Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,205

the customer forward. Her shoulder twinged in pain but she ignored it. The doctor had told her it would probably ache from time to time.

The doctor had also told her to take things easy, and Brooke, after spending nearly a month doing nothing but roaming endlessly around Connor’s luxurious prison of a suite and ready to tear her hair out, had scoffed. The second she was allowed to leave she’d gone down to the promenade to beg Elsie for her job back. The older woman had looked shocked, saying she hadn’t realized she didn’t still work there. Brooke could have kissed her.

A blonde lady, looking rather flustered and pink in the face, approached the counter about twenty minutes before the end of Brooke's shift. “Sorry for trying to buy the entire store,” the woman joked, flourishing her credit card like a weapon. Brooke laughed. “Even on vacation, kids grow, you know?”

Brooke nodded, eyes automatically flying to the door when the bell sounded and smiling when she saw Connor enter the store.

Today, his suit was navy blue. He’d truly taken the bold colors and patterns comment to heart and had now graduated from accessories to ensembles. The sight of him was mouth-watering, and Brooke made it her mission then and there to never let him wear plain black ever again. Carlo stood beside him, the two talking amicably as they moved out of the way of the line of customers.

They look good together, she thought, ringing up the last of the blonde woman’s purchases and waving goodbye as she left. Like a family. The thought filled her with warmth.

Her shift ended a few minutes later and Brooke practically skipped across the store towards them.

“And what are you two whispering about?” she teased, tugging Connor down to kiss him on the cheek and raising her eyebrow at Carlo who winked like he knew something she didn’t. Brat.

“In laws need to have their secrets,” he said solemnly and Brooke swatted him on the arm, dragging them both out of the store and into the afternoon sunshine. The promenade was full of guests from Black Bear Lake Lodge and they melded into the crowds, making their way slowly back towards the main building.

“Fuck you, we’re not married yet.”

“Yet,” Connor repeated, taking Brooke’s hand and kissing the back of it, eyes smouldering. Her flush deepened. They were ganging up on her. In all her wildest dreams, she had never seen this coming. Her grin threatened to break her face in two; it was more than she had dared to hope for. Beside them, Carlo mimed retching into his hand.

“Gross. I’m leaving. Brooke, I’ll see you tomorrow for the meeting right?” Brooke nodded. Their elder was arriving from San Francisco to finalize their side of the treaty. It had taken a long time to convince him it was worth the trip, and Brooke wanted to get things sorted out before he had the chance to change his mind.

“Yep. I’ll head over in the morning,” she promised.

“Okay, great, I’ll see you then. And remember you two, PDA is frowned upon in this family.” He disappeared with a two finger salute and Brooke watched him go with narrowed eyes.

“He doesn’t respect me anymore,” she lamented, swinging their hands in between them. It was domestic and more than a little cheesy but she loved it.

“I highly doubt he ever did, sweetheart,” Connor mocked, going along with the movement as they walked.

“What were you talking about?”

“Nothing in particular, we just bumped into each other. He was on his lunch break and I was honoring the tradition of picking you up from work.”

“Aw, what a gentleman,” she deadpanned.

“Hush up.” The main lobby of the lodge appeared in front of them. Brooke could just make out Eric, where he stood talking to a guest from behind the concierge desk. She and Connor headed for the staircase, still holding onto each other’s hands. Connor asked, “Are you looking forward to having dinner with the girls later?”

Brooke smiled. The more time she spent with the other women in Connor’s sleuth, the more Brooke had grown to love them. They’d started having dinner together a couple of times a week, taking it in turn to cook and bring wine. Brooke was having a hard time without her whiskey, but she had to admit some of the fancy shit they’d picked out was really nice.

Tonight, she was bringing Angela with her, insisting that she needed to get out of the house and have some fun for