Page 33 of Bear My Heart

"Lots of salmon and halibut," Pete said a bit wistfully. "I miss it."

"You should bring me there," Shanti said, clearly impulsively. "Let's take the train to the city and the next flight to Alaska, when the line's up."

Pete fumbled his fork as he tried to pick it up. It landed in his lap and he grabbed it and laid it on the table with a precise motion, but his gaze had locked on his mate and he couldn't have loosened it if he'd tried. His heart was suddenly in triple-time, and his bear had come to full, hopeful alert. "Really?"

"Really." Shanti's eyes were shining. "Really, yes, absolutely. If you want to."

"I'd love to. Although it's December. It's a little colder there than here."

"'A little,'" Shanti echoed. "I bet."

"No, really, it's only a little colder, most of the time. It's just grey a lot, instead of really cold."

"Right. Rain forest. Really, only a little colder? Then I'll be fine in all my layers." Shanti gestured at herself almost shyly, and Pete found himself beaming at her.

"You'll be perfect. I'd love to bring you. I'll look into plane tickets?"

Shanti took a deep breath, held it, then smiled and nodded. "And I'll work with Shane and his friend in Syracuse on going through some of my grandparents' stuff. I'm really not sure if I want to sell the house," she added more softly. "But even if I only decide to rent it, it needs to be updated. Jake Rowly's a carpenter. He might know who to talk to for a renovation. I don't want to go crazy with it, but…I get the idea that even a little bit of an update would increase its resale value by quite a lot. Or make it more appealing to renters."

"What's the rental market like here?"

"A lot better than it used to be, I guess. A lot of people have moved into Virtue the past few years. And then there's me, wanting to leave." Shanti glanced down at her meal, then turned her attention to it like she was embarrassed at her determination.

"And leave we will," Peter said firmly. "To Shkalnik for the new year, if nothing else. Assuming the rail line gets done on time."

"It will, won't it?" Shanti asked, startled. "I know there was the setback with the train station earlier this year, but that didn't affect the line itself, did it? And the station's been finished in time anyway."

"No, there's no reason it won't be done. Everything's going according to plan, except the part where I want to bail on work and come hang out with you all day."

"Well, hurry it up so you can," Shanti said almost impishly. "Except I don't think it works that way."

"Not really, no. Did you say the holiday market opens this next weekend? I'd like to see that."

"That's our Sunday plans, then. And maybe Thursday evening, because that's usually when they do the tree lighting, and before that there's a kid's choir that does a performance in the church, and then the bazaar is officially open, and…" Shanti trailed off like she was hearing herself for the first time. "This is actually a pretty great little town, isn't it?"

Pete laughed. "Yeah, it kind of is. Don't sell your house," he said as impulsively as she'd spoken earlier. "Not right away, anyway. Just in case you decide Shkalnik isn't the place for you. Because I could live here. I know I've only been here a few days, and I don't know, maybe it's horrible in the summer⁠—"

Shanti grinned. "It's not, though. Humid, but not horrible. There's a huge Fourth of July celebration, and at the end of the summer there's a big local fair, and the town goes all-out for Halloween and Easter, and…and I haven't really done any of that at all, not since I was a kid. And I'm only just realizing it as I say it all out loud."

"So Shkalnik for the new year, and back here to renovate and finish the probate period and to take some time to enjoy Virtue," Pete suggested. "And if there's any time here that's boring, we can go back to Shkalnik so you can see it in the summer, too."

"I don't really understand how you can be so perfect," Shanti said after a quiet moment of studying him. "Fate, I know, but…you're everything I need and it's…confusing. I don't know what to do with…" She trailed off again and finally took a deep breath. "With not being alone or having to rely just on myself, I guess."

Pete's heart hurt for his mate. "That makes sense. I think it's easier for me. I knew about the possibility of fate to begin with, and I've been able to live for myself my whole adulthood. You've been so focused on other people's needs that having someone focused on yours must be really strange. I'm not in any hurry," he said as gently as he could. "We have all the time in the world to get used to this. You have all the time you need. Okay?"

"I know. I really do believe you. It's just a hard idea to get used to."

"We met less than a week ago," Pete pointed out wryly. "It's not very long to have gotten used to it."

Shanti paused in taking a bite and stared at him a moment, blinking slowly, until she finally shook her head incredulously. "I feel like I've known you forever, in the best way. But it's Monday, and we met on Thursday."

"And you only found out about the magic behind all of this yesterday," Pete murmured, and Shanti flashed a smile.

"Right. Well. Okay. I don't feel so bad about being slow, then."

"I don't want you to ever feel bad about anything," Pete said entirely seriously, then eyed his lasagne and the little bit of cream sauce left on his plate from the ravioli Shanti had given him. "Except maybe letting me order the lasagne instead of the ravioli. The lasagne's good and everything, but that ravioli, wow."

Shanti tossed her head, making her short curls bounce just a little. "Sorry, I don't feel badly about that at all."