Shiftr_Swipe Left for Love_Frankie Page 9

“Selma, it’s okay. I feel bad I dragged you all the way out here because I wasn’t being straight with you. Take my bed, please .”

  Her anger flaring, she jumped to her feet as well. “Frankie, what part of this don’t you get? I’m into you. I want to be with you. Sleeping in the bed where you’ve been lying will be hard for me. I’d much rather crash on the couch .”

  “Oh,” he said, rubbing the back of his head, his jaw working. “Okay. I might have another comforter. I’ll go check .”

  He disappeared through a door, and she heard his footsteps ascending an uncarpeted staircase. There was silence for a minute or two, then he returned with a couple of plaid patterned blankets and a pillow. “This is all I’ve got,” he said .

  “It’s fine.” She took them and laid them out on the couch. “And the bathroom ?”

  “Upstairs, turn left. And the kitchen’s straight out the back if you need anything to eat or drink .”

  “Thanks.” She sat on the sofa and took off her ankle boots. She lifted the blankets and slipped underneath them, then laid her head on the pillow and closed her eyes .

  “Night, Selma .”

  “Night.” She kept her eyes closed until he was gone. “Stupid, stubborn bear,” she muttered, staring into the darkness. Keep telling yourself that , she thought, many minutes later as sleep was slow to come. Then it won’t hurt so much .

  9

  F rankie returned from the forest just after seven a.m. He’d woken around four-thirty, and unable to get back to sleep, he’d shifted, climbed out of his bedroom window, bounded down onto the porch, and disappeared into the forest, wanting it to swallow him up. His bear had been aggressive, tearing up tree bark with its sharp claws, hunting down small prey just for the hell of it. It was furious, uncomprehending that he’d found his mate but he’d allowed her to slip through his fingers. It roared and howled like a wounded beast, demanding he go back home and claim her like he should have done the night before .

  The sun was coming up, vivid orange light filtering through the trees, glinting off puddles left by the recent storm. He emerged from the forest, slipped through the line of pines backing the cabins, and arrived in his own back yard .

  He picked up her scent a moment before he lifted his gaze and saw her standing by the kitchen window, drinking a glass of water. She gave a little scream and dropped the glass at the same time. There was a clunk and a smash as it landed in the sink .

  Dang it. He sprinted toward the path that ran down the side of the house between his cabin and the next one. His claws skittered on the porch steps and the deck. He went up on his hind legs to turn the door handle, but the door swung open at the same moment .

  Selma clapped her hand over her mouth. Up on his hind legs, he towered over her, and he was well aware what an intimidating sight it was .

  Much against his will, he forced his body to turn in on itself, for his claws to retract and his fur to retreat, and with a series of crunches, he stood before her, a man once more .

  Selma’s eyes got bigger than ever. “Oh, my god,” she murmured. “That was even more…stunning than I’d imagined. Not that I’ve spent a whole lot of time imagining what it would be like .”

  “I’m sorry I scared you .”

  “I’m sorry I broke your glass. Two glasses in fact, after the first one collided with another one in the sink .”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said, unable to tear his eyes away from her. She looked fresh, her eyes bright and her skin translucent in the clear morning light. He became aware of his nakedness, how easy it would be to sweep her off her feet, carry her to his bed, and strip her, too. From the way her eyes were running over his body, she was thinking exactly the same thing. His cock twitched. He had about five seconds until it became fully hard, which would make things as awkward as hell .

  “I’d better go get dressed,” he muttered, pushing past her, feeling himself lengthening, hardening .

  “Yeah, I was just leaving,” she called, her voice laced with sarcasm. A second later, the front door banged shut .

  He went upstairs and hit the shower, turning the water on ice cold, determined to stand under it until his erection went down. But it was no use. Every thought was of her. Of the heaven it had been to make love to her. Of how much she’d wanted him, too. At last, he took his cock in his hand and gave in to those sweet, painful memories .

  * * *

  S he was wet, more than wet. And there was that annoying ache inside her that would only be satisfied by one thing .

  Seeing Frankie’s bear had scared the hell out of her. His shift had been…interesting. Kind of surreal how it had happened so fast that seconds later, she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined the whole thing or not. But seeing him standing on the porch naked, so powerful and muscular, his cock semi-erect, was something else. Whatever he’d said last night, however much it had hurt her, if he’d kissed her just then, she would’ve been lost. She sighed and considered pulling over on the road and giving her body the release it was demanding .

  No. It wasn’t healthy. She needed to get him out of her mind A-sap. If he was willing to turn his back on happiness with her because of his weird beliefs, that was his problem. She wasn’t going to mope and bellyache over a guy again .

  Her parents would be leaving tomorrow, and she’d ask him to finish the gazebo, but she’d make sure she was out of the house by the time he arrived each morning, and with a little luck, she wouldn’t have to see him again .

  She just wished it didn’t hurt so much .

  W hen she got home, her parents were already up, buzzing around, making breakfast. She was in no mood to entertain them today, but to her surprise, her dad already had a plan to hike up nearby Mount Tom and take photos of the fall colors. He asked her if she wanted to come too, and she surprised herself by saying yes. Then her mom cajoled her into driving to EasyMart to buy stuff for lunch, and they came back and made sandwiches before setting off on their hike .

  “Bert’s not coming, is he?” her mom asked .

  “Nope. He’s still got a job to go to,” she replied tersely .

  It was a beautiful, clear day, the warmth of the sun cutting through the crisp air of early fall. It had been years and years since she’d hiked with her parents, and she got a little twinge of nostalgia. Both of them walked slower now, her mom complaining from time to time about this or that body part giving her grief and her dad taking little breaks to get his breath back. But it was nice. She was lucky to have both her parents, both in good health. They might be insanely annoying at times, but they loved her .

  S ince her mom wasn’t chattering at her usual rapid-fire pace, Selma had a chance to talk to her dad for once .

  “Did I tell you that your mom and I met while we were hiking?” he asked as they paused at a small viewpoint to wait for Jean to catch up. The trees in the distance were beautiful, around a quarter of them turned to golden yellow or flaming red, stretching from the base of the mountain all the way to the horizon .

  “No. I thought you got introduced by friends or something .”

  “I guess we did, in a manner of speaking. But it was at a hiking club that we both attended. I used to go every Sunday, and one day, Jean got dragged along by a friend of hers. I thought she was the prettiest thing I’d seen. I asked her to come with me on a private hike, just the two of us .”

  “Ooh, Dad, you old smoothie,” Selma said with a grin, wondering how it was possible this was the first time she’d heard the story .

  “We liked each other, so after that, we started going for regular hikes and then dinner in town.” He chuckled. “I was glad to have the distraction of hiking, to tell you the truth, because the first few dates were a little awkward, and we didn’t have two words to say to each other .”

  Selma raised an eyebrow, incapable of imagining her mom ever being short of conversation. “Is that because you didn’t have a lot in common ?”

  Bill lifted his camera and shot a couple of photos of the landsc
ape. “I guess so. Initially anyway. But then we developed common interests and experiences. Sometimes we annoyed the heck out of each other. But when we fell in love, none of that mattered. I knew she was the only woman for me .”

  “That’s nice, Dad .”

  He looked at her with pride in his eyes. “And I thought you were going to complain that it was cheesy .”

  She giggled. “I guess I’m not a teenager anymore. I’ve finally grown up .”

  “Yes, you have, my dear.” He gazed out at the view again. “I’m sure your Bert would like it here .”

  “Yes, it’s a shame he had to work today,” Jean said, finally arriving at the view point .

  Selma kept her gaze on the forest of trees, her heart beating fast. She swallowed. “Mom, Dad, I’ve got something to tell you.” She paused, working up the courage to continue. “Bert’s name is not Bert, but Frankie. And he’s not actually my boyfriend. Bert broke up with me a while ago, and I couldn’t stand for everyone to find out I’d been unlucky in love—yet again. So I employed Frankie, who is actually my carpenter—hence the fact that he’s built such an amazing gazebo for me—to pretend to be my boyfriend at work and at the engagement party. I didn’t think it would be a big deal, but then you guys turned up unexpectedly .”

  They remained silent, and she forced herself to turn around. She was expecting mockery, incomprehension, but their eyes were soft .

  “And muscled our way into your life,” her dad said. “Forcing you to carry on the charade .”

  She shrugged. “Kinda .”

  “I’m sorry, Selma,” he said .

  “What have you got to be sorry about, Dad? It was my fault I created this whole situation .”

  “For not being more sensitive to your needs .”

  “But what I don’t understand,” Jean chipped in, “is why Frankie isn’t your boyfriend. He’s obviously crazy about you .”

  Selma snorted. “Not true. He thinks we don’t have enough in common to be together.” She explained they were both on a dating app, and that the app had given them a less than perfect rating .

  Both parents shook their heads in disbelief .

  “I’m sure if they’d had dating apps back in our day, we would’ve been lucky if we’d been fifty-percent compatible,” her mom said with a cackle that turned into a wheeze .

  “But—” Selma began, then broke off. She wanted to explain the whole shifter situation to them and why Frankie was so preoccupied with a perfect match, but she couldn’t, of course .

  “Come here, Silly,” her mom said, putting her arms around her. “You’re a wonderful girl, and if Frankie is too uptight to appreciate what’s staring him right in the face, then that’s his loss .”

  Her dad joined in, hugging them both, and by the time they pulled apart, all three of them were teary-eyed .

  “I’m done being Silly Selma,” she said, wiping her eyes on the back of her arm. “The one thing this has taught me is that you can’t go through life avoiding reality by being flaky .”

  “Aw, I love your flakiness, honey, it’s very charming,” Jean said. Selma rolled her eyes .

  10

  O n Monday morning, Selma left for work an hour earlier than usual. She hadn’t mentioned to Frankie she wouldn’t be there when he arrived. He’d figure it out, and he had a key. A big part of her wanted to tell him not to finish the gazebo. She’d get someone else to do it. The thought of him working in her garden, coming into her house to make coffee, hurt. But she was a big girl. She needed to put her big-girl pants on and suck it up for the next few days .

  The office was mostly empty this early in the morning, and she snuck into her seat without anyone noticing. She managed to avoid socializing during the first break of the day because she was on a different schedule from her team, but when she checked her phone while she was drinking her morning tea around the back of the building, there was a message from Frankie :

  I missed you this morning. I was hoping to speak to you because I had an idea. Maybe we could answer the questions on the app again, see if we get a better result. What do you think? I miss you .

  Emotion welling up inside her, she deleted the message. She didn’t even want to dignify it with a reply. She wanted to block his number altogether. Once he was finished working for her, that’s what she’d do .

  Then she changed her mind. She hated it when guys hadn’t answered her message and left her hanging. She jabbed at the keypad, tapping out a reply :

  I think I’m worth more than a % rating, Frankie. If you’re not satisfied with me the way I am, that’s your problem .

  Stuffing her phone into her purse, she stormed back into the office .

  S he had to take lunch at the same time as everyone else because the canteen didn’t open until 12. Her colleagues were poised with a barrage of questions about her weekend with her hot boyfriend, but she deflected them until she’d collected her lunch of a ham and cheese sandwich, a bag of chips, and a chocolate bar from the canteen’s service area and sat down at one of the long plastic tables that filled the bland, functional room. Eleven of her co-workers surrounded her, and the floodgates opened, every question like a stab in her heart .

  “Why the suspense, girl?” Luciana demanded. “Tell me what you and that sexy Bert got up to this week—” She broke off, gasped, and pressed her hand against her chest. “Wait—he didn’t? Oh, my god. He proposed to you ?”

  Selma clapped her hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Tears welled up in her eyes. The expression on the eleven other faces turned from eager to shocked. It would’ve been comical in any other situation .

  “Oh, honey, what happened?” Luciana said, immediately producing a tissue from her purse .

  Selma wiped her eyes and blew her nose and took several deep breaths .

  “Ladies, guys, I’ve got an announcement to make,” she began. But Luciana wasn’t listening to her, she was looking at something behind her, her eyes wide .

  “Selma?” a familiar deep voice called .

  She whipped around. “Frankie?” she said. “What are you doing here ?”

  “Frankie?” everyone echoed .

  “Does Bert have a twin?” Luciana demanded, her forehead knitted in great confusion .

  He was wearing a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt with his leather jacket on top, and he was carrying a bunch of flowers. His eyes looked dark and troubled. “Can we talk?” he said .

  Selma stood up, vaguely aware that her legs were shaking. “We can go outside,” she said, and his crooked smile fleetingly appeared on his lips .

  When a chorus of whistles followed them out of the canteen, Selma cringed .

  “Let’s go sit in my car,” she said. “It’s the only place where we’ll get a shred of privacy around here .”

  He followed her over to her little blue car and they climbed in. There was barely enough space for him in the compact interior, and the smell of his leather jacket and his own heady scent filled her nostrils .

  He offered her the flowers. “These are for you.” They were pink rosebuds and baby’s breath, a pretty combination .

  She pressed her fingertips against the bouquet, inhaling the scent, but didn’t take it from him. “Why ?”

  He exhaled a long breath. “Because I’ve been an ass, and I hurt you. I hated the thought of losing you. I’ve been scrabbling for all kinds of solutions, and then it hit me. I hated filling out the Shiftr profile. I only did it because Connor insisted all of us have one, so it got me thinking maybe our answers weren’t accurate .”

  She sighed. “The answer’s still no, Frankie. I’m not living my life like this. I am an emotional, spontaneous person. Maybe I’d answer the questions differently on different days. Who cares? I get why you’re screwed up, but that’s something you’ve got to fix by yourself .”

  He let the flowers fall onto the space between the seats, his head dropped forward, and he was silent for a long moment. “You’ve already helped me more than you realize,” h
e said at last. When he met her gaze again, his eyes were piercing .

  Her heart flipped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I get that this is about more than a compatibility rating on an app .”

  “It is. It goes deep. If you met my dad, if you could’ve seen what he did to my mom, I think you’d understand. He’s in a secure unit these days, driven crazy by his own alcoholism and lies. The only way I’ve been able to live a decent life since then is by making rules for myself. Before Dad got taken away, Connor and I were estranged for a long time, and I wasn’t the guy I am now. You wouldn’t even recognize me. I was a fuck up. I got drunk all the time, never stayed in a job for long, never had relationships. Just had Dad putting poison in my ear all the time, telling me I was bad inside, so what was the point of trying to be good? But then Connor gave me a chance, and I didn’t want to waste it .”

  “You’re scared if you let go of any of your rules, you’ll fall back into that dark place?” she said softly .

  “Yup. That it’ll be like a house of cards. Chaos .”

  “But it was all caused by your dad, right? You already told me, there’s nothing wrong with your genes .”

  “But it started young. You know, nature-nurture. In the end, no one knows which gets you worse .”

  “You’re a good man. I know I was acting crazy when you met me. And that probably made you want to run a mile, but you put my feelings first. You went above and beyond when you acted as my boyfriend at Emily’s engagement party.” She took his hand and squeezed it when an idea hit her. “How about we try this—we date for, say, two weeks. But really date. No pretense. I told Mom and Dad who you really are yesterday .”

  He drew in a sharp breath. “You did ?”

  “Yup. It was kind of embarrassing, but not as bad as I expected. And I was on the point of coming clean to my workmates when you walked in just now .”

  “I’m proud of you for doing that .”

  She shrugged. “Just part of being an adult. You’ve helped me a lot, too .”