The Bear's Bride(3)

“So, probably not since Brandon left.”

“Since I kicked Brandon out on his sorry ass,” Amy corrected and then blushed. Now Karen knew that it had been three years since she’d been with a man.

“You know what they say about shifters, don’t you?” Karen smirked. “I know you have to be a tiny bit curious to find out if the rumors are true.”

“Not in the least.” Of course she was. In college, the shifters were the most popular guys on campus. Amy had been married at the time but that hadn’t stopped her classmates from telling her in detail why they were never going to sleep with human men again. She’d always wondered if what the girls had said was true. She was way too chicken to ever find out for herself. Shifter men were supposed to be the best lovers and the best husbands. They mated for life and were extremely loyal. Their divorce rate was less than 0.01 percent, a statistic that interested Amy greatly.

“What if I told you this guy was smart, successful, incredibly handsome, wanted to start a family ASAP, and wanted to get married even sooner?”

“I would ask you if he lives in his mom’s basement. Or how many kids he has. Or how many felonies he’s committed.”

Karen snorted. “See. Bitter cat lady.”

“I don’t have a cat,” Amy said.

“Yet. You don’t have a cat yet. We can all see where this is going.”

Amy held up her hand. “Enough. I get it. But I’m not doing this. I don’t need to talk to some crazy man on the Internet and get my hopes up again. I’ve tried my hand at love more times than I care to admit, and I’ve failed every time. And that’s okay. I guess white picket fences, two point four kids, and a sweet husband aren’t in my future. And that’s okay! I’m happy with my life just the way it is. Thanks for trying, but no thanks. I’m not doing this again.”





Two


“Owen couldn’t make it tonight,” Clint Preacher said, starting the discussion. Frank was hanging out with his friends Clint and Ben at Ben’s ranch. They had put off discussing their annual camping trip for as long as they could.

“Kellan is out,” Frank told the two men.

Ben nodded. “We knew that was going to happen. He’s not going to leave his new little wifey at home for us.”

“Have you seen his wife?” Clint asked.

“Have I seen her?” Ben whistled. “That girl is smoking hot. Kellan is one lucky man.”

“Owen too,” Frank added. “Those LK people don’t mess around when it comes to picking women.”

“It’s making me want to sign up,” Ben admitted. “I gotta say, I made some rude comments about Owen when I heard he was doing it. He shut me right up when Erin turned up. Damn. I mean, where are they finding these women?”

“They’ll never tell.” Clint sighed. “I’ve been dating for damn near thirty years and I’ve never met women like them who want to settle down and start a family.”

Frank took another beer. “It’s true. The beautiful ones always pass me by for human men too.”

“That’s the good thing about using LK Brides,” Ben said. “You know the women want shifter men. There’s no sweating it out until you reveal what you really are.”

“I think we’ve all been there,” Clint said. “I can count on one hand how many women were happy to hear I was a shifter. It’s gotten better the older I’ve gotten, but man, it’s hard out here! I’m thinking of signing up too.”

The two men looked at Frank expectantly. “I did talk to Olivia Grey at the party for Kellan and Molly. She’s the agent who worked with both Kellan and Owen. She’s really nice.”

Ben clapped Frank on the back. “Alright, Frank! We’d better have a wild time in Wisconsin this year. You’re probably not going to come next year. Olivia works fast.”

“How much you want to bet Owen drops out this year too?” Frank asked. “He’s never missed a planning meeting before.”

Clint rubbed his chin. “I think we’re going to be putting this men’s weekend on pause the next few years.”

Frank nodded. “I wouldn’t be opposed to that. I don’t want to cancel it, though. The wives may have something different to say. What wife wouldn’t love to get rid of her husband for a weekend?”

“My mom loved it.” Ben smiled. “We would have our own little camping trip the first night Dad was gone. She’d set up sleeping bags in the living room and we’d watch movies all night.”

Frank laughed. “My mom and I did picnics all week. We wouldn’t eat any vegetables or any well-rounded, healthy meals. It was all junk, all week.”