Page 11 of Can't Be Love

My wolf hated when I thought that, and images of waking up in his arms suddenly filled my head.

“No, you were fine. Amazingly cool for a drunk,” she teased.

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t even know why I did it. My wolf was just so agitated. Probably the foreign territory,” I lied.

I was changing back into my clothes and had a pile stacked on the counter when the door chimed.

“Be with you in just a moment,” Syd said, without even looking up. To me she asked, “Do you really want all this? You don’t have to feel obligated. I really appreciate you modeling them for me though.”

“Are you kidding? I can’t get this in San Marco. I want it all.”

She looked at me like I was insane. “Lily, there’s over three thousand dollars worth of clothes here.”

“Don’t forget the shoes,” I reminded her. “I’m wearing them out.”

“You’re serious?”

“I never joke about fashion,” I told her honestly.

Her eyes went wide in shock, but her excitement could probably be felt throughout the town. I guessed she didn’t get a lot of large purchases. She had already admitted most of her sales came through her online store.

“Hey, Tamara,” Sydney said, finally addressing the woman that had come in. “This is Lily Westin.” We said pleasant hellos. “What can I do for you?”

“Lynn’s birthday is coming up and I know there’s a shirt in here she’s been drooling over. Would you happen to know which one?” the woman asked.

“Excuse me,” Syd said to me. “I’ll only be a minute.” I watched her walk around the counter and pull a blue flowered print shirt off a shelf and show it to her. They spoke and then moved to check out. “Do you mind, Lily? It will only take a second to ring this up, and then I’ll get you out of here.”

“Oh sure, it’s fine. I’m not in any hurry.”

I wandered around, checking out some jewelry she had near the register. I saw lots of nice things, but nothing I had to have.

Once Tamara left, Syd turned to me and apologized as she started checking me out. Her eyes almost bugged out of her head when I didn’t even flinch at the price. I didn’t want to tell her she was underselling herself. I’d have paid way more for the same in the city.

I smiled as I handed over my little black card, and she seemed to hold her breath as she ran the transaction, relaxing only when the accepted confirmation came through.

She bagged up all my new treats and asked if I wanted help getting it all home. I laughed and confessed I was a professional bag-carrying shopper. We stood there chatting a little longer until the bell tinkled again, signaling a new customer.

“You’re busy today. I’ll get out of your hair. Thanks for everything,” I told her.

It wasn’t until I started to turn around that his scent hit me. He stared at me with a startled look that quickly turned paranoid as he looked back and forth between me and Sydney. Good. Let him suffer. The knowledge that he was there to see her and not me should have been a relief, not a punch in the gut. Still, I liked Sydney and didn’t want to see her hurt. I squared up my shoulders and raised my chin to exit, forgetting how that posture made my boobs stand out until his gaze dropped to stare at them.

“Thomas,” I said in a polite voice, as I struggled with the internal battle of my wolf demanding we make our claim on the man right there for Sydney to see, and I quickly exited the building.Don’t do anything stupid, Lily, I told myself.

Thomas

Chapter 6

I had spent the morning alone at home trying to get a grip on this new reality where I not only stood a chance with Lily, but Mother Nature was going to see to it that we ended up together. Now that the shock was wearing off, the idea excited me. She was Lily freaking Westin, my mate. I wanted to scream it from the top of the roof.

Only one thing held me back . . . Sydney. How was I going to tell her about Lily? I worried about it all morning long, trying to work up the courage to talk to her. She had a right to know. It wasn’t like it was in my power here. I wasn’t choosing one over the other; that choice had been made for me. It was something every shifter sought after their entire lives, as natural as breathing. So why did it feel like I was cheating on Syd?

I finally mustered up the courage to go and talk to her. It wasn’t like I could hide forever. Collier wasn’t that big, and my wolf was already fighting me for dominance. It was only a matter of time before I did something stupid that would alert the entire Pack to that fact I had a mate. She deserved to hear it from me before something like that happened.

But when I opened the door, instead of the familiar fragrance of Sydney, I was smacked in the face with Lily’s scent. It was everywhere, and it called to me on such a visceral level that it took every ounce of willpower not to act on it.

What the hell was Lily doing here?

I caught sight of her loaded down with more shopping bags than I’d ever seen one person juggle. My instinct was to go to her and help, but then I saw Syd and froze. I looked back and forth between them. Lily nodded in acknowledgement and I could see my wolf happily wagging his tail as she said my name.

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