Page 22 of His Determined Bear

“That was an unexpected combination, but really good, actually.” Cooper tilted his head to the side, “I wouldn’t have paired those two together, but it really worked. Although I have to admit that the Ginger Spice Cake with the Maple icing was a surprising favorite. And very season-appropriate,” he added, staring pointedly at Kelly, “Or if you didn’t want to do that, I really loved the Chocolate Cake topped with Coffee infused Buttercream. It was absolutely stunning with the Coffee-Meringue cookies, Espresso-Kahlua Ganache, and hazelnut mousse.” Cooper nodded and licked his lips again, “Yeah, that one was definitely the most decadent of them all and will be a guaranteed crowd-pleaser for sure.”

Okay, so my bear was preening at this point. I was pretty sure my head had grown ten sizes at this point in the tasting. My mate loved my cakes. It shouldn’t have mattered or been a big deal. But it mattered to me. It really did.

“I loved all those, too,” Kelly admitted. “Not that I care about the whole season thing.” She looked at Aaron with a pleading and exasperated expression on her face. “This is why he is not allowed to go to the caterer with us. He will nitpick everything.” She shook her head and looked at Cooper, “Banned! Completely banned! You’ll have to eat what’s put in front of you on the day.”

I smiled at the good-natured bickering between mother and son. It sounded like they’d had this conversation before. I had to ask why, because well, it was an opportunity to find out more about my mate, “Okay, I have to know. Why is he banned? Is he a picky eater?”

Kelly snorted, “You could say that. He’s a well-published food critic, Graham.”

I glanced his way, brow raised, and he inclined his head, “ It’s more like I go to places I want to eat at or places that I’ve heard about across the country, and I film videos of what I think.”

“He’s being modest, for once,” Kelly chimed in. “Cooper started out writing articles for newspapers that had nothing to do with food. Then there are magazines, which he still freelances for. His Instagram account just hit a million followers, and the new one, Tiktok—” There was no doubt about how proud Kelly was of her son.

“How many followers do you have on there, Coop?” She didn’t wait for him to answer before she added, “He travels around and finds places. That’s why I told him he could live anywhere he wanted. He can travel from Montana just as easily as LA. Right?” She looked my way like I had a say in where he lived, and I found myself nodding.

Coop sighed, “Don’t start, mom. I told you this is your world now. Not mine.”

“But it could be,” she glanced my way and held my gaze, “right, Graham?”

My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Kelly didn’t seem to mind that I had failed to answer, so she kept peppering me with leading questions. “Don’t you think it would be wonderful to have him here, Graham?” She held my gaze, and I could swear she knew what Cooper was to me.Had Aaron told her?

“Yes,” I replied because I couldn’t speak anything less than the truth to the woman that brought my mate into this world.

“Mmm, I thought so.” She nodded like she had just confirmed a suspicion she already had. “Actually,” a calculating look entered her eyes, “Cooper, why don’t you hang back with Graham, and you can choose the cake together. Just let me know what your final choice will be. We’ve got to get to the florist, and then the caterers….” She glanced at Aaron, “You don’t mind if Cooper picks it, do you, honey?”

Aaron shook his head immediately, “I’m sure between him and Gray, we’ll have the best wedding cake ever. And Gray, you can drop him off when you two are done. We’ll leave you youngins to it.” They started heading for the door into the main cafe.

Those two weren’t even trying to be subtle. Not that I minded their matchmaking. I would never turn down the chance to spend time with Cooper. I glanced his way to see if he would decline or make an excuse.

“I’ll be picking my favorite just so you know,” he said to his mom.

It wasn’t a no.

I glanced at Kelly and Aaron, “I’ll just walk you two out.” Aaron and Kelly went ahead, as I looked over at my mate looking right at home in my kitchen… it would only be better if this was my home kitchen… or my home in general. But baby steps.

When I got to the front door, I was surprised to find Aaron waiting for me. “Good luck,” Aaron said with a knowing smile before moving to meet up with his mate. I smiled and watched as he caught up to her and put his arms around her waist, pulling her into his body. And how she melted into him.

I sighed. Gods, I prayed Cooper and I would have that one day soon.

I locked up again and then drew in a deep breath before heading back to meet my mate. When I walked back into the kitchen, I found him cutting into one of the cakes. He looked up and said, “I just wanted to try the Pumpkin Cake again. You know your brownies may be a little on the dry side, but I can’t say the same for your cakes.”

Cooper put the small slice on one of the plates I’d set out. I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he lifted the fork to his mouth. When a small pink tongue peeked out, I had to swallow and slip my hands in my pockets before I did something silly. I watched as he chewed and tilted his head to the side, then finally, he met my gaze. “Somehow, you managed to not over soak the cake with maple-infused simple syrup. Even if the Maple-Cream Cheese frosting is a little too sweet on its own, it pairs perfectly with that pumpkin spice. And the cake is moist too.”

“Does that mean if you were reviewing my bakery, I would get a ten out of ten?” I asked.

He chuckled, “Hmm, I don’t know….” His eyes danced with mirth, “I should deduct marks for the brownie….”

I snorted. “Will I ever live that down? I always thought my brownies were pretty good, and I get zero complaints.”

“I guess I just have higher standards,” Cooper shrugged.

“I could live up to them,” I replied, holding his gaze.

His eyes widened, and then he turned, taking his time to set the plate down.

“If your cakes are anything to go by, I’m sure I should give your brownies another shot,” Cooper replied.

---