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Smoke, laughter, beer, and way too many people talking over each other while pretending they weren’t trying to one-up Max’s grilling skills.

Spoiler alert: no one beats the Jersey Devil’s steak rub.

I can’t say I have a lot of experience with big family barbecues.

Not the real kind.

You know, the kind with kids running half-feral, music playing through a duct-taped speaker, and couples slipping off into the shadows for just a minute that lasts two hours.

But I didn’t hate it.

Didn’t hate the way everyone seemed to fit, like some messy puzzle that still made sense even with a few corners scorched or bent.

Didn’t hate watching Casey laugh over a plate of food like she wasn’t carrying the weight of something heavy and dangerous behind her eyes.

Didn’t hate sitting next to her, feeling the heat of her thigh brush mine every now and then as if the universe was daring me to lean just a little closer.

And then there was Kian.

Bastard made us play a round of corn hole after dessert, claiming we needed to move or die.

Bullshit.

Pun intended.

That bovine bastard just wanted an excuse to meddle.

Had a shit-eating grin plastered across his face the whole damn time—especially when he announced, with the enthusiasm of a man who’s been newly laid and can’t stop playing matchmaker, that we’d be doing boy-girl teams.

Naturally, I got paired with Casey.

Naturally, I didn’t complain.

And naturally, he got beaned in the face with a well-aimed bag about ten minutes in.

Which I definitely didn’t throw out of spite.

It was strategy.

Precision.

Possibly divine intervention.

Either way, he spent the rest of the night with a frozen bag of peas on his forehead and a smile that told me he knew exactly what he was doing.

Fucker.

Seems like the Bull Shifter thinks everyone should be paired off now that he’s all happy and mated, walking around with that smug glow like the world finally got it right.

If only it were that easy.

If only finding your person—your mate—was something that ended in a game, a laugh, and a barbecue kiss goodnight.

But it isn’t.

Not for me, anyway.

Because I’ve found her.