Page 20 of Her Embarrassed Bear Mate

As much as Alix didn't like being bossed around, anything that would get her out of the house was a welcome distraction. And she was really done with Trixie's childish cartoons.

She pushed herself up from the couch, her leg slightly tingly from having been asleep. "Sure, if you write me a list, I'll get everything."

"Oh, you know what to get," her mum said.

Dirk nodded and held out his credit card. "Here, take this."

"Umm..." Alix gave them both a blank look. Did this man really just offer her his credit card? They barely knew each other. Was he not worried that she was going to abuse it? Not that she ever would but he didn't know that.

"Well, it's food for the family so you shouldn't have to pay for it," Dirk clarified.

There was that wordagain.Family. Dirk and her mum were throwing it around like they were some fully blended unit when in reality, this was more of an oil and water situation. There was no blending, no matter how much stirring they did.

Alix grimaced, not impressed with either of them. "It's fine, I'll just use my own card. You can pay me back later."

She was on her way out when Veronica came into the living room with her empty mug.

"Alix is popping down to the shop to buy everything for the Sunday roast. Can you go with her?" Dirk asked his daughter.

It was a total ambush.

Veronica looked lost for words but nodded. "S-Sure."

Since Alix didn't have any good reason why Veronica couldn't come with her, she just accepted her fate. If she protested too much, they might start asking questions why they didn't want to spend time together and that wouldn't be good for anyone.

The ride to the store was short but awkward. The good weather had also disappeared the moment Alix's mother commented on it and was now raining softly. Alix cranked up the volume of her radio, grateful to have music to bridge the silence. A song from her favourite band DK4 came on and Alixdrummed along with the beat. She noticed that Veronica was humming along too.

"You like DK4?" she asked.

Veronica's chuckles filled the car. "Who doesn't? They're amazing. And Audra Green has an amazing voice."

"The best voice. And she's so good at writing lyrics too," Alix gushed.

"Not to mention, hot."

"So hot."

"Don't laugh at me, but when I was a teen, I had a massive crush on her. I used to dream that I would run into her during a Crescent Lake ceremony and we'd be magically fated mates." Veronica's face grew a shade pinker. "That's so embarrassing. I don't know why I just told you that."

Alix couldn't help but smile. "I think it's cute. And who hasn't had a crush on a celebrity when they were a teenager?"

"So who did you like?" Veronica asked.

"I'm not telling you."

"Aww, come on. I told you my crush."

Since there was no harm, Alix relented. "Alright. I used to have the biggest crush on Lisa Chen, the girl who played Dina in Wolf Town."

"The werewolf drama? Their portrayal of shiftersis super problematic. It's making wolf shifters seem like some uncontrollable beasts when you and I both know they're just as polite and civilised as the rest of us."

"Oh, so problematic," Alix agreed as she pulled into the car park of the store. "But Lisa Chen was so cute! I was gutted when I heard she wasn't a shifter. It crushed all my dreams of discovering I was her fated mate. See, you weren't the only cheesy lovesick teen."

"Good to know."

The car came to a halt and Alix briefly locked eyes with Veronica. The rain clattered on the windscreen and all of the awkward tension had somehow melted away. They shared a smile, one that reminded Alix of the night they spent together.

Veronica cleared her throat. "Just for the record, I'm no longer under the illusion that I'll have a rom-com meet-cute with my fated mate. That sort of thing doesn't happen in real life. People don't just bump into each other in a lift and throw sheets of paper all on the floor or get tangled together in the park by a dog's lead or---"

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