Page 45 of Purrfectly Mated

“Really? Awesome, I try to cater to curvier girls like myself, and I am glad to hear it,” Jessica replied.

She was sweet and pretty with a clean, bright complexion. Her hair was such an amazing shade of red and Elissa thought she was just beautiful.

“Wait, did you say my outfit from yesterday? I didn’t meet you yesterday, did I?” Confusion clouded her eyes.

“I know. Oh geez, you must think I’m nuts! Hunter asked me to come over and wash them for you since he didn’t want any of the other males around your clothing. It’s a Shifter thing,” she said and scrunched up her cute nose.

“I’m so embarrassed. You didn’t have to do that really,” Elissa felt her blush, but relaxed all the same.

Jessica was more than friendly, and she felt no threat from the woman at all. Being new to the Shifter world, she appreciated some insider info.

“Oh, I don’t mind. Besides, I am thrilled you’ll be staying here.”

“Do you live here too?”

“Not anymore. I live in an apartment over my store in town. But I am here a lot. This is the Pride House, so you know, there is an open-door policy to the Maverick Pride Tigers.”

“Actually, I didn’t know,” Elissa murmured, taking in the strained silence.

“Oh, um, did I mess up? Hunter will be so mad if I make you uncomfortable. Not that he is a bully or mean in any way--- OMG! I am just messing this all up,” Jessica said, and grimaced.

Elissa waited for the woman to run out of steam before replying with a patient smile.

“Look, I have a proposition for you, Jessica. How about I make our lunch, and you can fill me in on things? This way, I don’t make an idiot out of myself in front of your brother or anyone else. Sound good?”

“Sure,” she replied happily.

“So, you cook for a living?”

“Well, I try to. But yes, I am a chef. Graduated from a culinary institute too,” Elissa smiled, and grabbed the box of pasta from her new friend’s hands.

“Wow,” Jessica said, her teal eyes wide.

“It’s not a big deal. I just love food, as you can see,” Elissa joked.

“You and me both,” Jessica grinned.

“Alright, let’s see what we have to work with.”

Elissa began opening cabinets and removing ingredients. She almost had a heart attack as she discovered a large walk-in pantry stocked with row after row of restaurant quality ingredients.

“Oh my, this is like my dream kitchen.”

Her pulse raced as she took in the wonderful assortment of goodies and gadgets before her. This only cemented her belief that fate had played her a very good hand.

Uncle Uzzi too.

ChapterFourteen

Sparkling marble countertops, real wood cabinets, oversized terra-cotta tiles, an eight-burner stove, three sets of double wall ovens, and more.

All the appliances were state-of-the art, top quality too. Every one of them looked brand spanking new! It really was a dream kitchen.

“Well, you see, no one here really knows how to cook,” Jessica explained.

“A lot of the Pride males work for Maverick Development, so they can build anything. Hunter has loads of contacts in just about every industry, so getting this stuff factory direct is like no big deal,” she said.

“Really? I worked for a restaurant recently, and the manager ordered stuff from this same manufacturer. He was told these ovens were back-ordered for a minimum of six months,” Elissa replied, grinning.

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