"Hm." Abuela Inez looked sour, but she apparently couldn't argue with Maggie's logic. "Well, in any case, Eddy insists on meeting Estevan as soon as possible, and wants him formally introduced him to the clan. He's going to host a big engagement party for you."
And just like that, Maggie's shoulders were once again wound tight enough to snap. "When?"
"Weekend after next."
"But I'm right in the middle of launching my bakery!" Maggie protested.
"From what I saw, your bakery has a large staff and a manager," Abuela observed tartly. "If things are going to fall apart without you, then why did you bother to hire that chica with the blue hair?"
Dammit! Maggie wanted to scream. It had been too much to hope that her control-freak grandmother would tamely accept Steve as Maggie's fiancé and return to Bearpaw Ridge without disrupting Maggie's life any further.
"Please come, Maggie," begged her mother. "It would mean so much to all of us if you came home and let everyone meet your Steve."
With an effort of will, Maggie restrained herself from trying to argue any further. "Steve and I are having dinner tomorrow night. I'll talk to him about it."
And when he says no, at least I'll be able to report that honestly. Problem solved.
Once again, Abuela Inez threw a handful of hair into the cake batter. "Eddy also asked me to tell you that he knows it's going to be inconvenient for the two of you to travel to Bearpaw Ridge on such short notice. So he convinced the other clan elders to forgive your business loan if you come."
Her tone made it abundantly clear that she hadn't voted in favor.
"Really?" Maggie couldn't believe it. It was an incredibly generous offer and would be the answer to her current set of problems. There was just one big problem…
Abuela grimaced, as if she'd just bitten into something sour. "I told him and the others that they didn't need to bribe you, but Eddy insisted. So there you have it."
"I'll do my best to talk Steve into coming," Maggie promised recklessly. "We have dinner for tomorrow night, since you guys have those theater tickets."
She had no idea how she was going talk him into helping her, but she had to find a way. It had been surprising enough that he'd been willing to play the part of her fiancé for a few hours.
How on earth was she ever going to convince a guy that she'd known for such a short time to take time off work, travel to her clan's home turf in Idaho, and continue pretending to be her fiancé for an entire weekend?
I don't have a snowball's chance in hell…but I have to at least try.
Besides, even if she did somehow convince Steve to come to Idaho with her, could they really convince an entire clan of shifters that their engagement was for real?
First things first, though. She had to find a way to enlist his aid. Because if she didn't, she was going to end up not only shamed but forced to accept whatever mate Abuela Inez and the other clan elders found for her.
Maggie swallowed hard and kept her eyes on the road, afraid that her sharp-eyed grandmother would pick up on her sudden case of nerves.
I have to find a way to convince Steve. What kind of deal can I offer him?
Chapter 7
Indecent Proposal
Los Pericos Restaurant, Denver
Monday, September 11
Steve's dinner date with Maggie started off promisingly when she arrived at the lobby of the smokejumper base carrying an enormous flat bakery box embossed with the Cacao Denver logo, a stylized jaguar curled around a cacao tree heavy with melon-shaped seed pods. The enticing scents of vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, and buttery pastry wafted to his nose.
Unlike the dressy clothes and carefully styled hair she'd worn on Grand Opening day, today, Maggie was dressed in jeans, a pink polo shirt embroidered with the same logo printed on the box, and a comfortable pair of sneakers coated with a generous dusting of flour.
Her makeup looked minimal, and her thick black hair was pulled back into a loose bun, with a pair of large gold hoop earrings dangling from her earlobes.
Steve guessed that she'd come straight from work, and decided that Everyday Maggie was every bit as sexy as—and a whole lot more approachable than—Opening Day Maggie.
They swung by the dining room to drop off the box of assorted cookies and pastries. Then he took her on a quick tour of the smokejumper base.