Beary Merry Winter: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Shifter Seasons Book 1) (6 page)

“Zane was certainly in a festive mood yesterday. You got a keeper there!” Susie bubbled.

“Yesterday—when did you see Zane yesterday?” I asked. “Zane told me he couldn’t get together with me because he was playing a gig.”

“Oh…um…I just ran into him…maybe he was on his way to the gig, or maybe I got my days mixed up.”

I frowned but shrugged it off. Susie didn’t always remember things correctly.

“Did he come in this morning with the ring?” I’d been running late and wasn’t sure if I’d missed him or not. My darn cell was out of battery power so I hadn’t been able to call him.

“The ring? Do you mean the one I sold him to give his mom for Christmas?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“No, he hasn’t been in yet. Is he returning it? I thought he said it was perfect and his mom would totally love it,” Susie crinkled her brows.

“Oh no, he’s not returning it. It doesn’t fit—it’s too loose. He was going to bring his mom in to get it sized.”

“Oh, he gave her the ring already? I thought he was going to wait till Christmas?”

“He was going to give it to her at Christmas, but when I saw him the other night,” I paused, smiling as I thought of being with Zane, “he said she’d been having a hard time of it lately so he gave it to her early to cheer her up.”

“That’s too bad. What’s going on with her?”

“I don’t know. Zane doesn’t know either. He asked her but she wouldn’t tell him.” I hadn’t met Zane’s mother yet but if she was anything like Zane I knew I would love her.

Christmas was just a little over a week away and I could hardly believe how different things were compared to last year. I was part of a couple now, and I made sure we did all the Christmassy things couples do. We drank hot cocoa, went window-shopping, decorated a tree, kissed under the mistletoe, cuddled as we watched old Christmas movies…it was wonderful. But deep down, there was a knot in my stomach, knowing that I would have to tell Zane I was pregnant soon.

“He’s so sweet,” Susie grinned.

“I know.” I felt like pinching myself.  Zane
was
one of the good ones. Despite my fears that Mr. Hunky would be a player, Zane was the ultimate boyfriend…good looking, thoughtful, sweet...he treated me like a princess. It didn’t hurt that he rocked in the sheets—and in the car! I swallowed hard as I thought of all the other places we had yet to make love in. But at the same time, I was worried. I knew I had to tell him the truth sooner rather than later, but it was so damn hard. My guts told me he’d be fine with it, and yet, I just wasn’t sure.

Susie lowered her voice. “Have you told him yet?”

“No,” I shook my head, “not yet.”

She tightened her lips. “He really has a right to know.”

“I know. I will tell him soon…there just hasn’t been a right time.”

“Will there ever be a right time?” Susie pursed her lips.

“Hey baby doll.” Zane’s low, growly voice coming from behind me almost made me jump.

“Oh hey, I didn’t hear you come in.” Just looking at Zane made my heart flip flop…Zane, my sexy assed bear man. He was so gorgeous. Thank God he didn’t act like he’d overheard anything. “Where’s your mom?”

“She’ll be here any minute. I had a meeting with the owner of Ventuno’s Bar earlier so I asked her to meet here.

“Ventuno’s?”

“Yeah, it’s a little bar that just opened a couple blocks over. Hopefully I’ll be able to get the Hogwashers some gigs there.”

“Nice. How did the meeting go?”

“I think it went ok. The manager wants us to send a demo and if he likes it, he said he’d give us a shot and see how the crowd reacts. But who knows, he couldn’t even remember the name of our group when I shook his hand to leave.” Zane threw up his hands in frustration.

“Oh, well I’m sure something will work out.” I had friends in the music business and I knew the industry could be maddening. It was more about who you knew than how much talent you had. Zane’s attempts to break in the scene had been met with resistance by the gatekeepers so far.

“Anyway, Mom should be here soon. She works just down the street.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” I had a visual of meeting Zane’s mother and bonding over lunches and shopping during my breaks from the jewelry store…after all, she could become my mother in law.

“Yeah, I can’t wait for you to meet her. Now be prepared, she can come off a little crazy at times—she’s into weird shit like tarot cards, the power of crystals, astrology, reading auras—all that kind of stuff…but she’s cool.”

“Awesome, I’m sure she’s just wonderful. I can’t wait to meet her!”

“Now, where’s my hug?” Zane pulled my body towards his in a warm embrace. He smelled so delicious. “God, baby you feel so good.” As he held me I relaxed into his arms. This was where I belonged. “I can’t wait till later,” he added throatily. His eyes held mine and then slowly roamed my curves. The way he looked at me, like he wanted to fuck me good and hard...it was such a turn on. God he made me cream my panties. I almost felt like he was stripping me down, licking my body and pounding me right in the store.

“Errr, umm…” Susie cleared her throat. “I think you two should get a room,” she teased.

“Sorry, Susie,” I bit my lip. I tried not to look at Zane. I shouldn’t be thinking about the magic his lips and cock could perform when I was supposed to be working, but when I was around Zane I had a tendency to forget everyone and everything around me but him.

“No problem. By the way, I sold the garnet bracelet yesterday after you left,” Susie smiled proudly.

“You’re kidding! I guess you won the bet then.”

The bracelet was an estate piece and though it was very pretty, it had been in stock for a long time. Susie and I had a bet on who would sell it first. The loser had to buy both of us coffee for a week.

“And I sold a few other pieces.”

I took a quick glance at the case that held my favorite ring. It was gone. Damn it! I knew it would sell sooner or later, but boy was I unhappy about it. I tried to cover my feelings up though. I knew Courtland’s needed the sales.

“Nice! I’m sure Sam will be happy to hear that. I’ll be buying the coffee next week.” It was good that sales at the store had picked up. Despite the holiday, overall this season’s sales were down. With the sluggish economy I had been worried about the possibility of the store closing.

“Great, I’ll have an iced mocha latte with plenty of ice for my first one.”

“You got it Susie.”

“Well, I have to call a few customers about their orders, so I’ll be in the office if you need me,” Susie said, making her way to the back of the store. “Good to see you again, Zane.”

“And it was nice to see you, Susie.”

We watched as Susie retreated to the back of the store.

“It’s just you and me now, babe. Have you ever made love on top of a glass jewelry case?” Zane squeezed my waist, “I love me some curves.”

“Zane, you’re such a tease!”  But ooh la, a vision of Zane making love to me on top of the glass flashed through my head.

“Uh huh, I can see your naked ass on top of this now,” Zane tapped the case.

I laughed. “I don’t think Sam would appreciate that too much!”

A little ding went off on Zane’s phone and he peeked at the screen. “Mom just texted, she’s right around the corner. She can’t wait to get the ring sized and meet you.”

“Let me just grab the ring sizer so we can see what we need to adjust.” I stooped down and pulled up the metal ring sizer from under the counter.

As I stood back up, the door opened. A tall woman with reddish-brown hair that looked very familiar walked in; a wide smile on her face.

“Anne, baby,” Zane announced, “I’d like you to meet my mom, Serena Harlan.”

Serena? Oh my God! Zane’s mother was Serena, the owner of Serena’s Gifts and Treasures! This was the woman who had sold Susie the ‘get rich potion’ but put the ‘baby maker potion’ in the bag instead. I grimaced at the same time Serena’s smile dissipated.

Her eyes widened as she looked at me.

Zane wrapped his arm around me, lightly kissing the top of my head. “Anne’s my mate.”

Serena pointed a finger at me. “I know you…you’re the woman that bought the trinket box from me.”

I gulped and nodded my head. “Yes, it was a hostess gift for a friend. She loved it.”

“And the potion…your friend wanted you to buy the ‘bab…’”

Before she had a chance to finish and tell Zane how Susie had tried to talk me into buying the ‘baby maker potion’ I interrupted her. “My friend and co-worker, Susie, bought the ‘get rich potion.’” I could feel my heart racing. Please, oh please, don’t bring that up now.

“What potion?” Zane asked, puzzled.

Serena stared at me and I swallowed, squirming under her intense gaze.

Zane raised his brows as he looked from me to his mother. “You two know each other?”

Serena’s eyes narrowed. “You’re pregnant. I can smell it.”

“Pregnant! You’re pregnant?” Zane shot me a stunned look.

I lowered my head and nodded.

“That’s fantastic!” Zane shouted.  Suddenly, his brow creased. “Wait a minute. I knew there was something different about you the day I came back to the store to talk to you. You were pregnant then, weren’t you?  I knew something was different about you. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.”

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! My head was spinning. “I was going to tell you…I just…”

“Whose baby is it?” Zane asked, his voice growing quiet.

I lowered my eyes. It was hard to look at Zane. Shit, why hadn’t I told him before? “The baby is yours, Zane. I got pregnant the night of Janet’s party…when we made love in my car.”

Serena’s eyebrows arched.

“I was going to tell you…”

“That’s wonderful Anne, I’m so thrilled!” Zane’s eyes lit up as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

I was thankful that Zane was happy with the news but I couldn’t relax. I could see Serena was itching to spill her guts. I knew what was coming, and I was right.

“Her friend bought a ‘get rich potion’ from my shop but I accidentally gave her the ‘baby maker potion’ instead. I bet she used it,” Serena jabbed a finger in my direction. “She doesn’t care about you, Zane,” Serena yammered on, “she was using you—just using you for your sperm. She just wanted to make a baby.”

“Is this true?” Zane asked, a pained look flashing across his face. “You were using me?”

“No, I…I mean yes, I did at first…I mean…” Oh shit! This kept getting worse.

Zane shook his head. I could see he was trying to process everything.

“You were trying to trick my boy and you got caught,” Serena spat out the words.

“It wasn’t like that…I mean…”

“Is everything ok?” Susie walked out of the office. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Serena. “You…you’re the shop owner from the metaphysical store?”

“This is my mother, Serena Harlan,” Zane said, shaking his head. “She moved to Nashville so she could be closer to me.”

“We already met,” Serena said. “She was with Anne buying potions at my store.”

The air was thick with tension and Susie shifted uncomfortably. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Maybe you can tell me why she,” Serena pointed her finger at me, “felt it was right to use my son for his sperm and break his heart.”

“Wait!” I shouted. “What do you mean? I didn’t break his heart.”

“Well, not yet you haven’t,” Serena said smugly. “But it’s pretty obvious you were just using him to get the baby you wanted. I heard what you said about men.”

Zane’s face was wooden. “What did she say?”

“She’s a man-hater. She said men were jerks, they suck, and they’re worthless.”

“Did you say that, Anne?” I could feel Zane’s eyes burning into me. “Were you using me just as a…as a sperm donor?” Zane sputtered over the words.

“No…I…well…I…” God, I had to admit it was true. I could feel my body flush. “Well, I was upset with men…not with you, of course,” I blathered on. “I was upset with men in general, but I really wanted a baby.”

“Okay,” Zane said, “go on.”

“So, Susie and I were shopping at your mom’s store for a hostess gift for Janet and she was selling this ‘get rich potion’ and a ‘baby maker potion’. Susie bought the ‘get rich’ one but your mom accidentally put the ‘baby maker’ one in the bag. Susie put the bag in with the sweaters.”

“I see, and then what happened,” Zane asked, looking like he didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.

“Well, Susie gave me the bag with the sweaters. She forgot she had her potion in there. The night I was getting ready for the party, when I pulled out the sweaters, I saw the ‘baby maker potion’ in the bag and couldn’t resist trying it on. I dabbed a bit on…and then I met you at Janet’s party and we went out to my car and…”

I lowered my head. “I feel like an idiot that I didn’t tell you sooner, but…I just wasn’t sure how.”

“I told you she was using you, Zane,” Serena piped up.

“And what about you…!” I said, snapping back at Serena.

“What about me?” Serena asked, her eyes flaring.

“You’re selling people magic potions that are nothing more than blue food coloring and water. You are cheating people out of their hard earned…”

“I thought there might be pheromones in the potion,” Susie interrupted. “Stuff that makes you do things and you don’t even realize it.”

“It was just food coloring and water!” I shouted.

Serena swallowed. “So?”

“Jesus, mom, I knew you were selling a mixed bag in that store, but food coloring and water?” Zane grimaced.

“She charged $40 for it!” Susie added. “I work hard for my money. I like to think I’m buying what I think I am.”

I would’ve rolled my eyes at that but I was too tense thinking about what Zane was going to do next.

“Is this true mom?”

“It was on the news,” Susie said.

Zane shook his head. “What a cluster fuck. I’ve got a mom who is cheating people by selling them blue tinted water…”

“It works,” Serena whimpered, “my potions work.”

“And,” Zane looked at me, his eyes filled with sadness. “The woman I thought was my mate was just using me to make a baby. She just wanted my sperm.”

“Look at her,” Serena hissed, pointing at me again. “She has always wanted a baby. She used my potion and now she is pregnant. Who says my potions do not work…who?”

“Anne, what do you have to say about all this?”

“Zane, it’s true, but it’s not how it seems. I mean I did want—I do want—a baby. And I did use the potion and it kind of made me do stuff I don’t normally do…”

“See there,” Serena said smugly, “proof that it works.”

“Of course it doesn’t work,” I snapped. “It’s only food coloring and water…it just had a psychological effect on me and…”

“It works,” Serena repeated.

“No, it doesn’t,” Susie chimed in.

Zane held up his hand. “I’ve heard enough from all of you. I’m going for a run in the woods to clear my head.”

“Zane, please I…”

But Zane was already starting to transition into his bear. I felt sick to my stomach. I had put my own wants and desires above everything else, and now I was losing the man I loved.