Two weeks later
S elma peered through the glass door of the oven for the hundredth time. The cake was rising well, and it smelled amazing. She clasped her hands together in glee. So far, everything had gone without a hitch .
The rear door of Frankie’s cabin burst open, bringing a gust of crisp air with it. Their cabin. Three days earlier Frankie had helped her to move in with him, and she was about to put her house on the market. He’d been so sweet, worrying that she’d miss her old place. But she loved living with him in the forest, among all the other bears and their amazing mates, who were fast becoming her closest friends. And today she was organizing a surprise birthday party for him, while a couple of the other guys were keeping him occupied .
Lauren’s head popped through the doorway. “Sure you don’t need any help in there, honey?” she called .
Selma turned to face her and grinned. “No, I’m good. Everything’s about done now. Unless you want to take some more hot toddy outside ?”
“Sure do!” Lauren tiptoed into the cabin in her heavy winter boots, and lifted a big pot of the spiced liquid off the stove with the aid of two dish towels, then she took it outside. She’d helped Selma store all the food and drink for the party at her place, but apart from that, Selma had done everything herself. She wanted to prove to Frankie that she was capable of being organized. And it turned out that it wasn’t all that hard. For the past few weeks, she’d bathed in the glow of his love and respect, and because he believed in her and didn’t call her Silly, she’d lost a lot of her flaky, irresponsible urges .
She ran her eyes over all the food laid out on the kitchen benches. There was a big stew, chili con carne, meat loaf, corn, slaw, baked potatoes, wedges, and outside, the guys were preparing a giant barbecue—of course. The timer alarm went off and she grabbed a pair of oven gloves and took the cake out of the oven. It was fluffy golden perfection. She set it aside to cool, and as she gathered up some silverware and plates from the drawers, there was a long, low whistle—Dalton’s signal that he’d picked up the sound of Frankie’s car in the distance. Everyone streamed into the cabin with a lot of giggling and whispering, and gathered either side of the front door. There had been an early snow fall, and all the kids were in coats and woolly hats, their cheeks glowing .
“Have you all got streamers?” Selma asked .
“I handed them out,” Luciana said with a mischievous smile, and Selma put an arm around her best friend’s shoulders and gave her a quick hug. She’d just told Luciana about the shifter secret and signed her up to the app, and she couldn’t wait to find out who she was going to get matched with. She had her fingers crossed it was one of the guys in the clan, but as Tamika had told her, there’s no swaying fate .
Selma strained her ears for the sound of Frankie’s car, but instead she picked up the grinding and rumbling of a much bigger vehicle .
“What’s that?” she asked, glancing at the guys .
“Dunno…” “Search me?” various people said with shrugs .
The rumbling got louder and louder and there was a final grinding sound and a loud hiss. Selma inched aside one of the curtains covering the front window and peeked through. She couldn’t see anything though, as it was already dusk and the window was covered in frost. There was a silence, and then the sound of someone walking up the porch steps as if they were trying not to make a lot of noise. The front door knob turned and the door opened slowly. Selma held her breath as Frankie entered stealthily. She frowned. Had he guessed the surprise somehow ?
And then the room erupted with a collective yell of “Surprise!” as streamers flew everywhere and the kids blew whistles .
Frankie yelled out in shock, and then he burst out laughing. Selma tugged the door open wide and he took one look at her and pulled her into his arms .
“Happy birthday, baby!” she said .
“Thank you, baby!” He peppered her face with kisses, then grinned at all his friends. “And thank you, all of you .”
“Did you guess the surprise?” she demanded .
“Nope. But—” He took hold of both her hands and led her out of the cabin and onto the porch. “It just so happens that I have a little surprise of my own for you .”
When she reached the porch steps, it was her turn to let out a little scream. There was a huge flatbed truck parked up at the end of the driveway, and sitting on it was…her gazebo. The entire thing. It hadn’t been dismantled at all, but was in one piece, as perfect as the day Frankie had finished it .
“How did you…?” she began .
“Uh, with a winch and a little patience, and a lot of help from my friends!” he replied, wrapping his arms around her waist, as Connor and Niall emerged from the shadows and lifted their hands in a salute. “I thought we could set it up in the middle of the front yard. It’ll look real pretty there .”
“Thank you so much! I can’t believe you did this .”
“No chance I was leaving it behind,” Frankie whispered into her ear in a playful tone. “I saw the sadness in your eyes when you said goodbye to it on Wednesday. Plus, we’d have never got together if you hadn’t used it as a ploy to get me to keep working for you .”
She swatted him. “I know that’s not true .”
“It’s not.” He planted a kiss on her cheek. “I would’ve found you somehow, Selma. You were fated to be mine .”
Shivers ran through her body as she turned around and he kissed her on the lips, to a chorus of whoops and whistles .
“I’ll just get this unloaded, and join you all inside in a minute,” he said .
Connor stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder. “No need, bro. We can take the truck back tomorrow—I’ve dealt with it. Now it’s time to celebrate !”
Everyone trooped through the cabin and out the back door where a couple of canvas shelters had been set up, with a birthday banner strung between them, while a fire at either end of the yard kept the whole area warm. An entire deer was cooking on the barbecue, and there was a big table laden with beers, mug and hot toddy .
Frankie gasped. “Selma, this is…this is amazing .”
“And she organized the whole thing herself,” Lauren stage whispered .
He held Selma close, pressing her against his chest so she could feel the slow, steady beat of his big heart. “Thank you, baby. This is the best birthday ever,” he murmured. “You don’t know how much it means to me .”
“I wanted to make it special for you. Connor mentioned that you hadn’t celebrated your birthday since you lost your mom .”
He gently eased away from her, and when she lifted her head to look him in the eye, she saw that his gorgeous, piercing eyes had turned misty blue. “You understand me so well, Selma .”
She smiled. “And you understand me. How many couples plan to surprise each other at exactly the same moment ?”
He flashed his sexy, crooked grin. “Not many. Which is why we’re so perfectly matched .”
THE END