Page 36 of The Bear's Reluctant Mate

Charlie’s eyes widened as he peered through the glass. “Wow! They look like little star patterns!”

Marion kneeled beside them, her shoulder brushing against Alfie’s. “May I see?”

As Alfie guided her hand with the magnifying glass, their fingers touching, he felt that now-familiar spark between them intensify. Looking up, he found her eyes on him rather than the leaf, and the heat of her gaze made his heart race.

“It’s beautiful,” she murmured, and Alfie wasn’t sure if she meant the leaf or something else entirely.

His bear rumbled with satisfaction.She feels it, too. She knows we belong together.

“Come on!” Charlie called, already moving farther down the row. “Let’s find some bugs to study!”

Alfie stood and offered Marion his hand and she took it without hesitation, letting him pull her to her feet. For a brief moment, they stood close enough that he could smell the scent of lavender soap and feel the warmth radiating from her skin.

“We should probably catch up before he discovers the compost heap,” Alfie said with a smile. “That’s where all the really interesting bugs live.”

Marion groaned, but her eyes danced with amusement. “Lead the way, bug expert.”

“Whatever you say,” Alfie replied.

Because he would do anything for her. And Charlie.

Because they were his. And he was most certainly theirs.

Chapter Twelve – Marion

“This place is magical.” Marion shifted the weight of the fallen branches in her arms and stared up at the muted sunlight as it filtered through the canopy of trees.

“It was always one of my favorite places when I was a kid.” Alfie stood by her side, close but not touching as he followed her gaze toward the branches above their heads. They’d been exploring the woodland at the edge of the vineyard for almost two hours now, and the afternoon had slipped away in a haze of wood gathering and excited discovery.

“Look!” Charlie exclaimed, dropping to his knees as he spotted another bug. He scampered after it with Alfie’s special magnifying glass clutched carefully in his hand. “This one has stripes!”

Marion nodded toward her nephew. “You’d better go and identify it for him,” she told Alfie, even though she longed for him to stay by her side.

Alfie glanced at Charlie, and then back at her, giving her the impression he was torn between who he would rather spend time with. With a wistful smile that made her blush, Alfie nodded. “I’ll be right there.”

She liked that Alfie put Charlie first, that he understood her nephew needed this sense of connection.

“I can gather more logs,” she assured Alfie, hoisting them higher in her arms to prove her point.

Alfie chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners in that way that made her stomach do a slow flip. “I think we have enough,”he said, tucking his own pile under his arm as he went to Charlie and crouched down beside him.

Marion watched as Alfie patiently identified the bug and then explained how it was eating the leaf, his voice hushed but animated. Charlie hung on every word, his face filled with fascination. Her affection for Alfie threatened to grow into something more.

How could it not? He’d spent hours showing her nephew the wonders hidden in fallen logs and forest undergrowth, never once growing impatient or bored.

“I’m hungry,” Charlie announced suddenly, looking up from the bug with the abrupt shift in focus only a child could manage.

Marion glanced at her watch, surprised to see how late it had grown. “We should get home for dinner,” she said, already mentally cataloging what she had in the refrigerator that could be quickly transformed into a meal.

“Can Alfie stay for dinner?” Charlie piped up, his hopeful gaze darting between the two adults.

Marion opened her mouth, but no words came out. She would love Alfie to stay for dinner, and longer. But she didn’t want to pressure him. He’d already been so generous with his time, once again.

Alfie cast a look over his shoulder at her, as if trying to assess her reaction.

So Marion took the plunge. “Would you like to stay for dinner?” she asked, surprising herself with how steady her voice sounded despite the nervous flutter in her chest.

Alfie’s face lit up with a smile that seemed to radiate pure happiness. “I’d love to,” he said.

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