looked at him. “Asked
Nik about me. Not that he would know much. He only dated my best friend, Reese. So,
he’s pretty much attuned to her and not me. I guess maybe try to find me online through
social media or something.”
“Social media wouldn’t give me the facts, and Nik didn’t give me any info on you other
than your name. Can I remind you he did some checking into me? Called my superior
to ask if I was a decent guy. And no, he didn’t have to say anything nice about me.
I’m not even sure he likes me.”
“Noted, but Nik was looking out for me. I think. We’ve known each other for about
six years. Friends look out for friends. I don’t understand why you felt the need
to do a background check. Did you not trust me to tell you the truth? Are you suspicious
of women? Did some woman jerk you around by playing games and break your heart?” Avery’s
teeth clenched, and she all but growled the last question. Nice to know his mate felt
some jealousy and protective instincts when it came to him. Now, if he could jump
the hurdle of the background check without breaking his neck, things would be good.
Declan shifted closer, reaching out to caress her arm. When she didn’t pull away,
he saw that as a sign of progress. “I’m not suspicious of women, no one broke my heart,
and I would have believed you. None of those things had anything to do with it. I
wanted to know as much about you as I could before we met. Everything I saw said you
were just as goal oriented as me, and I made a judgment call—a poor one—but a judgment
call nonetheless. I figured you would want to finish school and move home before finding
your mate, too. I decided I could wait until I got settled in Mischief before looking
you up.”
Avery’s mouth hung open. Declan wondered if he should close it for her but thought
better of it.
“I don’t know what to question first: you making decisions about our life together or you settling down in Mischief.”
“I’ll answer them both, first about Mischief. I have a job waiting for me with the
sheriff’s department. I’ve had it in the works for the past six months and finally
got the acceptance about a month ago. I only need to finish this ethics class before
I transfer over.”
Avery nodded. “Okay, that makes sense. Dad mentioned they were hiring. He’s on the
town council, so he probably had a hand in your hiring. Strange how things work out,
but okay. You didn’t know about me. I didn’t know about you. One thing had nothing
to do with the other, so that’ll be taken off the he’s-a-creepy-stalker list.”
Declan grinned and breathed a sigh of relief. They would have met eventually once
they were both living in Mischief even if they hadn’t met now. Why the Fates decided
to throw this wrench into his plans, he didn’t have a clue, but he would go with it—now.
Avery dropped her foot to the floor. “Don’t get too cocky and comfortable over there.
You still haven’t explained the background check and how it played into your poor
decision-making skills. I’m not sure I want a mate or a man who can’t be a normal guy meeting his mate for the first time.”
“I’m a cop, Avery. I investigate everyone and make decisions based on what I discover.”
“I counter your point by saying, repeating actually, you could have asked me out.
Would it have been so bad?”
She had a point, but he wasn’t ready to admit defeat. “It’s too easy to look someone
up at work. It happened to be where I was when Nik called. I pulled a double, all
quiet on the home front, and I looked you up. Mark told me not to do it, but then,
he hasn’t found his mate and doesn’t understand what it’s like to not know what to
do.”
“Most people would start out simple. Introduce yourself to your mate then take it
from there.”
“But at the time, I had this plan. This thing I had lived my life by for the last
eight
Nik about me. Not that he would know much. He only dated my best friend, Reese. So,
he’s pretty much attuned to her and not me. I guess maybe try to find me online through
social media or something.”
“Social media wouldn’t give me the facts, and Nik didn’t give me any info on you other
than your name. Can I remind you he did some checking into me? Called my superior
to ask if I was a decent guy. And no, he didn’t have to say anything nice about me.
I’m not even sure he likes me.”
“Noted, but Nik was looking out for me. I think. We’ve known each other for about
six years. Friends look out for friends. I don’t understand why you felt the need
to do a background check. Did you not trust me to tell you the truth? Are you suspicious
of women? Did some woman jerk you around by playing games and break your heart?” Avery’s
teeth clenched, and she all but growled the last question. Nice to know his mate felt
some jealousy and protective instincts when it came to him. Now, if he could jump
the hurdle of the background check without breaking his neck, things would be good.
Declan shifted closer, reaching out to caress her arm. When she didn’t pull away,
he saw that as a sign of progress. “I’m not suspicious of women, no one broke my heart,
and I would have believed you. None of those things had anything to do with it. I
wanted to know as much about you as I could before we met. Everything I saw said you
were just as goal oriented as me, and I made a judgment call—a poor one—but a judgment
call nonetheless. I figured you would want to finish school and move home before finding
your mate, too. I decided I could wait until I got settled in Mischief before looking
you up.”
Avery’s mouth hung open. Declan wondered if he should close it for her but thought
better of it.
“I don’t know what to question first: you making decisions about our life together or you settling down in Mischief.”
“I’ll answer them both, first about Mischief. I have a job waiting for me with the
sheriff’s department. I’ve had it in the works for the past six months and finally
got the acceptance about a month ago. I only need to finish this ethics class before
I transfer over.”
Avery nodded. “Okay, that makes sense. Dad mentioned they were hiring. He’s on the
town council, so he probably had a hand in your hiring. Strange how things work out,
but okay. You didn’t know about me. I didn’t know about you. One thing had nothing
to do with the other, so that’ll be taken off the he’s-a-creepy-stalker list.”
Declan grinned and breathed a sigh of relief. They would have met eventually once
they were both living in Mischief even if they hadn’t met now. Why the Fates decided
to throw this wrench into his plans, he didn’t have a clue, but he would go with it—now.
Avery dropped her foot to the floor. “Don’t get too cocky and comfortable over there.
You still haven’t explained the background check and how it played into your poor
decision-making skills. I’m not sure I want a mate or a man who can’t be a normal guy meeting his mate for the first time.”
“I’m a cop, Avery. I investigate everyone and make decisions based on what I discover.”
“I counter your point by saying, repeating actually, you could have asked me out.
Would it have been so bad?”
She had a point, but he wasn’t ready to admit defeat. “It’s too easy to look someone
up at work. It happened to be where I was when Nik called. I pulled a double, all
quiet on the home front, and I looked you up. Mark told me not to do it, but then,
he hasn’t found his mate and doesn’t understand what it’s like to not know what to
do.”
“Most people would start out simple. Introduce yourself to your mate then take it
from there.”
“But at the time, I had this plan. This thing I had lived my life by for the last
eight
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