Bear Meets Bride (Online Shifter Dating Agency Romance)

  Bear Meets Bride

  (Online Shifter Dating Agency Romance)

  © 2016 Sasha Winter

  COPYRIGHT

  Please respect the work of this author. No part of this book may be reproduced or copied without permission. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Any similarities to events or situations is also coincidental.

  © 2016 Sasha Winter

  All Rights Reserved

  1

  I know that hunky-looking guy.

  Erin was sure of it. Of all the people to pop up on her list of potential online dating match-ups, it was someone she often served at her bakery but had never been able to flirt with in front of her other customers.

  This was precisely the problem that had led her to the online dating site Dare2Bare.com in the first place (well, it actually said ‘Dare2Bear’ on the site’s front page, but she assumed that was simply a typo that the site’s admin hadn’t noticed yet). She met lots of men at her bakery, and service with a smile was an important aspect of her approach, only that was exactly what they were expecting. If she happened to be attracted to one of her customers, it was almost impossible to draw their attention to anything other than the fact that she was the nice lady who served the food.

  Opening the bakery had never been something she regretted, though. She loved providing a valued service and was flattered by how the community had taken to her and helped turn it into a success. Secretly though, on starting out, she had supposed that being in a position to meet so many different people each day meant that at some point she would look up and see the man of her dreams enter the store. In retrospect, although she was prepared to concede this notion a bit farfetched, especially as she was fairly down to earth, those customers that she had swooned over had allowed her efforts to go unnoticed. They had food and drink in mind and, over time, she had concluded that only the creeps and perverts ever really tried to make advances on the women who served them.

  Converting, therefore, to online dating as her only hope, the profile that drew her attention also offered a new angle to that customer–proprietor relationship and, as unexpected a development as it was, Erin was compelled to break down the barriers and have a go, even if the results were bad and she lost a customer as a result.

  Hmm, she thought, wrinkling her brow as she clicked through his profile to see if there was anything about him in his biography section that she didn’t already know.

  No such luck.

  His name was Tom, and he was a cop. That was about all she knew about him other than that he was partial to burgers, although that was more than most of these online dating folk knew for certain when taking a leap into the unknown, so was perhaps an advantage. Erin also knew that, although having a burly type of appearance, he was polite and softly-spoken; even coming across as gentle, although there must have been a fiercer side to his nature considering the work he had to do—but let the criminals worry about that.

  The familiar face hadn’t been the first profile to turn up on her list of potential matches. There had been several profiles sent in response to her filling out the ‘Ideal Partner’ form, none of which had any attributes that really put her off, apart from the fact that they were just too far away. She was a busy person with no plans to relocate and so just knew that any attempt to pursue a long-distance relationship would either end in heartbreak or exhaustion. This was surely the problem with online dating; being able to see that partner material does exist and is out there waiting, only the odds are that they dwell beyond convenient proximity. It was especially true for those users who didn’t live near the hive of a big city, like Erin herself. Montana might be beautiful from one horizon to the next, but it also meant that most of the towns within driving distance of her Cold Lake home and business had populations of less than ten thousand people, and the chances of finding that elusive perfect match were greatly reduced.

  So, suddenly coming across a profile that was local really caused Erin to sit up and stop slouching. The search was not hopeless after all, and could it be that her years of hearing relatives pester her about the importance of finding a ‘nice man’ had the possibility of coming to an end?

  The possibility felt too good to be true. Five years ago she had challenged herself to make her own business work, but she’d underestimated how demanding it would be. Over time, she realized that this commitment demanded consistent and ongoing devotion, even after it could be said to be a success. She cherished her bakery and continued to take pride in working there—it might have been a small business but it was as much a labor of love as anything achieved by some high-flying entrepreneur with a multi-million dollar cash flow. At times she had been inclined to overwork herself, but having no formal business training—or baking qualifications for that matter—Erin had never been tempted to treat her goals casually. All she had to start with was talent, to which she had since added experience, but taking things lightly would never be an option even so.

  Without her reputation for quality food and service, the bakery would be nothing. There would be no stars on the wall or celebrity endorsements if ever she was faced with the problem of luring her customers back. All she had was her integrity, something that would be lost if the time and effort she put in ever wavered.

  This total commitment included keeping the bakery open into the late hours, which were often the most pleasant times to do business. Many of her customers were truckers and delivery drivers, who valued the opportunity to park up in a laid-back location and stretch their legs before quenching their thirst and hunger, as did many other professionals who worked strange hours, like cops, who would often keep themselves going with a late-night coffee. On occasion Erin had been able to benefit from extra staff to ease the burden of these long hours but, perhaps predictably, even those who were good workers could hardly be relied upon to hang around for long. She could only pay a little above basic wage, and it was easy for employers offering more convenient hours to draw her staff away, even if she’d succeeded in forming strong bonds with them. Owning a business was very different than simply working for one, she thought.

  It’s become my whole damn life.

  Getting home after midnight, when almost everyone else in town was curled up in bed, had become the norm for Erin, and sleep wasn’t so easy to come across when her mind was still active with the demands of working hours. Often she would stay up for several more hours, and it was during such quiet moments that the yearning for something that was missing from her life became stronger. Undoubtedly this was a key factor in leading her to online dating.

  The Dare website hadn’t featured as a top search among all the dating sites out there, but the choice of the word ‘dare’ had drawn her. Taking a dare was exactly what she needed to do in order to believe there might be someone who, as well as being attracted to her, also fit into a limited daily lifestyle, though she hadn’t been optimistic until setting eyes on Tom’s profile—a man whose work commitments no doubt rivaled hers and yet their paths would still cross more than most because her bakery was already a typical haunt. Ironically her working hours problem could in fact draw them together once or twice a day, if only for the time it took him to swig a coffee or chow down on a double-meat burger.

  All this was thinking hypothetically, of course, assuming he might also be interested in her in return, but clearly he was facing similar life problems or else he wouldn’t have a profile on the site…right?

  Erin gave the matter some thought for a few more seconds before clic
king on the ‘Request contact’ icon. Under the ‘Add message’ suggestion she typed, ‘Hi, just wondered if you recognized me?’ then fired it away. That was as casual as she could manage. It was traditional that men send the first message, but there was no way of knowing if he would even look at the site again, or make the right searches to notice her brand new profile. After feeling unloved for so long, the contact felt too urgent to treat with caution. Some other lucky lady could be chatting him up there and then, stealing away her only opportunity to link up with an eligible man a short drive from her own location (Tom’s profile indicated he lived in North Bend, which was only a twenty minute drive away).

  There was no knowing how long she would have to wait for a response and, having sent the invite, Erin went to pour a coffee and tried to calm her impatience by thinking about what movie or episode of something she could unwind to on the TV before finally going to bed. She couldn’t recall seeing Tom at the bakery for a couple of days, which could mean that he was busy elsewhere, or not in work at all. Or he could be home and asleep already.

  Ten minutes later, a quite delightful ping came out from the laptop, even though the screen had blacked out in threatening to go on standby.

  Immediately enticed away from her dilemma of starting either ‘The Good Wife’ or ‘House of Cards’, Erin brushed her fingertips over the mouse cursor control, awakening the screen and discovering Tom’s reply.

  ‘Oh, it’s you! Hi, Erin. Did you know your bakery is the best thing about working late hours?’

  This was it at last. A conversation with a good-looking man that could not be dismissed as merely service with a smile. His response could’ve been interpreted as local politeness, but it had come within ten minutes, and they were on a dating website after all. Would he remain casual about this fact, or would the exchange progress towards him suggesting they meet up?

  It was time to find out…

  ‘Hey, thanks!’ she replied. ‘I love working there, makes me feel quite appreciated.’

  ‘You certainly are,’ he wrote back, not leaving her waiting long. ‘I’ve lost count of the amount of people I’ve had conversations with on the road that mention your place. Especially the truck drivers.’

  ‘That makes me all kinds of happy :) – and all the late hours worth it. I guess you know all about that?’

  ‘You’re not wrong there. It has its disadvantages, but I probably couldn’t get used to a fixed routine, like a 9 to 5, so I tend to take the rough with the smooth.’

  ‘You like the unpredictable then?’

  ‘Yes, you have to as a cop.’

  ‘I guess we’re different in that way. I have to be totally predictable with my burgers so when you bite into them you’re confident of getting quality.’

  ‘LOL – yeah, nasty surprises wouldn’t be good. You obviously know what you’re doing, though.’

  ‘Thanks. I was kinda surprised to see the face of one of my friendly customers on here. We’re not over-heavy on population up here in Montana,’ she wrote, looking to subtly push the conversation towards addressing the context of dating.

  ‘Agreed,’ he replied. ‘That’s one of the best things about the state, though. I’m not good with busy places.’

  ‘Me neither, although it makes it tough to meet people sometimes – when you’re very busy that is.’

  There was a longer pause this time, then he replied:

  ‘That’s right, it’s problematic,’ he replied, ‘but this is also problematic in another way.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘In that we’re on a dating site and, if I asked you on a date, it might have to involve taking you to a competitor. I couldn’t expect my date to cook the food.’

  Great! He’d brought up the idea so she wouldn’t have to—although hadn’t actually asked her yet.

  ‘Ha! Don’t worry about offending me, I’m not the highly strung type. I often eat at competitors.’ (Not that often actually, but she thought it sounded better.)

  ‘What kind of palate do you have? Mine’s not too fussy so don’t be shy about being particular.’

  That sounded like he was about to ask her out. She was typing quite furiously now and would have to practice self-restraint when they met so as not to come across as being desperate for a man.

  But let’s face it, I am a little desperate, she thought with a self-deprecating grin. It’s been so long since I had a man that for all I know, they’ve totally changed sex!

  ‘OK, well I guess I’m partial to Italian and Mexican food as a treat,’ she replied.

  ‘I’ve been tempted by Italian for a while. Want to check it out?’

  ‘Do you mean check it out like on a date?’

  ‘If so, I’d be honored.’

  ‘In that case, you have yourself a date, Tom. When are you free?’

  He’d asked her just like she wanted, and the mythical date she’d spent countless lonely nights wondering whether or not it existed had turned out to be real. Just being out in public with a member of the opposite sex felt like a treat even if nothing came of it. Erin knew she liked Tom, although getting to know him better might reveal they had little in common with each other. There was a chance, though—that’s all that mattered there and then, even though she remained a little concerned he had only asked her on a date out of politeness or for something to do. Clearly he couldn’t have been head over heels about her or else he would have spent much more time visiting the bakery.

  No need to dwell or think deeply on any of these possibilities, though, she thought. Dating was about giving life a chance.

  And that was damn well what she was going to do!

  2

  ‘This is an unconventional time for a date,’ Tom responded after quickly mulling it over, ‘but given our unusual work hours, what would you say to a Sunday evening?’

  If this was someone’s catfishing expedition, then it was a brilliant one, having Tom completely convinced that the smiley-faced young lady from the Cold Lake bakery had indeed said yes to meeting up with him. The connection was so unexpected that he was looking for reasons not to believe it and, being both a police officer and—his guilty secret—also an IT obsessive, meant that his brain was loaded up with a double dose of paranoia regarding all the ways the internet could hurt someone. If somewhere out there lurked a master criminal with a secret vendetta against him, then this was the way to bring him down.

  But he wasn’t going to flatter himself that this was Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty, despite some particularly nasty crimes he’d been investigating this last year. He was just another working cop, which was good enough for him because as much as some people might complain about those who carried a badge, most of them didn’t understand how much of a difference a good cop could make. This was no fake account, he decided. He was really going to meet up with Erin Silguero, and he knew from the bakery that she would put a smile on his face.

  She always did.

  Tom wasn’t exaggerating how popular she was—and her bakery of course—and he understood why. Great food and friendly service were underrated additions to anyone’s day, too often taken for granted. Throw a pretty face into the mix and what was there not to love? Even if that was a very masculine way of looking at things. Never had he imagined to be taking Erin out on a date, though. He’d always pictured her as being taken by some other lucky guy, considering the amount of people she met on a daily basis, but during the course of their chat he’d realized the two of them must have had similar problems. All work and no play. Their coming together could’ve been perfect… if it weren’t for his memories of a completely oafish moment.

  The one factor holding him back from jumping straight into a request for a date was the need to cringe over what had happened a few months previously.

  Erin didn’t know about this, because it had occurred in his bear form, but they had already had a ‘Meet Cute’ moment, and getting to know her would no doubt increase the likelihood of her becoming suspicious—even if it did
n’t seem to be holding her back from choosing a bear shifter dating site.

  Other than convincing the nervous portions of society they were not lying in wait to strike, all shifters have their own quirks and stereotypes they inevitably have to tackle and bring under control at times…especially during the full moon when senses are heightened towards the wilder side of each shifter’s nature. Wolves have their problems with howling, lions like to roar and pumas—well no one really knows what pumas do—but for bears the problem was definitely developing an irrepressible case of ‘the munchies’.

  Bears just need to eat and need to eat lots, and Tom was no exception.

  Non-shifter folk didn’t, in general, need to worry about this too much. Even for wild bears, these cravings never included human flesh; when tragic encounters happened, there were always other factors at work. Starvation and injury are what make bears scary—that and the need to protect their young. Otherwise they are fairly sedate creatures and not interested at all in what humans get up to, with the exception being if those crazy humans happened to have left behind an open food supply. People had a strange habit of doing this, so bears with the munchies were drawn away from the exhausting task of catching salmon to finish off what tiny human stomachs had given up on.

  On occasion, this had happened to Tom. Working strange hours and on a wide range of cases often meant skipping mealtimes. An empty stomach was always difficult for a bear to turn down and, ironically, the kind of fats that dieticians warn about from too many Big Macs and French fries offer the very nutrients that are ideal for a bear’s metabolism. Tom tried not to find himself in such a predicament too often but, like drinking too much on special occasions, could not claim to be completely disciplined in his efforts to avoid it.

  The reason for this causing him to cringe and temporarily hold back from his online conversation with Erin was knowing that on such a night, when the moon was full and he wasn’t in good control of himself, the target had somehow become the Cold Lake bakery. How he’d gained entrance to the place he couldn’t remember, but waking up still in bear form, surrounded by the crumbs of Erin’s fine produce and a broom handle being swung in his direction told him that the munchies had gone a bit further than usual on that occasion.