“I take it you don’t believe in love at first sight, then.” Despite herself, her thoughts flickered to Ryder.
“I don’t. Love has to be built over time,” he went on. “Do you believe in it?”
With Ryder, yes. What else could it have been?
“I think I do.”
He made a dismissive sound, and then, “The passion in every relationship dies eventually, and what two people are left with is mutual respect, friendship, and a deep-rooted love that will carry them through the hard times.”
Just then, Ryder emerged through a crowd of people at the opposite end of the room. She came alive at the sight of him, her entire body aching to press against his.
“That sounds like the saddest reality I’ve ever heard,” she answered, staring Jeff square in the eye. “Having the same interests and concerns, qualities and preferences is great, but passion is essential. It shouldn’t ever fade. That’s what people say to make themselves feel better when their relationship fizzles. You know that undeniable connection that makes you want to take a leap, when everything in your mind is screaming to put your guard up? That spark that speeds your heart? The urge to give your life to someone, even if it doesn’t make any sense?”
She wasn’t even talking to him now. She was talking to Ryder, saying everything that was in her heart.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “I know exactly what you’re talking about. And that should be the signal for you to listen to reason. It’ll never lead you astray.”
Ryder caught her eye and stopped walking when his gaze shifted to Jeff. Turning abruptly, he charged toward the DJ’s stand.
“I think you should have both,” Josie said as Ryder whispered something to the DJ. “Complementary opposites with an insatiable craving for the other.”
“No offense,” Jeff said, “but what you’re expecting in a partner is the equivalent of a lightning strike. Your expectations are way too high. It’s no wonder you’re still single.”
A shocked gasp escaped her lips as Ryder tapped the head of the microphone and leaped onto the stage next to the head table. “Excuse me? Can I have your attention please?”
He always managed to hold her attention.
All eyes turned toward him as mumbles and hushes spread across the room.
“This will only take a minute,” he said, glancing at Mitch and Carrie, who were about to dig into their dinner. “I hope my best friend and his beautiful bride forgive me, but I’m about to become the psycho who stands up at a wedding and shouts a bunch of personal stuff that only a handful of guests will understand.” He paused, looking to Mitch and Carrie for approval before continuing on. Mitch shot him two thumbs up, and Carrie winked. “All right then. Never thought I’d be this guy, but here I am.” He sighed, slapping his hands against his sides. “Love makes you lose your mind, doesn’t it?”
Curious, Josie turned so she faced him completely.
“This should be good,” Jeff whispered into her ear as he slid an arm around her waist. “And by good, I mean terribly embarrassing for that poor schmuck.”
She shot him a glare meant to kill—had she really thought they would be perfect together?—and shut him out as Ryder started his speech.
“Today started off as the worst day of my life. I spent my morning playing golf—having the ugliest swing in the history of the game—and tried to drown myself in self-pity.” He lowered his gaze to the white-glossed dance floor. “And in my line of work, it’s easy to assume all marriages end in disaster.”
Questions moved over the crowd as dark whispers.
Where was he going with this?
“It’s the hazard of the job,” he went on, sweat beading on his brow. “Surround yourself with cheaters all day, and you’ll eventually assume everyone cheats. Divorce is a typical outcome.”
“Divorce talk at a wedding?” Jeff scoffed. “Perfect.”
Jerking out of his hold and away from his touch, she listened, heart in her throat.
Ryder was baring his soul in front of a roomful of strangers. It was so out of character.
“And then I spent my afternoon at a couple’s fortieth anniversary party, and it became one of the most pivotal points in my life,” he said, as the sun dropped below the city’s skyline behind him. “I realized I was so focused on the pain I’d feel if I lost the woman I love, that I dismissed the pain I’d feel if she was never mine at all.”
The crowd erupted in soft moans of delight. And everything else disappeared. Ryder met her gaze across the room, stunning her completely. He looked completely torn apart and spoke as if the words were tearing from his soul.
She shook her head. “I can’t believe he’s doing this.”
“Doing what?” Jeff said.
“Shh!”
Clutching the mic, Ryder spoke directly to her. As if the rest of the guests weren’t there, staring up at him, judging every word that came out of his mouth.
“I thought I knew what it’d be like to watch you with someone else, but when I saw you with him, the reality hit home. No one will be able to love you the way I do,” he said, voice full of pain. “By the way, it’s taking every ounce of my willpower not to snap his neck.” Pausing, he pointed at Jeff.
In the silence, Jeff looked up. “Who?” He searched behind him. “There’s gonna be a fight? Who’s he talking about?”
But she couldn’t answer. Ryder had erased the words from her brain.
“You’re mine, sweet angel,” he purred over the microphone. “I still don’t think I deserve you, but if you let me, I’ll work every single day on being the kind of man who is worthy of your love.”
Oh God.
“I’m going to love you with every breath in my lungs,” he said. “Every beat of my heart, and I’m never going to take a single day for granted. I’m not turning away from this. Not anymore.”
She could’ve combusted, right then and there.
Instead, a tear rolled down her cheek, and she shook her head. “If I’m yours,” she whispered, knowing he could hear her with his sensitive hearing, “then come and get me.”
Dropping the mic, Ryder jumped off the stage and charged around the tables toward her.
“Wait,” Jeff said. “He’s talking to you?”
She nodded, waiting for Ryder to sweep her into his arms and take her away from there.
When he approached her side, he roped his arm around her waist. It was a possessive move. And she danced inside. “If you don’t mind,” he said to Jeff, “I’m going to take care of her for the rest of the night.”
Jeff scoffed, standing back, folding his arms over his chest. “If that’s what she wants. Ask her.”
This was the moment she could turn Ryder away for good or let him back into her life. But there was no choice. Not really. One glance at those gorgeous blue eyes and she glimpsed his soul. He meant everything he’d said up there on that stage.
“I just might let him take care of me for the rest of my life,” she said, looking up at him. “That was the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen.”
Grinning wide, he tugged her against him. “So far.”
As Jeff’s mouth dropped open, he said, “You’re ditching me on our first date? At a wedding?”
“I’m sorry, Jeff, but it’s not going to happen.” Josie held Ryder tight. “I hope you meet someone who makes you feel this way, too.”
“You know what? That’s all right.” His gaze skipped to the bar near the back of the boat. “I had my eye on that camerawoman over there. Any idea if she’s taken?”
Liza?
Josie bit back a smile. “No idea, but go get her.”
As the guests applauded and Dr. Dumpster made his move on Liza, Ryder guided her onto the outer deck. With his arm around her waist, she felt illuminated, radiating happiness and tingling with delight. Under any other circumstance, she might’ve been offended by the way Ryder swooped in while she was on a date with someone else, but nothing about Jeff felt right. Well, he was right on
paper…everything she’d always wanted. Only she didn’t. Not anymore. She wanted the man holding her close, the one who was guarding her against the cool sea breeze as they strode toward the open bow of the boat.
It struck her as strange. The “right one” on paper didn’t feel like it. And the one who felt right, perfectly sublime, hadn’t wanted to be tied down in a relationship.
“Do you know how hard that was for me?” he said, squeezing her against him. “Watching you talk to him from across the room?”
“I thought you meant talking in front of everyone.”
“That, too.” He sighed against her. “I was afraid you wouldn’t listen to me any other way. And please know I’m sincere, Josie. I meant every word I said up there.”
“I know you did.” She could feel it as if they were words spoken from his heart to hers. As if his soul had reached out for hers. She fought the urge to twist against him and plant a kiss on his mouth. “And so you know, even without the speech, nothing was going to happen between me and Jeff.”
“No?”
“No.”
When they reached the bow, Ryder guided her toward the rail and hugged her against him. His arms wrapped around her waist so that her back was against his chest, his head over her right shoulder. Couldn’t they stay this way forever?
“I thought he was the perfect guy for you,” Ryder said as they gazed out over the city, “the one who had every quality you wanted.”
She sighed against him, feeling more at home than ever in his arms. “Every quality I thought I wanted.”
His strong hands held her tight as he rested his head on her shoulder.
“I want you,” he whispered. “Only you.”
Doubt trickled into her heart. “For how long this time?”
He spun her around in his arms. She looked up into his crystal-blue eyes and lost herself all over again. “How about the next thousand years.” He stroked his hands down her hair. “You’re my fated mate—my Luminary. I was afraid to acknowledge what that meant. I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle the pain when things got hard and you left me.”
“Your fated mate?” She could hardly say the words. Air wouldn’t fill her lungs. “Like Mitch and Carrie?”
“You’re mine, and I’m yours, if you’ll have me after behaving so badly.”
“Oh, Ryder.” Her heart leaped as she coiled her arms around his neck. “Yes. Of course.”
“As long as you’re sure that you’re okay to handle this,” he said, hesitation making his voice shake. “The werewolf part of me and all?”
“I’m not afraid,” she said. “Not of the wolf inside you, or the future with you. I’m not sure yet if I want to be bitten and turned the way you were, but can we take that one step at a time?”
“Absolutely.” He nuzzled against her and kissed her cheek. “I love you with everything I am, Josie Cole.”
She melted, right then and there. “I love you, too.”
Arms wrapped around her back, he lifted her off her feet. She could hear his heartbeat, could feel the rise and fall of his lungs as he pressed against her. They were as close as they could be without melting into one. And that would come later.
As they passed beneath the amber lights of the Golden Gate Bridge, Ryder cupped her face in his hands and brushed his thumbs over her cheeks.
“What now?” he asked, gazing deep into her eyes. “This is uncharted territory for me.”
“We trust this.” She reached up on tiptoe and kissed him, putting all of the adoration she felt for him behind it. “It hasn’t fooled me yet.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
As he gazed deep into her eyes, there were no shadows or secrets. No deception or lies. No broken promises or hurt from the past.
There was only love.
And the perfect matching of two imperfect hearts.
Epilogue
Six months later
“Ryder, get in here,” Josie called, bouncing up and down on the couch in her apartment. “It’s showtime.”
Rushing from the kitchen, Ryder handed her a bowl of popcorn and jumped onto the couch beside her. The whole thing rocked as his weight hit. He wrapped his legs and arms around her and gently pressed her back against him.
Perfection.
After raising the volume, Josie chucked the remote on to the coffee table. “There she is. Martha Silverstone.” Nerves pinballed through her stomach as the special highlighting her company began. “I can’t believe today’s the day.”
“I’m proud of you, babe,” he said, kissing her cheek. “Thanks for letting me share your special day.”
There was nowhere she’d rather be while watching her special than with the love of her life. Shoving her hand into the popcorn bowl, she grabbed a handful and reached behind her, finding his mouth. Raking his teeth against her hand, he took the snack from her and then sucked her fingers into his mouth. Tingles of desire flowed from her arm, down her chest, straight to the juncture between her legs.
“Stop it,” she said, though she didn’t really mean it. “We’ll miss the show.”
He kissed her fingers and then rested his head on her shoulder to watch.
“Look.” She pointed, heart beating fast. “Who’s that handsome guy?”
“Mitch?”
Chuckling, she leaned back and kissed him. “You, my dear.”
She’d never loved him more.
Before delving into Cole Matchmaking Services, the show quickly painted a picture of the wedding week six months ago where she and Ryder had fallen in love. Then, once things picked up, Martha Silverstone skimmed over a few of the other couples she’d matched.
“They’re werewolves,” Ryder said offhandedly.
She spun in his arms. “What?”
“The couples you matched. Most of them are my packmates.”
The thought struck her as funny. “I wonder how many fated mates I matched in the record-setting hundred.”
He squeezed her tightly against him. “Maybe that’s why you’ve had such a huge success rate. You must have a special talent for sensing the Luminary bond.”
“Could that really be possible?” she wondered aloud. “I mean, how could I have known they were werewolves, or fated mates?”
“I don’t know.” He kissed the top of her head as she focused on the show once more. “But I bet it has something to do with the fact that you were destined to be a werewolf and live your life with me.”
God, nothing sounded sweeter.
“Look.” He whispered into her ear. “Isn’t that the guy you incorrectly matched when I was in your office? What was his name?”
A familiar face flashed over the television screen.
She leaned forward. “David Ransfield.”
“That’s right.” Ryder laughed. “You were going to hook him up with his ex-wife.”
“I felt they had a connection,” she said. “I still do.”
As the screen flickered to an image of the front of an elementary school and then a dark hallway lined with lockers, Ryder’s laugh died off. Josie watched, heart in her throat, as David Ransfield put a finger to his lips to quiet the camera crew.
“This is it,” David whispered, holding up a small velvet ring box. “The moment I admit how much of an idiot I’ve been the last few years.” His dark eyes glossed with tears. “I only hope she’ll be my wife…again.”
Ryder tightened his grip around Josie’s shoulders. “Your first instinct was right.”
Josie smiled, warming from the inside out as she watched David propose—again—in front of a classroom of children. His ex-wife cried, covered her mouth with her hands, and then jubilantly agreed to become his wife once more.
“Damn you’re good,” Ryder said. “Still not a single blemish on your record.”
“I didn’t set them up, though. After you left, I thought better of it and didn’t arrange a meeting. This can’t be accredited to me, or Cole Matchmaking Services at all.” Leaning back, Josie kissed
her fated mate, so thankful, so incandescently happy. “David did this on his own.”
“Well, not entirely on his own.”
She spun, and met Ryder’s eyes. “What do you mean?”
“When I held David’s application in my hand, I made a note of his phone number and called after I walked out. I lied and told him I worked for your company—sorry about the deception, love.” He grinned, and the apology was instantly accepted. “I said the company had reason to believe there was still a connection there. I told him to call up his ex and beg for another chance.” Ryder kissed Josie on the tip of her nose. “A few weeks later, he called me back, saying they’d rekindled their love, and it was stronger than it’d been before.”
She could hardly believe it. “You did this?”
He brushed the back of his hand down her cheek. “I gave you such a hard time about their incompatibility that day…I didn’t want my attitude to be the reason a fated couple didn’t work out. And look what happened.” He sighed as he wrapped her up and squeezed tight. “They’re not werewolves, but they certainly have an undeniable connection.”
“Ryder,” she breathed, her heart beating fast as she relaxed into his embrace. “You never cease to amaze me.”
Beaming as if he were filled with light, David lifted his fiancée into his arms and spun her around. She buried her face against his neck and cried happy tears as the camera faded out to begin the love story of the next featured couple.
“I wonder what’ll happen when you transition,” Ryder said. “Your senses will heighten, as they always do, but I wonder if you’ll be able to sense fated mates by sight?”
“Wouldn’t that be a kick?”
As the special went on, Ryder said, “Have you given it much more thought?”
He didn’t need to explain what “it” was.
Turning into a werewolf, he meant.
It was all she could think about. He hadn’t rushed her. He’d stood by her side, a silent support, as she made up her own mind. Carrie had decided to have Mitch bite and turn her on their first-year wedding anniversary. She’d said it would be special that way.
But Josie wasn’t sure when she wanted it to happen.
What a Werewolf Wants (San Francisco Wolf Pack) Page 18
