Suddenly, a banner at the top of Hope Valley Friends caught his eye. Find your perfect curvy mate, it said.
His wolf gave a little growl, just beneath his skin. He clicked on the ad and a webpage opened. For further information, install our app on your phone, using this link. That was all it said. The rest of the page was blank. His curiosity piqued, he copied the link and sent it to his phone. Then he retrieved his phone from the kitchen table and clicked on the link. Immediately, an app began to download. It was called Shiftr, and the icon was a little orange paw print in the shape of a heart. When it was complete, he clicked to open it, and an alert flashed up: Please place your thumb on the home button now. “Okay,” he muttered. Instantly a new screen popped up:
Congratulations! From your thumbprint, we have determined that you are a wolf shifter, and are therefore eligible to use our site to find the beautiful curvy human mate of your dreams. Please read and agree to our terms and conditions before continuing. We’re very excited to have you on board, and we look forward to celebrating your successful mating very soon! Tamika xx
Nash snorted. This Tamika sure had a lot of confidence. He’d been looking for a mate for a long, long time, and he’s already concluded that there was nobody out there for him. Shifter females weren’t interested in a half-breed like him, while humans were out of bounds for anything more than a hook up. Which was a shame, because curvy humans were totally his type. He loved those full asses and plump hips. Those generous thighs that he yearned to spread. And now this app is claiming that it can find me a human mate? I guess I’ve got nothing to lose. And if it gets my mind off of AdventureGirl, then that can’t be a bad thing.
He agreed to the app’s two regulations – not to mention it to any humans at all, and not to lie about himself or add any photos that weren’t recent, or of him. And then a bunch of questions popped up, asking him all about his interests and preferences. Please try to answer as fully and truthfully as you can, as the more accurate your answers are, the easier it will be for us to find your perfect match, the app advised. This part was actually kind of fun. He wasn’t used to people asking him about himself. He’d spent his whole life behind his mask, acting the clown, getting up in people’s faces, irritating them so they’d never get to know the real him. He knew that he hit people with his character so forcefully that they never needed to question him – they knew all they needed to know, and a whole lot that they didn’t.
It wasn’t easy though. With every question, he had to ask himself whether he was answering as his true self, or as Nash the clown. A couple of times, he almost gave up, but something kept pushing him on. And at 1.30am, he was finally done. He hit ‘finished’, and the app started to process his results. He needed photos. While he was waiting, he stripped his shirt off and snapped a couple of selfies. Not bad, he concluded. He had a strong, muscular body, without a spare ounce of fat on it. At least, the front looked okay. The back view was marred by an array of scars. But he didn’t want to think about those. And then he went out to the woods at the back of his apartment, set up the timer on his camera and shifted. It wasn’t the most artistic photo he’d ever taken, but his wolf looked pretty good. Big and powerful, with cool blue eyes, its silver fur gleaming in the moonlight. He was big enough to be an alpha, but as a half-breed, he’d never have that title bestowed on him. And he’d stopped caring a long time ago.
Back inside, the app had finished processing, and he uploaded his photos. And then his eyes just about jumped out of his head. A beautiful human female filled the screen. She had dark red hair and a full, hourglass figure. Beside her photos, all of her interests were listed. It said she was a baker, who loved singing and scrapbooking, and she was looking for a wolf or bear shifter to take care of her. His cock gave a little jump, and at the same time, his wolf growled, low in his throat. He scrolled up, and beneath her photo was another, equally curvy human, with black hair. His wolf let off a louder growl, its jaws parted and its ears standing straight up. And then he became like a kid in a candy store, scrolling from one beautiful woman to another, as his wolf prowled beneath his skin, hardly able to believe that they were all looking for shifter mates. They know about me. I wouldn’t have to pretend to be human when I was with them. He wanted to message all of them, ask them out on a date right now. But what was that about finding the best possible match? He went back to the top of the screen and poked around. Order by compatibility. That’s it. He hit the button and the profiles rearranged themselves, until his best match – 60% – was showing right at the top. She was a stunning brunette, with narrow green eyes. She looked a lot like Kenzie actually. At the thought of his work-mate, his cock jumped again. Looks-wise, Kenzie was his perfect woman. She had the ripest curves he’d ever laid eyes on. Every time she bent over to pick up some heavy object, displaying her wide, round ass to him, he got a boner. And the way those heavy, masculine work shirts she wore pulled tight across her breasts sometimes. It was too much. She had no business being all physical around him with a body like that. But she was so uptight. If he could combine Kenzie’s looks with AdventureGirl’s personality, that would be the woman of his dreams. He wished he could just put that into the app and see what it came up with. He gazed at the profile of his 60% match. 60% didn’t sound that great to be honest, if 100% was the maximum you could get. But he wasn’t going to let that put him off. He sent her what he hoped was a flirty message, then copied it and sent it to the next ten women on the list as well. Then, since it was now 3am, he laid down on his bed and tried to get a few hours of shut eye before work.
4
When Nash strode into the garden center the next morning, Kenzie noticed that he had dark shadows beneath his eyes, but his trademark stupid grin was still in place.
“Why should you always trust a guy who likes big butts, Kenzie?” he said, way too loud, as he walked past her on his way to the office. She didn’t reply, flashing him a filthy look instead. As he opened the office door, he turned back to her. “Because they cannot lie!” he said, pointed his finger at her as if he’d said something amazing, and disappeared inside.
“What? You’re pathetic,” she said. But when he was safely out of sight, she allowed herself a smile. Most of his jokes were dumb, but a few of them were pretty funny. She patted the side of her ass. Was that some veiled comment about my butt? Whatever. She had generous curves, and there wasn’t a lot she could do about them.
“Rough night, Nash?” she said as they worked together, reorganizing the previous day’s deliveries.
“It was a late night. But it was smooooth all the way.” She glared at him, brimming with the urge which she got at least five times every day, to swipe that stupid grin off of his face.
“Are you trying to tell me that your date went well?”
“You could say that.” He blew on his fingers. She raised an eyebrow. She’d be surprised if any girl could put up with Nash’s antics long enough to get past first base with him. And she wasn’t about to indulge him by asking for details.
“How about you, Kenzie-meister? Did you have fun at your knitting circle, or whatever crazy shit it is that you do in the evenings?”
“It’s quilting, and no, it wasn’t happening last night,” she snapped. “Actually. I had a date.” Nash’s eyes opened wide, as if she’d said the most unexpected thing in the history of the world.
“And who was the lucky guy?” Kenzie blinked. She wasn’t even sure why she’d said that. She just wanted to shock him a little bit. Wanted him to stop thinking that she was such a boring stay-at-home.
“He’s a real nice, cool guy. Very intelligent and sensitive. Not things you’d know anything about.” It was Nash’s turn to blink.
“Ouch. I’ll have you know, I can be very sensitive when the mood takes me, Kenzie.” She gave a snort and continued working. Nash fell silent for a couple of minutes. When she next looked up, he was fiddling with his phone, grinning at something that seemed to be taking up a lot of his attention.
�
�What are you doing, Nash?”
“Flirting.” She rolled her eyes.
“Where did you meet Mr Sensitive?” he demanded.
“In a bar. Last weekend.”
“What’s his name?”
“Ricardo,” she said, coming up with the first name that popped into her head, which also happened to be the name of her childhood pet tortoise.
“And what does he do for work?”
“Why all the questions?”
“I’m just curious to know what kind of guy it takes to crack that icy façade.”
“What? I do not have a fucking icy façade!” Nash started whistling and sauntered off in the direction of the bathroom. Kenzie glowered. Don’t rise to his shit, she reminded herself. She knew he liked nothing better than to insult her and disappear before she had a chance to get her own back.
She worked by herself for 20 minutes, then remembered that she needed to speak to him about her marketing idea, so she went and joined him over by the evergreen shrubs. He was on his phone again, his thumb working fast on the screen, one eyebrow raised quizzically.
“I had an idea last night about how we can help Jackson save the business,” she said.
“What, while you were on your date? You sure must have been having a hot time,” he drawled in an idiotic accent.
“Yup. It popped into my head while I was recovering from my fourth orgasm.” She turned her head away fast as her cheeks warmed. Did I really just say that? I don’t make lewd comments like that. ever. It must be Nash’s effect on me. And it seemed to have the desired effect, because when she turned back, he was staring at her, and actually looking kind of impressed.
“I had an idea too. I was thinking that we need to turn the place into a multi-purpose facility. But it has to be something unique, you know. To give us a USP.”
“Okay, like what?”
“Well, there’s all that outdoor space that we don’t use in the winter months, and it’s just going to waste at the moment. Why don’t we turn it into an ice rink?”
“An ice rink?” she echoed.
“Yup. We can pay someone to build the rink and maintain it. I’m sure we can hire the skates. Get a little cabin going, selling hot drinks. Not a lot of outlay. I think it’ll be killer, Kenzie-meister. Jackson will be worshipping the ground I walk on.” Kenzie opened her mouth to tell him that it was a stupid idea. Then she stopped. It actually sounded kind of cool. But she fought to keep her face expressionless. She wasn’t about to show Nash that she thought his idea was better than hers.
“That could work. If Jackson agrees to put up the money upfront,” she said. Nash looked very pleased with himself.
“And what was your idea?”
“Oh, I just passed this town yesterday when I was in the car with Jackson. It looks real run down, and there’s no greenery around the houses at all. I was thinking we could do some marketing there. Put up some ads, maybe offer a few freebies. Even do someone’s entire property for them, see if it creates some interest from the neighbors.”
“What’s the name of this town?”
“Hunter’s Gap.”
Nash’s lip curled.
“No!” he said in a rough voice.
“What?”
“No. We’re not doing anything in that town. At all. Ever.”
“But why?”
“They won’t be amenable to us turning up and interfering. Jackson won’t be interested either.”
“How can you even know that?”
“Because I know this county a hell of a lot better than you do. You’re an outsider, Kenzie, and you don’t understand this shit. Stay out of it!” With that, he stalked off, leaving her staring at him open-mouthed.
“What just happened?” she said aloud. She’d never heard Nash use that tone before. And what the hell is his deal with that place? Just because my idea wasn’t as cool as an ice rink doesn’t mean he had to freak out about it. What a dick. She picked up a spade again and angrily jabbed at the unyielding earth.
“What do you think about this ice rink idea, Kenz?” Jackson said, coming to work beside her later that afternoon. She stifled a burst of annoyance. She’d started off by trying to share some ideas with Nash, and now he’d gone behind her back and spoken to Jackson himself.
“Uh, I think it could work, as long as the overheads aren’t too high.” Jackson rubbed at the back of his head.
“I’ve made a few calls. And Nash has done a little research for me. It looks like we’d be the only ice rink in a 60-mile radius, which is a good thing.” She nodded.
“It is.”
“The rink itself will take a little work to maintain, but I think we can do it ourselves. After all, I grew up skating on the local lake, and no-one ever did any maintenance there. It was 100% natural.” He chuckled in that good-natured way of his. “I also got ahold of someone who can let me have a whole truckload of skates for next to nothing. So I’m thinking it’s worth a try.”
“So do I, Jackson,” she replied. He gazed up at the sign that hung over the entrance to the garden center. The same one that had been there for 85 years. “It’s gotta be better than closing down. And if we go down, at least it’ll happen in a blaze of glory.”
“It’ll make good money,” she said. “I can help with the marketing.”
“Yeah, I recall you saying you were a bit of a marketing whiz kid. I’d sure appreciate your help.”
“Sure thing. I had another idea too –” Jackson raised a curious eyebrow. She faltered, remembering the hostility in Nash’s face. Jackson won’t be interested either, he’d said. “It was nothing. This one’s way better.”
“Okay, if you’re sure. I’m listening, Kenzie,” Jackson replied.
Kenzie didn’t see much of Nash for the rest of the day. It was like he was avoiding her. The center was very quiet, so she suggested leaving early so she could work on the marketing plan for the ice rink at home, and Jackson agreed. She didn’t go straight home though. Instead, she drove over to the supermarket on the outskirts of town, planning to do a big shop. She needed to get her life in order. It might be a boring life, as Nash so rudely pointed out, but there was no excuse for not eating healthy.
As she wandered through the aisles filling up her trolley with fresh produce, her thoughts turned to MisunderstoodGuy, as they often did when there was nothing else to occupy them. What is he doing now? Is he still at work? What if he’s here, in the supermarket right now? We could pass each other and never even know it. Maybe this is him, she thought as her trolley almost collided with a tall, handsome guy with light brown hair. She couldn’t help glancing at his groceries. They all looked to be meals for one. So, he’s single. She giggled to herself. She liked this game. But no, that can’t be him – MisunderstoodGuy had much darker hair, she just knew it. For a while, she forgot about her shopping, and began stalking all the single guys, sizing them up, seeing if any of them corresponded to her fantasy version of MisunderstoodGuy. And then she walked past a very good-looking man. He was very tall, and very powerfully built with cropped dark hair and deep brown eyes. But in the front of the trolley sat a little girl, with honey-toned skin and black hair in two pigtails. The guy was telling her something and she was giggling and kicking her legs in delight. Kenzie paused and gazed at them. Not only was he very good-looking, but he also looked like a great dad. A flicker of envy lit in her chest. This was what she’d always longed for for herself – an amazing guy who’d be a perfect father to their children. Just then, a petite, curvy woman with a neat, black pageboy cut and light brown skin rushed over to them.
“Got it!” she yelled, waving a bag of vegetables over her head.
“Thank God for that!” The guy said in mock frustration, putting his arms around the woman and kissing her forehead.
“Come on, you’re making me late for drinks with the girls!”
“And you’re about to earn yourself a slap on the ass,” the guy replied. As the woman spun the trolley around, flashing her perfect wh
ite teeth in a happy smile, Kenzie gasped. It is her! She’d thought so, but she wasn’t sure until now.
“Lauren!” she called. The woman’s head snapped toward her, her eyes widened, and she let out a little scream.
“Kenzie! Oh my God! Is that really you?” The two of them rushed toward each other, arms outstretched, and hugged each other tight. Lauren pulled back and gazed at her. “It’s been how many years? You haven’t changed one bit. What are you doing here?” Kenzie laughed in pure happiness to see her old friend.
“I just moved here three months ago. How about you?”
“I’ve been here for about four years now. This is my husband, Connor, and my daughter, Willow.” Kenzie shook hands with Connor, who smiled at her warmly, and greeted Willow, who squeezed one of her fingers tight in her little fist. “So what brought you to Hope Valley?”
“Oh –” Kenzie waved her hand dismissively. “That’s a long story.” Lauren’s eyes flashed, immediately reading her, and Kenzie was reminded of how perceptive Lauren had always been when they were kids.
“I was just thinking that you should come around for dinner one night this week, but I’m actually just about to go for drinks with the girls. Why don’t you come join us?” Kenzie hesitated. She’d love to catch up with Lauren after all these years, and meet her friends. But what about MisunderstoodGuy? She’d miss their nightly conversation. He’d be waiting for her and she wouldn’t be there, she thought. And then she mentally slapped herself. Are you crazy, Kenzie Winters? You’re thinking of turning down something in the real world to speak to somebody online. Who could be absolutely anyone?
“Are you sure I won’t be intruding?” she said.
“Not at all! The girls will love to meet you, and I can’t wait to catch up with you and see what’s been happening in your life.” Kenzie’s stomach tightened a little as she thought how she was going to explain what she was doing in Hope Valley. But she put it aside. She was really excited for the drinks – and for finally making some friends in Hope Valley.
Shiftr: Swipe Left For Love (Nash) BBW Wolf Shifter Romance (Hope Valley BBW Dating App Romance Book 10) Page 3
