“No, it’s not. I don’t know why the app has matched us, Nash, but it means that I wouldn’t date you if you were the last man in the world. There’s no chance of us being together.” She hit send. “I hope that’s the last of it,” she said with an air of finality.
When she got up to go to the bathroom, the other women exchanged glances.
“There’ll be some interesting times ahead,” Lauren said with a grin.
9
Nash prowled around his living room, his wolf scrabbling beneath his skin, ears pricked up, whining to be let out. Changing his answers to his profile questions had yielded great results, with ten beautiful, curvy girls now rated at least an 80% match with him. But who would’ve thought that Kenzie-meister would be right at the top. His perfect, 100% match?
“There’s more to that girl than meets the eye,” he murmured. Although, there was plenty to meet the eye. Her profile photos had gotten his wolf panting right away. Her shapeless work clothes did little to hide her buxom physique, but in close-fitting clothes, her body was off the charts. As he flicked through her photos again, his boner got even bigger. There she was in tight black jeans and a black v-neck shirt, leaning casually against a wall. In another one, she was wearing a green formal dress that nipped in at the waist and hugged her generous hips. He loved that she wasn’t afraid to flaunt her body. Funny, he’d always thought she was one of those curvy girls who thought they were fat and were ashamed of it. All kind of dirty thoughts were running through his mind. Thoughts that he’d been suppressing for way too long. He imagined shucking off those form-fitting clothes, and revealing those creamy curves to his hungry eyes, before burying himself deep inside her and giving her the ride of her life. How many times had he wanted to take her in the garden center? Knock all those plants off of the long trestle table and bend her over it? Take her up against the wall, behind the conifers, until she was begging for more. She was his. He’d thought that she was off limits. That a human like her would never be interested in being his mate. But now Shiftr had shown him different, he was determined to have her. “No chance,” she said. But he wasn’t about to take no for an answer. He grinned as he stepped outside and released his wolf into the frigid night air. The challenge was on!
Kenzie groaned loudly as her alarm went off on Monday morning. Work. Seeing Nash. He’d been bombarding her with messages on Shiftr all Sunday, until she’d figured out how to swipe right on his profile and block him from contacting her. Thank goodness he didn’t have her phone number. She flirted with the idea of calling in sick today. But it wasn’t an option. The flyers she’d designed for the ice rink’s grand opening were arriving this morning, and she needed to spend the day driving around, handing them out. At least that was a one-person job, so Nash would have no excuse for trying to come along with her.
She hauled herself out of her warm sheets and began to get ready.
Shiftr was a terrible idea, she thought irritably as she hit the beginning of rush hour traffic. She was still kind of in shock about the whole shape shifter thing, and then that damned app threw Nash in her way. As if he didn’t cause enough annoyance in her life already. On Sunday, she’d been tempted to delete the app altogether, but thoughts of Saturday night with the girls had stopped her. The kind look in Connor’s eyes when he’d shifted in front of her. The way the women spoke about their mates. They weren’t lazy, selfish human men. They were devoted, lifelong mates, who wanted nothing more than to love and protect their women. And they preferred curvy girls. Ever since she reached her mid-teens and put on a lot of weight, she’d felt like she was at the back of the line when it came to meeting men. That every guy preferred a skinny girl. But these big animal men, with their incredible muscular bodies wanted girls with curves. It was like a dream.
“What’s the sex like?” she’d asked the girls on Saturday night, once she’d dropped her phone in her purse and refused to take it out again.
“Animal,” Kristin had said with a dirty laugh. “But also tender and loving. They’re insatiable, and they’ll worship your body.” Kenzie gave an involuntary shiver at the thought. She’d had very little sex before, and it had all been awkward and unsatisfying. Her cousin hadn’t even tried to have sex with her. He’d made it very clear that it was a business arrangement. They’d have sex once they were married, as many times as it was necessary to create two boys. “And let’s hope that you only produce boys, or it’s going to take a lot longer,” he’d said with a leer.
After blocking Nash, she’d spent a happy Sunday afternoon checking out all the eye candy on the site. All her 70, 80, 85% matches. They were a real mix of bears, wolves and big cats. She also figured out how to turn her messages off. She wasn’t ready to interact with any of them yet. She needed a little more time to get accustomed to their animal sides. But a girl could look, right? She wondered if she’d find a shifter as nice and smart and sensitive as MisunderstoodGuy. What if he’s a shifter too? That would be perfect. She shook her head at her own silliness, reminding herself that he was most likely not a shifter. Or even dateable. They hadn’t spoken on Sunday. She’d been so caught up with Shiftr and different errands that she’d missed their usual time, and then it got late and he wasn’t online.
“Morning, Kenzie,” Jackson called in his deep, growly voice as she came into the office. Of course he has a growly voice – he’s a bear, she reminded herself with a giggle. His hair was kind of sticking up and he looked big and burly in his overalls. How did I not notice how bearlike he is before? she thought.
“Morning, Jackson. Did you have a good weekend?”
“Yes, thanks. I took a lady out on Saturday. Had a pretty good time dancing at the town’s hoedown.”
“That’s nice. I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”
“She’s not a girlfriend exactly,” he replied, with a trace of embarrassment in his voice. She smiled to herself. Is it possible that he’s on Shiftr too?
She looked around anxiously, but Nash wasn’t in yet. The flyers had already arrived though. Opening a shipment of promotional materials was always tense, in case the printers had made an error and they were ruined. But they were perfect, exceeding her expectations. She got to work on her regular tasks, weeding and pruning, and suddenly, Nash’s powerful voice erupted right in her ear.
“Good morning, Kenzie!” She didn’t turn around.
“Hi, Nash,” she said, as flatly as she could.
“I have something for you.”
“What?”
“Look,” he said in a pleading tone. Clicking her tongue, she whirled around. The look on his face was of a puppy waiting to be congratulated on doing its business where it was supposed to, and in his hands was a huge poinsettia. She scowled.
“I thought we weren’t selling poinsettias anymore? They’re just for Christmas.”
“It’s not for sale. I got it for you.”
“Huh?” She was not in the mood for this.
“I had to pick up some supplies from the wholesaler, and they had one left. I remembered you saying that you were sad that we sold out before you had a chance to buy one for yourself.”
“Oh, but they’re just for the holidays. I like to have one in the house every Christmas.” His face kind of crumpled. She stared at him. Her instinct was to take it from him, and save him from embarrassment. But she was sick of doing what guys wanted. She’d been doing that long enough, and it was the reason why she’d had to flee her hometown in a damn wedding dress.
“Thank you for the thought, Nash, but I don’t want it. In fact, I don’t want anything from you. I’m not interested in being with you, and I never will be.” Something flashed in his eyes, something a little wild, which she’d never seen before, and it unsettled her. She turned back to her work and continued with what she was doing, and when she next looked up, he was gone.
She looked out for him in her peripheral vision for the next hour, but she couldn’t see him, and by the time she got into her car to deliver the flyers, he was
nowhere to be seen.
“Good,” she said aloud as she pulled out of the parking lot.
She worked like a demon all day, dropping off flyers at every single place she could think of. When she got back to the garden center, it was 5pm. She was a little light-headed as she climbed out of the car, and suddenly remembered that she hadn’t had lunch.
As she walked into the office to look for Jackson, Nash appeared.
“Kenzie, I’m sorry if I was a little full on this morning. I didn’t mean to scare you off. But you’ve got to understand that we’re meant to be together.”
“Yeah, and how’s that?” she said tiredly.
“Because Shiftr matched us. And, what’s more, my wolf can feel it.”
“You’re telling me that your wolf just came to life after we got matched?”
“Yes. No. What I mean is – I didn’t know you were available, since you were a human. I thought you were out of bounds.”
“I’m not available, just because I happen to be on the app, Nash.”
“I know. I didn’t mean it like that –”
“Nash, I’m too tired for this.”
“I can tell. You’re hungry.” He darted into the office and returned with something wrapped in foil. “It’s pizza. I ordered it for lunch and saved you some. Because I thought you’d probably forget to eat.” She opened it. It smelled amazing. “Four cheeses. Your favorite.”
“Thanks, Nash,” she said slowly. It tasted pretty good too. She took a polite bite, then devoured it the second Nash left the room. It was her favorite. But he was back a moment later.
“Never say I don’t look out for you, Kenzie-meister!” he said, pointing his index finger at her. She couldn’t help grinning. I wish Nash was like this all the time, she thought. Then he’d actually be a pretty cool guy.
She and Nash stayed for a couple more hours, making sure everything was ready for tomorrow. By the time she got home, it was 7.30pm, and she’d already missed her usual catch up time with MisunderstoodGuy. She logged onto the site half-heartedly, and he was there.
AdventureGirl: “Hey! You’re online late. I thought I might have missed you.”
MisunderstoodGuy: “Hey yourself. I had to work late, and just got home, actually.”
AdventureGirl: “Me too. What is it with bosses and Mondays???”
MisunderstoodGuy: “How was your weekend?”
AdventureGirl: “It was… interesting. A combination of new friends and big surprises.”
MisunderstoodGuy: “That sounds intriguing.”
AdventureGirl: “Not really :D It sounds more exciting than it was. How was yours?”
MisunderstoodGuy: “Pretty cool, actually. I discovered something that I think will change my life.”
AdventureGirl: “You worked out the plot for your screenplay, and it’s going to be a blockbuster, and make you a billionaire?”
MisunderstoodGuy: “Haha! Nope. More on an emotional level. It’s kind of an extension of what we discussed a few days ago. Thanks again, AdventureGirl. You don’t know how much that conversation helped me. Suddenly I feel a lot less alone in the world.”
AdventureGirl: “You’re welcome. Sometimes I wish we didn’t have to speak so cryptically and could just be open with each other.”
MisunderstoodGuy: “Me too.”
AdventureGirl: “The trouble is. It’s not just you that I don’t share things with. It’s everyone.”
MisunderstoodGuy: “How do you mean?”
Kenzie paused and blew out a long breath through her nostrils.
AdventureGirl: “I mean that I’ve kind of got a secret that I can’t share with anyone. It’s the kind of thing that keeps me up at night. And having no-one to talk to about it makes it so much worse.”
MisunderstoodGuy: “I’m sorry to hear that. And I can promise you, AdventureGirl, anything you tell me will remain our secret. People often see me as an outgoing guy, and think I’ll be a blabbermouth. But I have secrets of my own that I’ve guarded all my life, which make me great at keeping other people’s secrets.”
Kenzie’s fingers hesitated over her keyboard. She wanted to tell him about her cousin so bad. About the bounty on her head.
AdventureGirl: “Okay. Let me think about it.”
MisunderstoodGuy: “If it would make you feel more comfortable, we could meet up?”
Kenzie’s heart started thudding triple time, and she felt like she couldn’t get enough breath into her lungs. Meet in person? Before she had time to think, she reached for the laptop lid and closed it right down. Then she went over to her router and unplugged it. Her breathing was ragged and her hands were shaking. How many times have I wanted to meet him, to see what’s behind those kind, wise words? But right now the risk seemed way too big.
10
Kenzie woke up half an hour before her alarm went off. She’d slept fitfully, having crazy dreams about the ice rink and about MisunderstoodGuy. I can’t believe I freaked out like that when he suggested meeting, she thought, as she went into the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on. What is he going to think of me now? I’ll just tell him that I had a power cut. Yeah, a power cut that magically occurred at the exact moment that I’ve been dreading and longing for for months. She hit the shower and put the water on extra hot, trying to scorch thoughts of last night out of her mind. She needed to be 100% focused today. She knew from her long experience of working in marketing that the launch day was crucial to the success of a venture. If it went well, then things tended to continue in an upward direction. But if it went badly, then it was often difficult to claw your way back.
She arrived at work half an hour earlier than usual and skipped over to the rink. Nash was on the ice, skating fast in big, effortless loops. She stood stock still and gawked at him. She’d had no idea that he could skate, never mind that well.
As he caught sight of her, a light came into his face, and she was a little taken aback. He really does like me, she thought. That’s so freaky.
“Good morning, Kenzie-meister!” he yelled, skating backward.
“What are you doing?” she yelled back.
“Just checking the surface. Making sure it’s nice and smooth. Wanna join me?”
“No, I’ve got some things to do in the office,” she said, hurrying away. She’d never even tried a pair of skates on before.
Everything was ready. Nash had cleaned all the skates, and they were lined up on shelves in size order. There were tickets for people to purchase at the cash register. And the little hut selling tea and coffee was also set up, with plenty of supplies.
10 AM – the official opening time – came.
“High five, Kenzie-meister!” Nash yelled holding his hand up. “Let’s get this show on the road!” They tied some balloons to the entrance of the garden center, to attract the attention of passersby. And they both went and stood out front too, waving to passing cars.
“This is kind of cheesy, Nash,” Kenzie said, her arm already getting tired.
“I know – but I think it’s working.” As they watched, a car pulled into the parking lot, and a woman got out with four kids in tow.
“Did I see a sign out there, saying y’all have got a new ice rink?” She asked. Kenzie and Nash grinned at each other.
Nash went with them to get them all set up, while Kenzie stayed by the entrance. And in a few minutes, another woman stopped by with a carload of kids. By midday, there were twenty kids on the ice, and half a dozen parents drinking coffee on the sidelines.
“I can’t believe it’s so busy!” Kenzie said, coming to join Nash who was hard at work making lattes.
“I told you this would be a winner, Kenzie-meister,” he replied, making a little heart on the surface of the latte, before handing it to a female customer, who blushed in pleasure.
“How do you even know how to do that?” she demanded. He raised an eyebrow.
“I have many talents that you know nothing about. There wasn’t space to list them all on Shiftr.”
&
nbsp; “As modest as ever, Nash. I guess you’d better show me how to do that too.” She squeezed into the tiny hut and stood beside him.
“Ah, Kenzie, it takes years of practice to craft the perfect latte.” She scowled at him.
“Well I have about ten minutes, so see if you can work with that.”
It wasn’t easy to froth the milk without overheating it, and pour it into the cup so it sat just right. But Nash was a patient teacher. And in ten minutes she still had no idea how to create their pretty patterns on the surface, but she could make a basic latte. And cappuccino, and Americano.
“Okay, I think I can trust you out here by yourself. I’m going to go out front for a while,” Nash said, and strode off whistling.
Nash was good at getting people to come inside, and the rink stayed busy. It wasn’t easy to mind the hut, hire out the skates, and keep an eye on the rink, but it was also a lot of fun. Kenzie loved interacting with people, and seeing the kids faces glowing with excitement as they wobbled around on the ice.
“Don’t they look cute?” Nash said, appearing later with some food for her. She looked at him sideways.
“You like kids?”
“Yeah. Can’t wait to have some of my own.” His eyes briefly glazed over. But then he cocked an eyebrow and gave her a meaningful look. She treated him to a filthy look in return and turned her back on him.
“Go away, Nash. Stick to the things you’re good at,” she snapped.
They planned to close at five thirty, when the garden center was closing. But the rink was busier than ever. Jackson came to join them. He’d been popping over to see them all day, looking happier than she’d seen him in weeks.
“Are we done for the day?” he asked.
Shiftr: Swipe Left For Love (Nash) BBW Wolf Shifter Romance (Hope Valley BBW Dating App Romance Book 10) Page 7
