The little girl eyed Cece as Briggs straightened. “Cece, this is…”
“Lucy,” the little girl said.
“Hi, Lucy. It’s nice to meet you,” Cece said.
“Nice to meet you.” Lucy glanced at Briggs. “Someday I’m gonna go to Canada. Maybe I’ll see you there.”
“Maybe you will,” Briggs said.
“Okay, bye.” Lucy slipped by them and into the bathroom.
Briggs could feel a dumb blush rising in his skin at the look Cece was giving him. “What?”
“You were good with her,” Cece said.
He just shrugged. “I like cubs.”
“What kind of shifter was she?”
“Brown bear,” he said. “Do you, uh, like cubs… babies?”
“I do,” she said. “I want at least two. How about you?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Two for sure.”
His bear was growling happily, and Briggs swallowed the sound. Just because Cece wanted cubs didn’t mean she wanted his cubs.
“We should get going,” he said.
She nodded and followed him out of the hallway and into the restaurant. It was only a quarter full now, but he stayed alert, studying their surroundings as he led Cece toward the exit.
“Cece?” a familiar voice said behind them.
His bear growled, and Briggs kept a polite smile on his face as he stopped and turned. Cece smiled at Monroe, and he ignored his flare of jealousy.
“Hi, Monroe.”
“Hi there.” Monroe returned her smile before nodding to Briggs. “Hi, Briggs.”
“Hey,” he grunted.
“You just started dinner, or just finished?” Monroe asked.
“Finished,” Cece said. “We were having dinner with a few friends in one of the private rooms.”
“Nice. I’m here with some friends as well.” He pointed to a booth where three other men sat before asking, “Did the barrier spell work last night?”
“Perfectly,” Cece said. “Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome.” He squeezed her arm, grinning at Briggs when he growled. “It was good to see you both.”
“Bye, Monroe.”
As they headed toward the exit, Cece said, “Are you good?”
“Yeah. Sorry that I growled,” he said. “My bear hates that guy.”
“Just your bear?” she asked with a teasing smile.
