Page 11 of Fearless as an Eagle

“You’re not ruining anything,” I declare. “I don’t care how long it takes for you to accept me. I’m still ecstatic you’re my mate.”

“But what if I don’t? Accept you?” The sadness in her eyes guts me, but I reply in my typical cocky way.

“You will. I’m a patient man and I’ll spend every second of the day convincing you I’m the perfect mate for you and you’d be crazy to deny me.” Wasn’t I just heartbroken at the thought of her rejecting me, you ask? Yeah, of course I was. But I’ve moved on. Now I’m going to ignore her. She doesn’t really mean it. She’s just scared. And as a bunny, I know all about fear. I’ll just show her there’s nothing to be afraid of.

Her lips twitch, and I know she’s holding back a smile. “Who am I to stop you?”

“Perfect. Now that that’s settled, what do you have to do in this tiny cabin?”

We end up gathered in the living room playing twenty-one questions. Not to be confused with twenty questions, which is apparently a completely different game. Guess that one extra question changes everything. Anyway… with this game, someone asks a question and everyone has to answer it. The first person to answer gets to ask the next question. Or so Mia says. I don’t know if that’s how it really works or not, but we’re playing Mia’s rules, so she goes first.

“What’s your favorite color?”

Wow. What a lame question. But if she wants to play it safe, I’ll let her… For now.

“Orange.” I shrug, answering first.

“Blue,” Mason answers next, followed by Bennett’s clipped, “Black.”

“Let me guess, carrot, water, and your heart?” She points to each of us ‌and it’s like she knows us already. I don’t know why we have to do these stupid get to know you questions. Though I laugh my ass off when she asks if Bennett’s favorite color is black to match his heart. I seriously love her sense of humor.

“Exactly,” Bennett deadpans.

“I knew it!” she cries before falling back onto the couch, laughing.

“My turn.” I clap, sitting up in my seat beside her but managing not to touch her despite how badly I want to. She gives me a warning look, no doubt expecting me to turn the game dirty. But I know now’s not the time. I’m not stupid. “What’s your favorite drink?”

The question surprises her, and we watch as she struggles to come up with an answer. “I’m gonna need you to be a little more specific. I have lots of favorites. My favorite soda is orange. My favorite milkshake is a chocolate caramel bacon milkshake from The Hoppin’ Fountain.”

“What? You… You’ve been to The Hoppin’ Fountain?” I ask, completely dumbfounded.

“Yeah. Not as much as I’d like, but whenever I get to the city, I go in and I always order the same thing. You know the place? It’s so freaking adorable. I love it there.”

I stare at my mate for a minute before my tongue will respond.She comes into my store every time she comes into the city. How have I not seen her before?Mason and Bennett look just as surprised as I am. My eyes blink as if coming back online and I finally say, “That’s my shop.” All this time, she was even closer than I originally realized.

“What? No way! What are the odds?” she exclaims.

“No idea. I can’t believe you’ve been to my shop...,” I trail off, picturing her walking into my store and ordering a milkshake.

“Riley. Iloveyour shop. It’s the only thing that makes going into the city worth it. It’s literally the highlight of my week when I get to stop in for a milkshake.”

If I sit up a little straighter at her compliment, it can’t be helped.

“Well, what about you guys? What’s your favorite drink? And I’ll be specific. What’s your favorite drink from The Hoppin’ Fountain?” she asks.

“I like to mix it up. There are so many flavors, I feel like I have to try a new one every week,” Mason tells her. “This week, it was an avocado milkshake with wood shavings. Last week it was a water lily smoothie.”

“I prefer the triple berry shake or the smoked salmon smoothie,” Bennett says when she looks at him expectantly.

“Of course,” she mutters, and I huff a laugh. “What about you?”

“Carrot, of course,” I scoff, earning a round of laughter from the guys and Mia.

“Silly me. Okay, so you obviously know I have a brother. What about you guys? Any siblings?” Mia asks.

“I have one brother. He’s a few years younger than me,” Mason answers first this time.

“What’s his name?” Mia sits up straighter, focusing on Mason.

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