Page 17 of Spark
Then he remembered Matt's declaration that he wanted to court Sophie for his mate. Chris had to fight the urge to scowl.
Kissing her would be a real dick move on your part, he told himself, knowing how Matt felt about her.
His best friend had spent the past year trying to hide how depressed he felt without her. It was pretty amazing to see much Matt had perked up since Sophie’s return.
But Chris had missed her, too, more than he thought he would. Now that she was back—for the summer, anyway—he wanted to spend some time hanging out with her and catching up.
Based on what he’d heard about medical school and residencies, he figured that he and Matt wouldn’t be seeing a lot of her once she started her studies.
So, what could he suggest that would let them spend some more time together, but not make Matt too jealous?
Then inspiration struck.
“Tomorrow’s the monthly Cougar Lake Pride dinner at Uncle Dan’s ranch,” Chris said. “Want to come?”
These gatherings were a way for the local sabertooth shifter community to stay in touch, conduct business, and resolve conflicts via the pride’s governing council. There weren’t any rules against inviting outside guests, as long as they already knew about shifters.
When Uncle Dan and his mate had first started hosting these dinners for the sabertooth shifters living at the Cougar Lake Ranch, Chris had been thrilled to serve as his uncle’s sous-chef.
He and Uncle Dan had been cooking together for as long as Chris could remember, and there were a lot of good memories associated with their culinary adventures.
And after high school, when Chris had been working as Annabeth Swanson's assistant baker at the Cinnamon + Sugar Bakery & Café in town, he had begun serving as his uncle's sous-chef at the monthly pride dinners.
“Are you sure that would be okay?” Sophie frowned. “I mean, I’m just an Ordinary, and your pride dinner is shifter stuff, right?” She paused. “I mean, I get invited to Grandma Elle’s Sunday dinners, but that’s just because Mom and Mitya are a couple.”
Was it his imagination, or did she sound a little bitter?
“Of course, it’ll be okay for you to come!” he assured her. “Uncle Dan and I are going to be cooking. We always take the day off from the restaurant for Pride Dinner Night.”
She bit her lower lip, and he could tell that she was still unsure.
“C’mon,” he urged. “Everyone’s been asking about you since they heard you were back, especially Aunt Margaret and Kayla.” Then he added a temptation he figured she couldn’t refuse: “And I was planning on making pavlovas for dessert.”
Actually, he’d only come up with the idea five seconds ago, but there was no way she could know that.
Her eyes widened, and he knew he had her. The crisp, sweet meringue shells filled with whipped cream and fresh fruit were one of her favorites.
“Okay, if you're sure. I'd love to come," she said, and he was pleased when her arm around his waist squeezed him gently. “Can I bring anything?”
“Just bring yourself.” He couldn’t help giving her his sexiest smile, the one that usually guaranteed him a “yes” when he asked someone out.
He meant it teasingly…well, mostly.
To his surprise and amusement, she turned beet-red, a slow blush that rose up her neck and rolled over her cheeks up to her hairline. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
So was he.
She was so cute when she was flustered like this. He’d forgotten how appealing her air of shy innocence was. Even a year away in South America hadn’t changed that.
And he could smell that she was attracted to him, even though she’d been trying to hide it all afternoon. His inner cat had liked how it felt to protect her from Eddy.
You can’t cross that line with her, he reminded himself. But he couldn’t help but want to poke his toe over the edge, just a little.
He'd always liked being around her, but something had changed since she’d returned, and it intrigued him.
“Me, too,” he said. “Now, the next person I want you to meet is Veronica. She’s our Maître D at the restaurant, and her shift is starting soon.”
Chapter Six
