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A shadow appeared on the sketchbook paper as Sidney was moving the pencil around the page and she paused and lifted her head.

Holy crap.

The sexiest guy she’d ever seen in her life stood in front of her on the other side of the thick rope that made up the lines for the tour.

“Hi.”

His voice was deep and made something inside her flare to life.

He was tall and broad-shouldered with muscles that strained against the golf shirt he wore, an insignia patch on the chest indicating he was part of the park’s security team.

Her pencil flipped out of her fingers and onto the stone pathway.

Before she could bend to pick it up, he held it out to her, smiling in a way that made her skin prickle with sensation.

Oh yeah, he said hi to her. She should…say hi back.

“Hi.”

His smile widened and a dimple appeared in one cheek.

Be still her freaking beating heart.

“I’m Lucius, part of the security team.”

“I’m Sidney.”

He glanced to the side as the woman in line ahead of Sidney was escorted to the waiting blue camo-colored Jeep. “Is this your first time on the VIP tour?”

“Yes. I got a coupon by email.”

He leaned forward and she picked up the scent of his cologne, which reminded her of sunshine and sandalwood. Her stomach flipped and she barely controlled the urge to run her fingers through his dark hair and find out if it was as soft as it looked.

“You’re drawing the plant? It’s so detailed.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re really talented. Are you an artist for a living?”

“Ha, I wish. I work at the front desk of my mom’s hair salon. I’ve always wanted to see exotic animals up close so I could draw them, so when I got the coupon I thought it was fate giving me a chance to see them.”

He hummed. “The tours don’t stop that long in front of the paddocks, just a few minutes at most. Is that long enough for you to sketch the animals?”

“I thought I could use my phone to take pictures too.”

She’d figured the tour stops weren’t very long, but she’d hoped she might be able to wrangle a few extra minutes from whoever was her tour guide.

He pursed his lips and then said, “Are you busy today?”

“In what sense?”

“I mean, if I moved your reservation to the last one of the day so you could have more time to see the animals, are you free?”

“Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Sure. I’ve never seen someone come to the VIP tour and want to sketch the animals, it’s cool. Are you interested?”

“I’d love that.”

“Give me two minutes. I’ll be right back.”

She hummed as he strode off.

Dang he even had a nice butt.

Her heart was pounding. Honestly pounding!

She couldn’t remember being so quickly attracted to a guy before. And he wanted to help get her more time to sketch. How cool was that?

The day had started out crappy, but things were definitely looking up.

Okay, his soulmate was even more beautiful up close. Long, dark hair tied back in a loose braid with tendrils that framed her heart-shaped face perfectly. She had the most full, kissable lips of any female he’d ever seen, and her eyes were the prettiest deep jade color.

He didn’t want to leave her, but he had an idea to spend time with her.

Like any male who’d met his soulmate in the park, the most important thing to Lucius was getting to know her and hopefully getting her phone number, and maybe even a date.

When he filled his friends at the tiki hut in on what happened, they all stared at him in surprise and then cheered quietly for him so they didn’t draw any attention to themselves.

“Freaking awesome, man, congrats,” Greg said. “You want to take her on the tour? We can arrange that.”

“Yeah, I do, but I was wondering if I could move her to the last tour of the day?” He explained that she was an artist and wanted to sketch the animals, and if he could give her more time to see them, then he could spend time with her too.

“Actually,” Brent said, “we’ve got a whole hour open from two to three. Do you want to take her then? You could spend as much time as you wanted at each paddock. You just have to keep her entertained until two.”

“I could totally do that,” he said.

“Lemme call Joss. I think he’s running around here somewhere,” Brent said.

Joss, alpha of the park’s wolf pack, was in charge of the safari tours.

Brent put the walkie back on the desk. “Joss said you’ve got the tour from two to three with your soulmate. Until then, he suggests showing her around the park and getting lunch.”

“That’s exactly what I had in mind. Thanks, guys.”

“Hey, you give us hope,” Felix said. “I can’t believe she came here with an email coupon and she’s your soulmate. It’s amazing.”

Lucius nodded. It was more than amazing, it was perfect.

Rapping his knuckles on the desktop, he smiled at the males and hurried back to his soulmate.

Her head was down and her pencil was scratching along the surface of the sketchbook. She seemed to sense he was near because her pencil stopped moving and she lifted her head to look at him. A smile lit her face and made him momentarily stunned.

“I’ve got some great news,” he said. He told her about the plans for a truly private tour for a full hour. “I don’t know how long it takes you to sketch things, but you can spend more time at each paddock.”

“That’s so cool.” She looked at her smartwatch. “I think I’ll go get a burger of the day and find something else to sketch. Maybe the carousel since I don’t think it’s too far from the burger stall.”

“Would you like some company?”

Please say yes .

Her brows lifted. “I’d love some. Don’t you have to work, though?”

“I’m off for the afternoon, actually.” Which was true now, thankfully. Once a male found his soulmate, everyone knew he’d want to spend time with her if possible. Lucius had filled in for his friends and other shifters when they’d needed to vacate their jobs for their soulmate.

He was thankful he was surrounded by such helpful people.

She closed her sketchbook and put it and the pencil away.

“Do you know what the burger of the day is?” she asked as they walked down the line to leave the tour area.

“Mushroom swiss,” he said. “I was going to get one for lunch myself because it sounded really good.”

“That might be my favorite kind of burger,” she said.

“So tell me about being an artist,” he said as they made their way to the burger stall, where Lucy and Tarquin were serving up the burger of the day along with fries and drinks. “Did you go to school to learn how to draw like that?”

She blushed, her cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink that he adored.

“No. I’ve taken some classes online and at the library, but my mom couldn’t afford to send me to school and I don’t make enough money at my job to send myself. So I’m self-taught. Lots of online videos and following people on social media who share tips for drawing.”

“I’d love to see what else you’ve drawn, but your sketchbook looks pretty new.”

“I wanted to start a new sketchbook today. I have pictures in my phone, I’d be happy to show you some things I’ve done.”

They reached the burger kiosk, which had a line of about ten people. He waved at Tarquin as they walked by and got in line.

While they waited, she showed him a dozen pictures on her phone of drawings she’d done of animals, the detailed drawings looking like something worthy of being framed and hung on a wall.

“I noticed you don’t have any lion pictures,” he said.

“Well, I’ve never seen a lion in person,” she said. “But I will today at the safari. Is that your favorite animal?”

“Yep.”

She smiled up at him. “I’ll draw a picture of one just for you.”

Maybe someday he could shift for her and she could draw him. Now that would be incredible.

“I’d love that.”

She told him about working at her mom’s salon and making a little extra money with an online craft site where she booked the occasional custom picture.

After they’d gotten their burgers, fries, and drinks, they sat at a picnic table under a shade tree to get some relief from the bright sunshine.

“So you’d like to do art for a living?” he asked.

“Definitely. I don’t know that it will ever happen, though.”

She told him about her mom’s guilt trips whenever she tried to do something that took her away from the salon, which was compounded by her father’s death and her mom’s insistence that the salon was the family business and Sidney needed to be part of it to the exclusion of all else.

“That’s not very fair,” he said.

“No, it’s not. Coming here today was the first thing that I’ve done for myself in ages. I just ignored her behavior and guilt trips and decided it was high time I did something that was fun. I should be able to do things that make me happy.”

“Family guilt is rough.”

“Your family?” she asked.

“I came here with my Dad and brothers, but I’m not close to my mom,” he said.

“Do you ever talk to her?”

“Not since long before we left and came here.” Coming to New Jersey was the best thing he’d ever done, and the reason for that change was sitting right in front of him. If he’d never left his home pride, he’d never have met Sidney.

That was a future he didn’t want to think about.

Not only was she gorgeous, but she was funny and sweet.

“Doing what’s best for ourselves is tough when family doesn’t support us. I’m sorry your mom gave you a hard time about today, but I’m so glad that you’re here.”

She took a bite of the burger and hummed. As she finished her bite, she said, “You know what? I’m feeling like coming here was very much fate. Like I was destined to get that email coupon and come here today. Do you believe in fate?”

“Absolutely.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Good. I wouldn’t want to be the only one who thinks it was destiny that I came here today.”

“I definitely think you were supposed to be here today, and so was I.”

They stared at each other for a long moment, neither saying anything, and then she smiled. “Lucius, this is the best burger I’ve ever had in my life. And you’re the best company for a meal. Thanks for arranging things for me today. You’re pretty amazing.”

“You’re pretty amazing too, Sidney, and definitely the best company as well.”

She smiled like she wasn’t used to being complimented, and he decided to make sure he complimented her tons so she realized how special she was. He hadn’t known her long and already knew that was true.

His soulmate was one incredible female.