The Bear's Bride (Mail-Order Mates #3) Read online

  He hoped he would hear back from Olivia soon. His heart couldn’t take the anticipation much longer. Either way, he wanted to know.

  ***

  There was a knock at Amy’s door. She was tempted to ignore it but the visitor was persistent. She hoped it was her landlord coming to fix her oven. It had broken three days earlier and the man had said he was on the way to fix it. She couldn’t wait until she got the payment for her latest manuscript. She was going to find a better rental and forget all about the dump she was in. It would be a fresh start to move into a new place. She was counting down the days.

  She peered through the peephole and rolled her green eyes. “Karen, go home. It’s late.”

  “Open the door, Amy.” Karen tapped her foot on the other side. “I do have a key.”

  Amy opened the door a crack. “What do you want?”

  “I want to talk. That Lovely and Kind Brides agent called again.”

  “Did you tell her you were a big liar and that I wasn’t going to meet this psychopath?”

  “I did.”

  Amy closed the door and slipped the chain off. “You did not.”

  Karen nodded. “I had to. She was so keen on getting ‘me’ to talk with this guy. She sounded so happy that I felt awful deceiving her.”

  “Serves you right.” Amy felt a teeny bit bad for her sister. She’d only been trying to help. She couldn’t let Karen see that or it would be an invitation for her to meddle again, and Amy didn’t need that.

  “She was really nice about it, actually.” Karen waved a packet of paper. “I printed off all the stuff she emailed over. She says if you’re still interested, you can talk with her yourself.”

  “Impossible.” Amy shook her head in disbelief. “You were impersonating me! They must be desperate for brides if they’re still going to take me.”

  “They are not. I just filled out the paperwork. You took all the tests yourself. The answers were true. This guy is your match. I know you’re dying to look at this.”

  “I am not.” She was. Oh, was she curious. Amy had thought about it all the night before. It was why she was still up writing. If she tried to sleep, she would think about this mysterious match again. What did the man look like? What kind of shifter was he? Where did he live? She could spend all day thinking up new questions.

  Karen pulled a bakery box from her tote bag. “If you look at just the first page, I’ll let you have this brownie. I picked it up on the way home.”

  Amy eyed the box hungrily. She’d been so busy typing she’d forgotten to have lunch. “Fine. Just one page.”

  Karen handed Amy the box and came inside. “I can always count on your sweet tooth.”

  They sat at Amy’s small kitchen table. Amy slowly bit into the brownie and savored the rich dark chocolate. Karen opened her manila folder. “Just the one sheet. If you don’t want to look at any more, that’s fine. I’ll respect your wishes and I’ll tell Olivia that you’re not interested.”

  Karen passed the colorful print across the table. Amy slowed her chewing. There were no words on the sheet of paper. It was a printed picture of the man who was her supposed match. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Karen hadn’t been lying when she said the guy was handsome. He was so sexy Amy felt a jolt go straight between her legs. This man could be her husband. They could get married and have babies and a white picket fence. And he was hot. And a shifter. And he was supposed to be her match.

  She took another small bite and chewed slowly. She couldn’t think straight looking at this guy. He was standing behind a counter in the picture and he towered over it. The guy had to be at least 6'3" if not taller, and he had deliciously wide shoulders. His hair was golden brown and his brown eyes crinkled at the sides when he smiled. He looked so kind. It was difficult to tell that from a picture but he did.

  Karen reached to take the paper back and Amy slapped her hand. “I’m still looking.”

  “Uh-uh.” Karen smiled knowingly. She opened the manila envelope again. “Want to know more?”

  “Maybe.” Amy swallowed the brownie. “This is really good. Loraine really outdid herself this time. Is this new? I’m going to have to go in and order some for my writers’ meeting at the end of the month.”

  Karen smiled smugly. “That isn’t from Loraine’s. That’s from Frank’s Treats.”

  Amy clapped her hands. “A new bakery! Oh, that’s so great. You’re going to have to tell me where it is after you tell me more about this guy.”

  “I just did tell you more.” Karen closed the folder and put it in her bag. “You’re not interested, though, so I guess I’ll just go home.”

  Karen stood up and Amy jumped out of her seat. “Okay. Okay! Jeez. I want to hear more about this guy. You were right. Is that what you want to hear?”

  “That’s good.” Karen sat back down and gave Amy the folder. “He lives less than an hour away. Isn’t that wild? He’s been this close the whole time. I bet we ran into him when we partied at the falls as teenagers.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Amy murmured as she read the pages. He was older than she was and owned his own bakery in Sunset Falls. That was only forty minutes north of where she lived. She had heard of the town but had never visited. Why would she? It was a small town and not much happened there. The only thing of interest was the falls themselves. You didn’t need to even drive through the town to get to the falls.

  “Olivia drove down on her way to the airport and dropped off the brownie and printout herself. There are directions to his shop on the back too.”

  Amy nodded and looked at the picture again. It wasn’t like she had anything to do but write. She could drive down for a day trip and then drive home. If the guy was a total creep she could come home without introducing herself.

  “His parents even gave him a name just like you have. Frank Franklin and Amy Alma. Come on, that sounds so perfect. You two are so meant to be.”

  Amy licked her lips and finally tore her eyes from Frank’s picture. “Maybe I’ll go get another of these delicious brownies this weekend.”

  Three

  Amy checked her directions one more time once she got into Sunset Falls. It shouldn’t be hard to find the bakery but she wanted to be sure. It looked just like her hometown, really. There were a lot of ranch houses. The further from the business section and “old town” you got, the newer and bigger the homes got. She’d passed a very nice subdivision coming into town. Sunset Falls was a little better off than her town but not by much. Looking around at the people walking through downtown, she guessed they also catered to older citizens.

  It was always an issue in spots like these. The warm climates attracted retirees. Somehow that also meant slightly more expensive homes than the norm. Amy herself couldn’t have afforded a home. Maybe at one time, but after the economy collapsed, home ownership was outside of her reach. She wondered if Frank had a house. He did own his own business.

  She found the shop on the main drag and parked two blocks away. She was being paranoid but she didn’t want him to see her car. It would make her easier to follow. She walked the two blocks to the shop, smiling at people as she passed. More than one man looked her up and down as she walked. It helped to put a little pep in her step.

  Amy had put on an extra ten pounds over the last year. The downside to being a writer was the sedentary lifestyle. She made sure to get out for walks with Max and Karen and that helped somewhat. The extra weight must not have made much difference if she was still turning men’s heads. She’d worn tight jeans and a V-neck sweater for the occasion. It was just cool enough for a light sweater and this one was one of her favorite items of clothing. The shade of pink set off her dark red hair and green eyes perfectly.

  There was a very nice Mercedes parked in front of the shop. She took a minute to admire the vehicle. She wasn’t into cars or anything, but this one was slick. It had dark-tinted windows and was shining like it had just been washed and waxed. Whoever owned it really took care of their vehicle, or
they could afford to pay someone to take care of it.

  Nerves hit her hard when she put her hand on the door handle. She paused to take a deep breath. He was just a man, she reminded herself. He didn’t even know who she was, so there was no pressure. When she opened the door, the smell of coffee and pastries helped ease her mood. The store was so warm and inviting. There were little tables near the window, and two comfy chairs. The entire front by the cash register was dominated by a dessert case. There were no sandwiches on the menu at Frank’s Treats. This was her favorite kind of pastry shop.

  Her mouth watered looking at everything. There were the brownies that Karen had brought her and so much more. According to Frank’s menu, the donuts were his best seller and a customer favorite. She would get a dozen for Karen’s family. The coffee smelled good too. She was glad she had brought her laptop. This was a perfect place to get some editing done. There were only three other customers in the shop. Mother, daughter, and son-in-law, if she had to guess. The two women looked similar, but the guy didn’t really match either of them. He was both too old to be the daughter’s boyfriend and too young for the mother. He also looked like a badass biker while the ladies were both clean-cut.

  She rang the bell for service after making up her mind. To her surprise, the man with the women stood up and walked over.

  “Made up your mind?” he asked her pleasantly.

  It was him. The biker was Frank! She was completely thrown and couldn’t think of anything to say. He looked very different from his picture. Not in a bad way, but it was surprising. In his photo, he had been clean-shaven. Now he was sporting an impressive beard. His eyes and smile were the same, though. And he was big. Huge. Amy was no petite woman, standing 5'9" without heels. But the man behind the counter towered over her. And he was so wide. Her first thought had been biker but her second was Viking.

  “Miss?” He looked at her expectantly. When she continued to stare, he tried again, moving his hands as he spoke. “Can I help you?”

  The hand movements were familiar. “Was that sign language?”

  He laughed. “Yes, it was. I thought you might be deaf. I know it’s harder to read my lips with the facial hair.”

  Amy’s eyes went right to his full lips, which were easily visible under his bushy beard. She looked him up and down and couldn’t help but smile. “No. I just…forgot what I wanted.”

  “Oh, no problem. There’s a lot to choose from. I’ve been stress baking.”

  “Good for us,” the younger woman at the table said. She raised her giant cookie in Amy’s direction. “Everything here is great. Whenever Frank gets stressed, the entire town gets a treat.”

  “You bake these all yourself?” Amy was impressed. There were hundreds of items in the case. The independent bakery she frequented at home only had a few options in the case. You had to special-order most items and even then, the inventory was small.

  Frank nodded proudly. “I did. I’m a one-man show, usually. I do have to call in reinforcements for the holidays, though. I never want to turn anyone away, but I get a lot of orders.”

  “Your hair is so gorgeous,” the older woman at the table said.

  “Thank you. It’s natural.” Amy added the second statement all the time now. People always assumed she dyed her hair because she was Hispanic but her hair was dark red.

  “It really is pretty,” Frank said softly.

  Amy turned back to him in time to catch him staring at her intensely. When he caught her looking, he blushed. “Are you new in town?”

  She shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m just passing though. Doing a little research for an article.”

  “Really?” The younger woman at the table gave Amy a curious look. “We don’t get a lot of reporters out this way. Researching anything special?”

  Shoot. She shouldn’t have lied. With all of them watching her she couldn’t come up with an elaborate lie. She hung her head. “I’m not a reporter. I’m a writer, and I was just looking for a quiet place to finish my book.”

  “A writer? How exciting!” the older woman said.

  The younger woman and Frank exchanged a glance and then both of them broke into laughter. Amy looked from one to the other. Jealousy made her stomach turn. He couldn’t be with the curvy little woman. Could he? She had called him Frank, so he had to be the one who owned the shop. Yet they were sharing an inside joke. Amy knew she had no right to be territorial, but she didn’t like it.

  “You’ll never believe this, but I used the same lie when I first got to town!” the woman said.

  “Molly sure played a number on me.” Frank smiled as he spoke. “She tricked me with the reporter lie too. Is that the new ‘I have to wash my hair’ line for you ladies? Another easy way to let men off?”

  “You came to the right place…almost,” the older woman said. “This place isn’t usually this empty, but there’s a bookstore around the corner that’s great. Get yourself one of Frank’s treats and coffee, then park yourself over there. You can edit in peace.”

  “Oh.” She didn’t want to go around the corner to write. She wanted to sit where she could see Frank and talk with him. “Thanks for the tip.”

  Amy had planned on getting a little editing done, but she didn’t need quiet for that. The women were nice, though. She wondered what their relationship to Frank was. No man would be dumb enough to sign up for a mail-order bride service when he already had a girlfriend. Would he? She would stick around for a bit and try to find out more.

  ***

  Frank’s bad day had started looking up the minute the sexy redhead walked into his shop. He had been talking with Janice and Molly when she came in, thankfully. Without the distraction, he didn’t know what he would have done.

  She was beautiful. Tall and curvy in all the right places. She looked more like an old-time movie starlet than a writer. When he’d taken her order, he’d only snuck a peek when she wasn’t looking. Her cleavage was right there, exposed by the neckline of her sweater. It had taken a gargantuan effort on his part to keep his eyes on her face. That was saying a lot, since she had one of the most perfect faces he had ever seen.

  His bear agreed. It had stirred when the woman had walked in and when he got a whiff of her, it was over. This was it; she had to be his mate. He knew that was crazy, but his bear told him it was true. This stranger had walked into his shop and he couldn’t let her leave.

  Frank couldn’t believe it. He’d been up baking all night after Olivia had left the shop. She’d told him that his match wasn’t interested in seeing him. She was going to try one last-ditch effort to win the girl over. It didn’t look good, though. There had been some kind of mix-up and the woman was backing out. He had been crushed. All day he’d been jumpy and nervous. Whenever the phone rang, he was sure it was Olivia calling to tell him it was all over and they were back to square one.

  It looked like that was all meant to be now. His match with LK Brides had to fall through so he would be free to pursue this beautiful redhead. He came over with a coffee refill.

  She looked up from her laptop and smiled. “Thank you.”

  The shop was mercifully empty. He had no idea why, but it had to be fate working in his favor. He never had an empty shop from five until close. People loved stopping in for an after-work treat.

  Frank went back to the counter and wiped down the glass again. He counted out his register and checked the mail that had come in. Once he ran out of busy work, he went and sat across from the woman.

  “I’m Frank.”

  She looked a little confused. “I know. Your name is on the sign.”

  “Yes, but this is the part where you say your name.”

  She blushed. “Oh. I’m Amy.”

  “Nice to meet you, Amy. Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?” He bit the bullet and just asked her. No harm done if she said no. She was from out of town anyway. This was his only shot.

  She blinked a few times. “Oh. Well—”

  He stood up quickly. “
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed you were single. I had to try. Sorry for bothering you.”

  “I’m single.”

  He didn’t turn around. “Oh. Sorry for bothering you again.”

  “I’d like to have dinner with you.” She put a hand on his shoulder and Frank turned to look at her. She was tall for a woman but Frank still dwarfed her. Not surprising, since even shifter woman were much smaller than he was.

  “You would?” He needed to hear her say it again.

  “I would.” She nodded enthusiastically. “It’s not like I can live on coffee and donuts alone. I’ll need to take a break.”

  “Great! I close down in an hour.”

  “Perfect.” She smiled at him shyly. “Thank you for asking.”

  He walked to the back of the shop with his chest puffed out. He’d taken a chance and it had paid off. He didn’t need a mail-order bride agency. He had found his mate all on his own. He couldn’t wait to tell Olivia that he didn’t need her help anymore.

  Four

  “Are there any motels in town?” Amy asked Frank as they sat outside the Two Wolves restaurant. The dinner had been wonderful. He was perfect. He had lived in Sunset Falls his entire life and had opened the bakery when he was twenty. His father had helped him just before he passed away. He gave Frank the money and told him he was proud of him. The story brought tears to her eyes. She was close to her parents and couldn’t imagine life without them.

  Frank wanted to get married and have children. He had hoped it would happen before now, but he was in no rush. When the right woman came along, he would know. He had his own little house in the new subdivision. His mother still lived in their old home in the old part of town. Frank visited her every day. She was still very active and had a busy social calendar. Right now, she was vacationing in Canada with her ladies’ group.

  Amy could tell he was very close to his mother. He was so animated when he talked about her and her antics. He didn’t talk about himself all night, either. He asked questions about her, her family, her job, and her friends. They had stayed until the waitress ushered them out so she could close the place down.