Page 52 of Howlin’ For You

Maybe I need to be better at trusting her.

“Sometimes I can’t believe you’re real,” I whisper into her palm. “Honestly, you help just by being here.”

She chuckles at that, and I open my eyes to catch her joy. “I think I’m actually incredibly distracting, but thank you. How about you finish up here, and I make us dinner tonight? You can come over once you’re done, and we can talk about the full moon. How I can support you.”

The Goddess picked the perfect woman for me—this person who seems to see me so fully and doesn’t shy away. My life has been difficult—full of losses I may never truly get over—until this moment.

Maybe she won’t leave me like everyone else has.

“I think that sounds perfect. I’ll be there in a couple of hours.”

She presses a sweet, quick kiss to my lips—drawing away before I can get lost in the taste of her. “I’ll see you soon.”

I watch as her hips sway with the breeze, as the falling leaves seem to float toward her on their way to the ground. She’s magnetic.

It takes all the power in me to rip my eyes away from her and get back to work. The urge to run after her—the need to chase my mate—is so overwhelming I have to practically choke it down.

Would she like something like that? A chase?

I was just thinking that I need to trust Izzy more. That I need to trust that her easy acceptance of me will continue, even if a chase through the woods isn’t appealing to her.

I resolve to speak with her about it tonight over dinner. With that, I hammer away even faster—anything to get back to my Izzy as quickly as possible.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

ISABELLA

Iswear I can feel Nick’s eyes on me for an entire hour after I leave his side. It’s as if his focus is a physical weight, but instead of being a burden, it’s a comfort like a weighted blanket.

It wraps around me as I walk into Clover’s Market in search of fresh ingredients for tonight’s dinner—and maybe some cute knick-knacks.

My room back in Seattle is almost drowning in little trinkets I’ve found while doing menial jobs, trying to find my passion. While I never did make much headway with that, I collected some cute shit. I’ll have to drive back down and grab all of it if I do end up staying here.

Although, if I’m truly honest with myself, that ‘if’ feels a lot more like a ‘when,’ so long as Nick wants that, too.

I wind through the stalls, absorbing the noise of chattering vendors and the scents of fresh produce and artisanal candles.

I pick up some fall-scented pinecones for my dining room table, already planning a centerpiece around them. The flowers Nick got me are still thriving and would look perfect next to them.

I’m still going through dinner ideas in my head when I come upon the most beautiful cherry tomatoes I’ve ever seen. Thoughts of a noodle dish with fresh tomatoes take form as I trail my fingers along the smooth skins of the yellow and red fruits.

“Four containers, please,” I say to the vendor. I’ll probably have leftovers with this many, but leftovers are a busy event planner’s best friend. This way, when I get lost in my emails, phone calls, and spreadsheets, I can just heat something up rather than force myself to cook.

The man nods, ringing me up on his tablet app.

“Excuse me, do you have—” Before I can even finish my question, a reusable bag is thrust into my hands. I turn to my left to find Clover with a knowing smile on her weathered face.

“You’re going to need more of these before your shopping trip is over. A few vendors sell them.” She winks, then disappears into the crowd.

A small shiver travels down my spine at her premonition, but I shake it off. It’s honestly cool, but I swear she must be messing with me or something. She has to know she’s a little creepy, right?

The vendor takes my bag, carefully placing the tomatoes inside as I wave my phone over the small sensor to pay.

After I finish, I turn, trying to take in all the things I want to explore. It would take me a solid week to actually visit every vendor and see their wares.

Maybe someday I’ll try.

Before I leave, I peruse the aisles for some pasta. I vaguely remember seeing a booth like that on my first trip here.