Page 6 of Purrfectly Mated

Now all she had to do was break the news. She had no intention of watching a show or returning to the hotel with him.

What could go wrong?

ChapterTwo

Uzzi Stregovich grunted happily as he opened the box of sweet-smelling, fresh pastries.

"I promise,liebling, I will only have one,” he said aloud to his dearly departed wife.

Betty understood him well, and his love for sweets was no secret. Ah! How he missed the scrumptious little spiced cakes she used to bake for him on special occasions. Filled with currants and nuts, they were simply delicious. No one made them quite like her.

But it wasn’t spiced cakes that had him salivating now. It was a box full of tasty treats from the flagship Bear Claw Bakery store in Barvale, New Jersey.

“Hank?” he called to his driver. “Are you sure you don’t want?”

“No thank you, Uncle Uzzi. Better keep my eyes on the road,” his driver replied.

Hank was one of his favorite honorary nephews, but the man did not know what he was missing.

Hmmm, Hank. No, no. That is for another time, Uzzi told himself.

His Magic buzzed around the small cab in the back of the limousine, but he was able to quiet it as he opened the thin cardboard box and peered inside. Sugary goodness wafted in the air, and Uzzi inhaled and sighed enthusiastically.

“It’s been awhile, you know,” he explained to no one in particular.

Hank was focused on the road, and no one else was there with him, but Uzzi peeked around before snagging a delectable Bear Claw napoleon from the box.

“Oh! Perfection,” he mumbled around a bite of custard filled, chocolate and vanilla glazed goodness.

The Bear Claw Bakery was one of the best in the entire country.

Hands down.

Once that one was gone, Uzzi grinned and dove for the fresh honey almond pastry, whose fragrance tantalized and tempted, even though he knew he should not have another. Not yet anyway. But how could he resist?

“I’m only human,liebling. Well, mostly,” Uzzi said, conversing with his beloved Betty again.

He grinned, looking over the goodies and rubbed his hands together. What to try next? Such a big decision!

Wunderbar!

He thought and took another one from the box. This one dusted in powdered sugar and topped with a ripe strawberry slice.

Mmmm.

The pastries were just wonderful. There was nothing like the infamous Devlin brothers’ sweets and Uzzi should know. He was a self-proclaimed pastry connoisseur.

The flagship store was a good hour out of the way from where he was headed, but worth it. So worth it.

They had the very best of what the brothers had to offer, in his opinion. Sometimes they were even made by one of the brothers themselves.

Like tonight. Lucky Uzzi.

That special little sixth sense he had told him that would be the case tonight. Magic had always been a friend to Uzzi Stregovich. When he asked Hank to make the detour, Uzzi hadn’t been surprised to see the Alpha Black Bear of the Barvale Clan himself wiping his big hands on his apron before coming out to greet him.

He’d been friends with the Bear’s father since back in the day. Marcus Devlin might have met his mate by chance on vacation, the Bear knew Uncle Uzzi’s offer to consult with any members of the Clan was good for any time in the future. So long as Marcus promised to provide Uzzi with his decadent pastries whenever the old Witch was in town.

Like tonight.

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