He smiles down at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I will clean up for you.”
He takes my hand and leads me away from my room, down the hall and out to the deck. The night air is cool against my skin.I walk over to the railing and lean against it, watching the dark waters stretch out toward the horizon.
The night sky above us is magnificent—countless stars reflecting on the black surface of Lake Huron. The ship cuts through the water with a gentle rhythm, creating a soothing white noise. Though I’m admiring the view, I can feel Jabari’s eyes on me instead of the scenery.
“So you cook?” I ask, looking over at him.
“I’ve been practicing for you,” he says. “So I can make sure you’re properly fed.”
I laugh softly, still looking out at the waters. The sincerity in his voice is both touching and amusing.
“That doesn’t impress you?” he asks, a hint of disappointment in his tone.
“It does,” I assure him, turning to meet his gaze. “It’s just... funny. Men don’t behave like you where I’m from. Well, not most men.”
“My clan... we are lumberjacks,” he explains. “We handle all the tree cutting and trimming for Wintermoon and transport. We’ve started working closely with House of Zorah, a wolf shifter pack who are the lead architects of most of the structures on the land.”
“That’s a stark difference from what you’re doing now,” I observe, thinking of his role as a chef on the cruise.
“I could feel something pulling me from my clan,” he says, his voice thoughtful. “I wasn’t going to find my fated mate the way my clan members had.”
I turn from the railing to face him fully, intrigued by his story.
“My brother, Silas, also my alpha, found his fated mate in the mountains where our kind has lived for centuries. We moved to Wintermoon when he realized he couldn’t raise a family there.” His eyes grow distant with memory. “When we settledin Wintermoon, it was like fate had already brought everyone’s fated mates together. The women were already waiting on the community lands. But not mine.”
He looks at me. “I realized I had to go looking for you. I couldn’t just sit around and wait for you to find me.”
“Well...” I trail off, uncertain how to respond. “I had a totally different life.”
“I want to know you,” he says eagerly. “All of you.”
“I own a small fashion boutique,” I begin, warming to his interest. “But it’s unique. For bigger women like myself.” I gesture up and down at my curves, and his eyes follow the movement with unmistakable appreciation.
“The world doesn’t embrace bigger women—we don’t fit westernized beauty standards. So they limit what clothes they put in stores for people like me.”
“People like you?” he questions, his brow furrowing.
“Fat people,” I say plainly. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my curves. I’m just pointing out what I get from people sometimes.”
“I love your curves too,” he says with such heartfelt sincerity that I giggle.
“I’m getting that.”
“I think it’s nice that you help others,” he says, moving closer to me.
I sigh and look away, shrugging. “Not for long.”
“What do you mean?”
“I got priced out of my retail space,” I admit. “They want double the rent if I’m going to renew, and I can’t afford that.”
He moves even closer, his eyes intent on mine, radiating concern.
“Doesn’t matter now, right?” I say with forced lightness. “I’m about to become some homemaking wife of a lumberjack with a bunch of little bear shifter kids.”
“No, Jackie,” he says. “You don’t have to give up your identity for me. That’s not what the mate bond is.”
I look at him, surprised by his response. “Okay, then what is it?”
