dampening his shirt.
“It’s all fine,” he murmured against her hair, breathing in her scent. “We’re mates. I never doubted you.”
She pulled back just enough to look up at him, her tear-stained cheeks flushed. “Not for a second?” she asked, voice small and uncertain.
Finn shrugged, thumbs gently wiping the tears from beneath her eyes. “Well, maybe for a nanosecond, I got a little mad.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “But never a doubt because you are mine and I am yours.”
He cupped her face in his hands, tilting it upward as he lowered his mouth to hers. Her lips were soft and yielding beneath his, tasting of salt and coffee and home. She pressed closer, arms tightening around his waist as she returned his kiss with a fervor that left him breathless.
When they finally parted, a smile had replaced her tears. “I love you,” she whispered, her voice steady and sure.
“I love you right back,” Finn said, his heart so full he thought it might burst.
