Page 38 of The Bear's Mail Order Mate

Hugo studied him for a moment, then let out a slow breath. “Son, you know your mother and I didn’t always have it so easy. Back before we were engaged, I nearly messed everything up. I was so busy trying to prove I could make a solid future for us that I neglected to show her how I felt. We had a near breakup because of it.”

Kris blinked. He’d heard bits and pieces of this story over the years, but never the full truth. “What happened?”

A faint smile curved Hugo’s lips. “We were dating, but I was too stubborn. Insisted on working dawn to dusk, trying to show your grandfather I could run the place. Meanwhile, your mom was back in town, feeling ignored. She started wondering if I really wanted her, or if the vineyard was my only priority.”

Kris’s bear rumbled softly in his mind.Sounds familiar,he noted.

Hugo continued, “She almost left for good. She packed a bag and told me she’d had enough if I couldn’t find time for her. I’d never been so terrified.” A nostalgic laugh escaped him. “So I hopped in the old truck—transmission squeaking like a dying cat—and raced after her. Ended up stalling out half a mile from her place. Ran the rest of the way on foot, panting like crazy. Showed up on her doorstep, sweaty and out of breath, begging her not to go. Told her the vineyard was my heritage, but she was my future.”

Kris raised an eyebrow, touched by the sincerity behind that last line. “And she forgave you?”

Hugo shrugged lightly. “She took some convincing, but in the end, yes. Because Iprovedit. After that, I made space in my life, balancing the vineyard with our relationship. She saw it wasn’t all talk. And we never looked back.”

Kris inhaled the story, letting it sink into the churn of his thoughts. “So you’re saying…what, exactly?”

Hugo gave Kris a steady look. “That you accept she might need time, especially with this ex-fiancé. But you also remember that you and she are meant to be. And you have to prove that to her. You have to win her heart. You have to show her there is no one else for her.”

Kris chewed on that.Show her.But how, when she was so conflicted?

By being there, consistently,his bear offered in a gentle tone.

Kris nodded, half to himself. “I guess you’re right.” He set the coffee aside and grabbed another small bite of pancake, though his appetite had waned under the swirl of emotions. “It’s just… I worry that she’s still hurting, and maybe she’s not ready to see what I want to show her, or…who I am. That might scare her off.”

Hugo clapped him on the shoulder. “One step at a time. You don’t have to lay all your cards on the table at once, but you also can’t hide them forever. Trust your instincts. You know, Cassia is the one. She’ll handle the truth, no matter how surprising.”

Kris’s bear let out a quiet hum of agreement.She is the one,he said with certainty.She just doesn’t know it yet.

Kris finished the last of the pancakes in silence, letting his father’s words roll through him.We just need to prove it,he echoed.Just like Dad did.

Chapter Fourteen – Cassia

Cassia had not had the best night’s sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, Kris’s face filled her mind, and her lips tingled at the thought of kissing him. And her body tingled at the thought of his hands on her skin, caressing, stroking, tempting, and teasing.

She’d risen at the first light of dawn and pulled on her robe, before heading to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. While it brewed, she’d opened her notebook and read over the notes she’d made on the Thornberg wines she’d tasted. Then she’d made a short list of dishes that would both complement and enhance the subtle flavors of each wine.

By the time the pot of tea was drank, she had a fully fleshed-out menu for a potential trial run of a wine-pairing dinner.

Which she would suggest to Kris when she next saw him. If she could look at him without blushing, that was.

Her mind wandered back to last night. And that kiss.

What had she been thinking?

That was the problem, she hadn’t been thinking. At least not with her head.

No, that kiss had been purely an act of her heart. And her soul.

She placed her hand on her chest and took a deep, shuddering breath. Why did he make her feel like this?

It was as if she drew her to him by pure animal magnetism alone.

Kris might blend the finest of wines with their sophisticated notes and complex tones, but there was nothing sophisticated about the way she responded to him. It was primal. Raw. Overwhelming.

She rubbed her temples with her fingertips and sighed. This was not how her fresh start in Bear Creek was supposed to go. She’d come here to heal, to find herself again after having her heart trampled. Not to immediately fall for the first attractive man she met.

But Kris wasn’t just any man, was he?

Cassia shut her notebook with a sharp snap as she remembered last night. Her cheeks brushing against his stubbly jaw, the low sound of his breath catching as she’d pressed her lips to his skin. That moment had been so charged, so unlike anything she’d planned or expected.

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