Page 74 of Combust
Maggie laughed.
They walked for a few minutes in comfortable silence, pausing every so often to look at the holiday displays in store windows.
Then, her stomach in knots, Maggie found the courage to speak the words she’d been aching to say for months now.
“Sophie, I’m so, so sorry for all the trouble I caused you last year. I shouldn’t have said anything about you and Matt dating, not in front of the entire family like that. I saw how much trouble it caused, and how much it hurt you. I never meant to do that!”
Sophie stopped walking and turned to face Maggie. Her soft brown eyes held an expression of bewilderment. “You seriously think I’m still mad about that? Why?”
Maggie blinked. She’d spent so long imagining her friend seething over the betrayal.
“Well, um, you stopped replying to my texts. And you guys stopped coming to visit. I thought that maybe we’d driven you away.”
Wide-eyed, Sophie shook her head. “Oh, no, Maggie! That wasn’t it at all! And I’m sorry if I made you think that.”
“You’re sure?” Maggie asked slowly, though Sophie’s scent indicated nothing but sincerity. “You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”
“I swear to you that I haven’t been nursing some kind of grudge against you or Theenie or anyone else,” Sophie said firmly. “I’ve just been completely overwhelmed with my first year of medical schoolanddealing with two mates.” She sighed. “Don’t get me wrong. I truly love them both, but settling into a three-way relationship has been a little…well, it’s been alotof work. Plenty of serious discussions and compromises, with a bit of Matt and Chris yelling at each other.”
“I did wonder how a shifter mating was going to work out between you guys,” Maggie ventured. “I mean, I’ve known Matt all my life.” She gave her friend a wry smile. “And he can be really,reallypigheaded about stuff.”
Sophie nodded. “For being best friends, they’re so damned competitive all the time.” She sighed. “The first six months were really kind of rough. I mean, I love them both with all my heart, and I’ve never doubted that they love me. But shifters aren’t built to share their mates, so Matt and Chris have really had to work hard to find a balance. Being in the middle of it hasn’t always been easy.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Maggie agreed. “As a shifter, it would make me crazy if I had to share Cade with anyone else, even if his other mate was a really good friend of mine.”
Sophie sighed.“Exactly. It took a while for my guys to work out a compromise that would work for all of us. I can’t complain, though. They treat me like a princess, and I don’t know how I’d survive med school without Chris feeding all of us or Matt earning a great salary at his consulting job.” She smiled, and happiness spread sweetly over her face. “And even when I want to kill them, I can’t imagine living without them.”
“I felt that way about my brother a lot when we were growing up,” Maggie said, deadpan.
Sophie laughed. “But enough about me and the soap opera that is my life. I’m thrilled that you mated Mr. Hunky Cowboy Sweetness. Have you guys set a wedding date yet?”
“Saturday, May thirtieth. Save the date!” Maggie replied. She couldn’t help smiling to hear Cade described as “hunky cowboy sweetness.” It fit him perfectly. “We’re hoping for a nice spring day, so that we can hold the ceremony and reception in the riverside meadow. Which reminds me—will you be my Matron of Honor?”
“I’d love to!” Sophie exclaimed. “Have you picked your wedding colors yet?”
Maggie shook her head. “I had an idea. You buy a dress that you really like, and I’ll make that color my wedding color.” She grinned at her friend. “Easy-peasy.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Sophie said. “I’m going to be in Bearpaw Ridge until January third. Want to do a girls’ shopping day in Missoula? We can visit the bridal boutiques and scope out some wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses.”
“It’s a date,” Maggie said.
And with that, her happiness was complete. Not only had she found her fated mate, but she’d found her best friend again.
Epilogue
Grizzly Creek Ranch
Christmas Eve
Cade was late. Maggie anxiously hoped that he wasn’t about to miss his first Christmas dinner with the family…and with her.
The Swanson clan had gathered in Grandma Elle’s grand Victorian living room for eggnog and appetizers before Christmas Eve dinner.
It was crowded and noisy in the best way. All of Maggie’s uncles and aunts, even Uncle Thor and Aunt Cassie from Denver, were there, along with all of Maggie’s cousins. Everyone was talking and laughing and joking as they waited for dinner to be served.
Maggie, Matt, Sophie, and Chris stood together near the big fireplace, which crackled with cheerful flames and filled the room with the fragrance of applewood smoke.
Dad was relating the whole Christmas tree poaching saga to Uncle Thor and Aunt Cassie.
