to pull the door shut behind him, she spotted his lower leg sticking out behind the knee-crutch, a bright blue fiberglass cast around his foot and calf.
He's hurt! She felt a pang of concern, and wondered how he had injured himself.
"Is that really Thor Swanson?" asked Papá, sounding surprised.
"Elle did tell us that he was working as a smokejumper in this area," Mamá said. "Oh, and he brought the baby! And his mate, too." Her voice dropped to a confidential whisper. "Elle was so thrilled to have a new grandbaby, but I heard that Thor's mated to one of those sabertooth shifters!”
The bear shifter in question currently had one arm wrapped protectively around the shoulders of a pretty blonde woman with striking blue-green eyes.
"Mr. Ornelas! Mrs. Ornelas! What a surprise! I didn't know you were in Denver." Thor grinned and waved at Maggie's parents. "I'd like you to meet my mate, Cassie, and daughter Amanda."
He and the blonde woman broke away from the group and approached Maggie's parents.
"He's the one," Maggie's cat said to Abuela Inez. She pointed at Mr. Hotness with her chin. "Steve Lopez."
What? Maggie's human half couldn't believe it. Are you serious?
To her horror, Mr. Hotness overheard her. His eyes widened in astonishment.
Then he gave her a slow smile that lit up his dark eyes and kindled warmth deep in her belly.
"Estevan Lopez?" asked Abuela Inez, sounding incredulous. "You're planning to mate Aarón's younger brother? And you didn't think to tell us?"
Trust my abuela to have memorized the faces and names of every eligible jaguar shifter in North America, Maggie thought, immediately followed by, Holy shit…Mr. Hotness is one of the San Diego Lopezes?
But she couldn't back down now. Despite their shifter super-senses, her family had somehow failed to detect the falsehood. She was in too deep now to gracefully back out of her declaration.
Mamá looked up from fussing over Thor's baby. She gave Steve an assessing glance before turning a hurt look on Maggie. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Both Thor and Cassie were staring at Maggie with puzzled expressions.
Maggie threw her old friend and his mate a pleading glance, silently imploring them not to reveal her little white lie.
"It's, uh, new," she managed. "We haven't known each other very long."
At least that part's not a lie, she thought. She added, "But he's, um, the one. For me."
She couldn't believe that her parents and grandmother actually believed her. She'd never been able to get away with anything as a kid.
Thor's hazel eyes gleamed with amusement as he traded a look with his mate. He winked at Maggie and said, "Steve's a great guy. I've worked with him for years."
Having thrown Maggie a lifeline, he turned to shake Papá's hand. "Mr. Ornelas, I'd like you to meet my mate, Cassandra Long-Swanson, and my daughter, Amanda."
"But everyone calls me Cassie," she added, in her soft Texas twang. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Ornelas."
"How old is your baby?" Papá asked, the corner of his eyes crinkling in a broad smile as he reached out to stroke little Amanda's cheek.
"She just turned a month old," Cassie replied.
As Thor began asking Papá about Tío Eddy and the other members of the Ornelas clan back in Bearpaw Ridge, Abuela Inez poked Maggie's shoulder with an imperious finger.
"Tell Estevan to come here," she ordered. "I want to meet him properly."
Oh crap, thought Maggie.
Chapter 5
Faking It
Cacao Denver
Saturday, September 9 (Grand Opening Day)
When Steve walked into the elegant wood, brick, and marble bakery, he was expecting to be greeted by the sweet fragrance of baked goods and the mellow richness of brewing coffee.
He was not expecting Maggie Ornelas to point him out to the older woman at her side or to immediately stride over to him and give him a warm hug.
"I'm so glad you made it," she said with a big smile.
"Hey," he responded, pleasantly surprised. "I've been looking forward to this all week."
He wrapped his arms around her, simultaneously steadying himself on his knee-crutch and relishing the feeling of her soft breasts squished against his chest.
In the middle of last weekend's fire, Maggie had been beautiful and totally hot, even while dripping wet and stressed. She had been confident and determined to save a group of strangers, and he'd always had a weakness for strong, caring women.
But now, wearing a flattering low-cut wine-red top and matching pants that emphasized her long legs and amazing curves, with her hair styled and her striking eyes highlighted with makeup, she was drop-dead gorgeous.