Page 19 of Her Embarrassed Bear Mate (Crescent Lake Bears #5)

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Veronica

Veronica stirred her coffee while wishing she could be anywhere else that wasn't here at a small breakfast table with Alix and Dianne. This was not how she pictured her morning to go and it was giving her a headache.

"So..." Dianne said, not unkindly. "How long has this been going on?"

Alix let out a high noise. "Technically, only a few weeks. Technically-technically, we met on the night before that first weird family dinner."

"All this time? Alix!" Dianne tutted in a way only adults could and shook her head. "I can't believe that. You two were going to be step-sisters."

"Mum! We were never going to be step-sisters, we're too old for that."

Veronica just wanted the ground to swallow her up. She always knew this was going to be an awkward conversation but this was way worse than she expected. It made the time she accidentally got flashed by Dianne pale in comparison. Or maybe not, that truly had been a horrifying moment.

"Are you two happy? In love? Committed to each other?" Dianne asked. She sounded different from all the previous times they met. That dreamy tone of hers was gone and had been replaced by the hard edge of a mama bear.

Veronica gulped. "We are happy. It's a bit early to talk about love but I am committed to your daughter, yes."

The smile on Dianne's face was warm but reserved. "Wonderful. Then I hope you'll take good care of my daughter."

"I will," Veronica promised. So much for no grand declarations, this was her practically securing her mother-in-law's approval. In a different time, this would've been where she asked for Alix's hand in marriage.

Alix gave Veronica's thigh a light reassuring squeeze. Even without words, Veronica instantly felt a little calmer. That was the power of her fated mate's touch.

She felt herself smile. Her fated mate.

"Please don't tell anyone about this?" Alix asked her mum. "We want to share the news in our own time, maybe when things are a bit more settled."

Dianne nodded. "Of course, that's understandable. I won't mention it to Dirk. Speaking of, I should go have that chat with him. I left the poor man waiting."

Alix rose up to give her a hug. "You can do it, Mum."

"Thank you for your support." Dianne insisted on hugging Veronica too. "I'm happy for you both. I hope you'll come over for dinner soon so we can get to know each other a bit more. After all, we're going to be family ."

"Mum!" Alix exclaimed.

Dianne just laughed. "I'm kidding. But not about the dinner, I expect to see you two soon."

"Of course," Veronica said dutifully. Even if she didn't have the best opinion of Dianne, not after seeing her date her dad, she was still Alix's mum.

"Wonderful," Dianne chirped. She gave Alix one more kiss on the cheek, finished her cup of coffee, and dashed away looking quite bright for someone about to end a relationship.

Veronica sat and stared and felt like she'd just been on the bottom end of a bulldozer. What an eventful morning. She snapped out of her dazed thoughts when Alix took her hand.

"I guess my mum knows... That's one person off the list," Alix said.

"Hmm. And she didn't react that badly considering she found me hiding in your bathroom like a teenager." Veronica scanned the room quickly, just to make sure nobody was paying them much attention, before she stole a kiss from Alix's lips. "I guess it's a step in the right direction."

"It is."

"You know what? I'm excited about this," Veronica said.

"Good! I want you to be excited."

"I mean it. I didn't get to tell you earlier but I wished for this outcome."

Alix's expression softened. "You did? I didn't know that."

"Hmm-hmm. Not in a dramatic or desperate kind of way, but last night I found myself thinking how nice it would be if it was you. Someone kind and considerate and who gets me." Veronica pressed a kiss on the back of Alix's hand. "So yeah, I'm really happy about this."

"Me too." Alix's smile made her eyes crinkle adorably. "I think this is going to be the start of something great."

A warmth surged through Veronica's body and filled her heart. "I couldn't agree more."