Page 30 of Tempting His True Mate
You can ask Mariam. I’m sure she would confirm that this happened to her, as well.
I winced. His feelings were hurt that I was doubting him again, but he was the one who told me Samantha was only a friend.
Which is 100% true, by the way, he interjected.
I sighed. Having another person in my head was complicating things.I’m going to need you to stop reading my mind so I can organize my thoughts, Gabe.
There is a way to sever the connection, he said reluctantly.But do you really want to do that? I’m enjoying this with you, Ella. We haven’t had a lot of time to just talk to each other.
I know. I’m sorry. I’m just so tired, and last night I couldn’t sleep because I heard you talking with another person, and the arguing kept me awake.
What other person?he asked, curious.When did you hear me? Could you tell what I was saying?
No,I replied.It wasn’t clear enough to hear anything other than to know it was a female’s voice and that you were arguing.
Oh, I think I know. He paused for a moment but then showed me the memory of him talking on the phone with Samantha. They were arguing about what she had said to me.
I called her on my way to your house after I had landed. Mariam thought she might have said something misleading to you when you were at the diner, and it turns out she was right.
I wasn’t sure what to say. The memory was proof that some kind of argument had happened between the two of them, but my brain was fuzzy from lack of sleep.
I really need to get some rest for work tomorrow. Can we block this connection for now?
Yes. He sighed.Goodnight, Ella. I wish I was there with you.
Goodnight, Gabe. And thank you.
The silence that filled my mind was more than welcome, and I was finally able to drift off into a heavy sleep.
__________
My alarm going off made me question how much I liked my job. I groaned, fumbling with my phone in the dark. Normally, I woke up a few minutes before it started beeping, but I had tried to squeeze in every second of sleep I could before forcing myself to get ready for work.
Now, at 3 am, I donned my typical jeans and t-shirt along with my apron and non-slip clogs. I set my hair in a bun, brushed my teeth, and even applied a little concealer and mascara.
My phone dinged with a text from Gabe.
Hope you slept well and that you have a good day at work. Missing you.
His thoughtfulness brought a smile to my lips.
I grabbed my keys and drove to the bakery, thankful for the quiet roads. I arrived a few minutes early, but Heather was already working and had completed several items on the morning routine. The smell of fresh donuts wafted through the air and made my stomach growl. She handed me a pastry with a cup of coffee from the pot that was perpetually brewing.
The price of those items was an update on my love life, apparently.
“Gabe’s in town. He’s staying at the Feldman,” I said between bites. “I guess I’m having lunch with Neil, but I’ll probably need to break things off with him.”
“Really? Why the sudden change of mind?” Heather’s eyes sparkled. She was enjoying the drama of the situation a little too much, but she didn’t mean any harm. Like me, she was impatiently waiting for a true mate and was using the situation to live vicariously through me.
“I was able to confirm that Gabe’s my true mate lastnight and that what Samantha told me about them dating was a lie, so I guess we should try to work things out. We were put together for a reason, after all.” I shrugged like it didn’t matter, but the truth was this felt like a huge decision. If things didn’t work out with Gabe, I might end up just being alone and never having a mate or kids. Family was important to shifters, and I could almost feel the time on my biological clock ticking away.
Plus, Neil probably wasn’t going to take rejection well, and I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation one bit. Heather seemed to understand my unsaid concerns and gave me a small hug before getting back to work.
The routine of opening the bakery helped with my anxiety. Soon we were in a rhythm, working side-by-side, humming and restocking ingredients. When that was done, we worked in tandem -- me prepping more pastries while she handled the breads -- until we were ready to open just before sunrise.
As customers began streaming in, we traded off baking what we had prepped and helping customers. By noon I was still humming, particularly from the coffee and sugar, but mostly because I was dreading going to lunch.
I clocked out and changed out of my apron as a text came through.
