Page 64 of The Bear's Christmas Wish
His body hummed with contentment, every cell still vibrating from the night spent with Sarah. Her scent clung to his skin despite his morning shower, a constant reminder that last night hadn’t been a dream.
“Someone’s in a good mood,” called a familiar voice.
Michael turned to see James and Christopher trudging through the snow toward him, grinning like they’d caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. James carried a white bakery box in one hand and a thermos in the other.
“What brings you two out so early?” Michael asked, unable to keep the smile off his face.
“Oh, we thought we’d bring breakfast to the man who was too busy to answer his door last night,” Christopher said with a knowing smirk.
Heat rushed to Michael’s face. “Last night?”
“We stopped by to see if you wanted to join us for a run,” James explained.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you,” Michael said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Clearly,” Christopher laughed. “We knocked for a good five minutes before we gave up.”
“You didn’t!” Michael shook his head. How could he not have heard them?
James shook his head. “I don’t know what you could have been doing that was more important than taking a run over the mountains with your best friends.”
“You could have texted before you came over,” Michael said as they headed for the cabin.
“Since when did we need to make an appointment?” James asked, following him inside.
“This is what happens when you find your mate,” Christopher said. “You forget all about your lifelong friends.”
Michael spun around and narrowed his eyes at his friends. “You’re teasing me.”
“We might be.” Christopher held up his finger and thumb an inch apart. “Just a little.”
Michael snorted and grabbed three cups, setting them down on his desk. “You nearly had me.”
“We did come over,” James said, as he poured coffee from the thermos into the cups. “But we sensed Sarah was there and thought you might not appreciate us gate-crashing the party.”
“So,” Christopher prompted, settling into a chair and propping his feet on the corner of the desk. “Are you going to tell us, or do we have to guess?”
Michael busied himself with opening the bakery box. The buttery aroma of fresh croissants instantly filled the room. “Tell you what?”
“Oh, come on,” James groaned, holding his steaming mug of coffee in his hands. “You’re practically glowing.”
Michael couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he remembered Sarah’s reaction to seeing his bear for the first time. Her wonder, her acceptance, the way she’d reached out to touch his fur without a trace of fear.
“I told her,” he admitted, taking a bite of croissant to hide his smile. “Everything.”
Christopher’s feet dropped from the desk with a thud. “Everything?”
“The shift, the mate bond, all of it.”
“And?” James leaned forward, eyes wide.
Michael shrugged, trying for nonchalance despite the happiness threatening to burst from his chest. “And she took it better than I could have hoped.”
His friends exchanged a look before breaking into matching grins.
“About time,” Christopher said, raising his mug in a toast. “To Michael, finally getting his head out of his…”
“To Sarah,” James interrupted, nudging Christopher with his elbow. “And the mating bond.”
