His niece was a handful. He knew that every time he spoke to Laurie on the phone and heard her shrill cries in the background. At only seven months, she packed a punch in the volume department. He’d only met her once, at Christmas when he’d met up with his family for one night in their hometown about two hours from Cambridge. It was as close as he’d been willing to get to the county Sharon resided in. So they’d compromised.
Laurie glanced at her watch. “Gotta go. Be at the house by six, Coop. If you aren’t there, I’ll send Corbin and Zach to get you.”
He grinned. “I’ll be there.”
She sauntered toward the door. As she was leaving, she grabbed the frame and leaned back in. “It’s going to be okay, you know. There’s a woman out there for you. It just isn’t Sharon. Fate has Her plan.”
“I know.”
Did he? He wasn’t so sure anymore.
»»•««
Cooper parked his car outside the liquor store and hauled himself out of the driver’s seat. He’d taken a shower at the college and changed into a presentable outfit, hoping he looked more human than he had when Laurie stepped into his office a few hours ago.
She’d said to be there at six. It was quarter to seven now. He had a dozen texts from her, all of which he’d ignored. As long as he was late, he might as well stop and grab a bottle of wine so he wouldn’t show up empty handed.
As he wandered into the liquor store, he smoothed the wrinkles out of his shirt. At least it was clean and relatively forgiving. It was the best black T-shirt he owned, designer even with some sort of emblem in the upper corner. He couldn’t remember the brand, but the saleslady he’d bought it from months ago had assured him it was in style. And it had cost enough for him to believe her.
Now he couldn’t remember why he’d purchased it in the first place. It wasn’t as though he’d been on any dates in the recent past.
His jeans were clean and newish. His black loafers rounded out the ensemble, hopefully making him look reasonably closer to his age than usual. At twenty-five, he knew he was beyond his years.
He was too serious, and he worked hard. Half the time he looked in the mirror, he found himself frowning. Worry lines caused mostly by the constant stress of evading his destiny had made themselves permanent. He never smiled.
If he didn’t make a few changes soon, he was going to find himself in an early grave.
Taking a deep breath, he rounded the aisle and headed toward the red wine. Laurie liked red wine, right? He couldn’t remember. It was a shot in the dark.
A man stood in the center of the aisle, staring at the selection, tapping his fingers on his chin. He didn’t have any more clue than Cooper what to purchase for whomever he was visiting that night.
Instead of turning his gaze toward the hundreds of bottles of red that would mean little to nothing to Cooper, he found himself staring at the tall man still tapping his chin. The guy had to be six two. Cooper was five ten. He was also older. In his thirties. He probably had a date. He was dressed to impress in newer jeans, a dark blue buttoned shirt, and loafers.
Maybe he did know something about wine and was just trying to make up his mind. It was worth a shot.
Cooper cleared his throat. “You have any suggestions? I’m heading to my sister’s, and I know nothing about wine.”
The guy turned to face him with a chuckle. “Not a clue. I’m going on a sort-of first date with a woman, and I don’t even know if she drinks wine at all, so you’re one step ahead of me.”
Cooper inhaled sharply and blinked. He couldn’t move. His mouth hung open, but he couldn’t form words.
Was it possible?
No way.
The guy tipped his head to one side in confusion. “You okay?”
Cooper nodded, trying to make his brain work. “Sure. Yeah.” He knew. He didn’t need to ask. He knew this was Sharon’s mate. Not because the guy was picking out wine for her. It had nothing to do with the fact that Laurie mentioned their date earlier in the day. It didn’t even have anything to do with Cooper’s wild imagination.
Nope.
He knew this was Sharon’s date, because he also knew this man was his own mate.
Drawing on every ounce of willpower he had, he stretched out a hand. “Cooper Hamilton.”
The guy broke into a smile and lifted his own hand. “Jackson Wolf.”
Cooper almost choked when he heard the guy’s name. A human. And his name was Wolf. How ironic.
Jackson turned back toward the wine selection as he released Cooper’s hand. “So, shall we grab the same thing and see who it works out best for?”
“Sure. But I think you’ll win. Hands down. First date compared to dinner with my sister?”