Page 70 of Her Purr-fect Christmas Mate

She nodded, a silent approval of what he was about to propose.

Mordecai raised his head and held out one hand to his grandmother. “Stay for dinner?”

That night, they went to the little cottage on the lake. Someone had fallen through the ice earlier—Peony suspected her brother—but the hole was already freezing over.

It was the perfect Christmas scene. Snowy and calm, with hints of hidden chaos.

“How are you feeling?” she asked Mordecai as they made their way up the path to the cottage.

“About my grandmother?”

“Don’t feel like you have to limit yourself. About anything. Everything.” She tugged his chin down until she could kiss him.

*I’m not hiding anything from you any more,*he reminded her. *All my walls are down. You can find out for yourself.*

“Ah, but I’m selfish and incorrigible and want to hear you say it.”

“Very well. Since you asked so kindly. I’m happier than I ever thought I would have the right to be.” His expression was clear as he tipped his head back to stare at the stars, hands in his pockets. “I’ve spent my life looking towards the future. This is the first time I’ve looked forward to it, instead. Because of you.”

“It’s going to cost you a lot.” She slipped her hand into his pocket and held his tight.

“Bringing back the Hypatia? A building so decrepit even the rats have fled?”

“It has rats! Er. That came out wrong.” She cleared her throat. “It has the normal number of vermin, a fact about which I am not weirdly defensive,” she said as seriously as she could manage.

Mordecai laughed aloud. “Five fewer vermin, now the board don’t have their claws in it.” He wrapped his hand around hers. “Like I said, I’m looking forward to it. What’s the use of having money if I can’t use it well? And now I’m not focused on my grandmother’s revenge . . .” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe she came out here. I can’t believe sheapologized.”

Aurelie had stayed for dinner. Faced with Peony’s horde of relatives, she’d let her haughty mask crack—and beneath it had been a tired, unsure old woman, who’d been unhappy too many years to remember how to be anything else. Peony’s chest tightened at the thought of Mordecai becoming like that.

“I’m glad she did,” she said out loud, and Mordecai nudged her in a way that told her he’d heard her thoughts. “I’m also glad she agrees I’m the best thing to ever happen to you.”

“I can only hope you’ll say the same about me one day.”

She rounded on him and searched his eyes for a glint of humor, but he was being completely sincere. “What? Mordecai, youare. How can you think that you’re not?”

He gestured stiffly. “I’ve given you the Hypatia. Financial security.” She snorted. “Monetary things. You joke about not being able to match my Christmas gifts, but it’s the other way around. You’ve given me a new way of being myself. You’ve rescued my soul, Peony. Nothing I’ve done can equal that.”

“You really still think that?” She stood in front of him and took his face in her hands. For a moment, they were back in the office at the bookstore, on the verge of the kiss that had changed her life forever. “You’ve saved me as much as I saved you. You’ve helped me figure out who I am—not just my cat. I’m not only talking about the magic.” She gazed into his eyes. “I used to think my life was a prologue. You’ve made me see that I was never just waiting around for my life to start. I was already living it. And now I get to start the best chapter of all.”

He stared down at her. She felt the moment he accepted what she was saying as the truth. It wasn’t a wall inside him, falling down; it was his heart opening. *My mate. Joining you in your story would be the greatest adventure of my life.*

*I’m glad you don’t need any more convincing.*A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. *But just in case you do . . .*

She kissed him, and it was even more magical than the first time.

A note from Zoe Chant

Thank you for buying my book! I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book, pleaseclick hereto be added to my mailing list. You can also visitmy webpage, or follow me onFacebookorTwitter. You are also invited to join myVIP Readers Group on Facebook!

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Page down to read a special sneak preview ofA Mate for the Christmas Dragon.

More Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant

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The Sea Wolf’s Mate.(Hideaway Cove #2)Three adorable seal shifter kids, a wolf shifter without a pack… and a woman who thought she’d lost her chance at happy ever after.

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