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Chapter Two

Charlie

“Please tell me that’s not what you’re wearing. Really? Pink?”

I gave Samantha the stink eye, as she called it. “Just the shirt,” I informed her. I added the pink-and-blue plaid bow tie and then reached for the blue blazer. It was going to look amazing when all put together.

“Really, Charlie, you’d think that at twenty-nine, you would have better fashion sense.”

I ignored my sister—something I knew she absolutely hated.

I carefully pulled on the blazer and situated it on my slender frame.

As a koala shifter, I wasn’t nearly as muscular as some of the larger shifters, but I wasn’t scrawny, and I knew I looked good in these pants.

I pulled the back of the blazer up and glanced at my ass.

Definitely on point, and if I was lucky, I’d get lucky tonight.

“Charlie Brown, don’t you dare ignore me!”

I rolled my eyes. “What would you have me say, Sam? I have a blind date—you know this. You were the one that signed me up for this event. Why else would I be going back to the zoo this evening?”

“That’s because you never put yourself out there. How could you not be interested in finding your mate?”

My irritation with my sister softened. Especially when she rubbed her rounded stomach.

“Sam, just because you and Justin are immensely happy and are starting your family together, that doesn’t mean the rest of us have to do the same.

And if you recall, every time I do put myself out there after a date or two, they always ghost me because they’re too embarrassed to be seen with me, and I refuse to hide.

” Sam and Justin had found each other three years ago, and they hadn’t spent a day apart since.

But that was how it sometimes worked with mates.

And although Justin was human, he and Sam were most definitely mates.

They’d not only claimed each other the shifter way but went through a human wedding ceremony.

I sighed inwardly. It had been beautiful.

“That’s because you haven’t met your mate . It’ll be different once you meet him.”

I shrugged. I wasn’t actually holding my breath. Sure, this Mate Match organization said they were great at matching mates, and this year, I had even more chances of finding my fated mate because it was Valentine’s Day, but I still wasn’t holding my breath. I was going for the free meal.

It was true that I worked at the Whispering Pines Zoo.

I was a zookeeper there. Specifically, I worked with…

well, koalas, wombats, and kangaroos. Don’t ask me why.

It’s just where they decided to put me. I didn’t mind though.

It was a job, and I loved it. The animals reacted well to me, and I didn’t know if that was because of my other half or just because I had a way about me. Did it truly matter though?

“I’m not holding out hope that this person I’m meeting is actually my mate, sis. We both know that the chance of finding a fated mate is slim to none. That’s why our own father bonded with our mother.”

At the mention of our parents, Sam’s face fell.

That hadn’t been my intent, but it felt as if it needed to be said.

I was still young—not quite thirty yet. I had time to meet my mate, and I was happy without having children.

I was going to spoil Sam and Justin’s little one, and then at the end of the day, I would send him or her home and enjoy staying up late and sleeping in the next morning.

That was, if it wasn’t a work night. I had to get up before the sun if I had to work.

“I’m sorry, Sam. I didn’t mean to upset you.” I moved over to the bed and sat down beside her.

“No, I understand,” she said. She reached for the rose on my lapel and fussed with it for a moment before she deemed it fixed. “I can’t help but want you happy. I’m so…it’s just that Justin is amazing. He’s everything.”

I smiled at my older sister. “I know he is for you, Sam. I get it. But the chances of whoever I’m about to meet actually being my mate and just as wonderful and amazing as Justin is for you are slim.

I’m not holding my breath that he won’t end up being ashamed of being seen with me, just like the last one.

You know I hate being hidden, and I can’t seem to find someone who is happy to go out on dates with me and be an actual couple outside of the bedroom. ”

I had dumped more men than I cared to admit because they would always introduce me to others as “a friend” and then spend the rest of the evening cutting it up with their buddies and hitting on girls in the bar or restaurant.

Then, when I decided I was ready to go, they suddenly snuck out and expected to get some with me once we were back to my place.

I stopped dating almost two years ago because I just couldn’t take any more rejection like that. No, thank you.

“I’m sorry, Charlie. I know you’re only doing this because I wouldn’t stop pushing. I promise that if this doesn’t work out for you, I’ll leave you alone about it.”

I nodded. I knew that would never happen, but I wasn’t going to call her out on it.

Sam was due in a month, and I fully expected her to be completely enamored and busy with their little bundle for a good amount of time, but eventually, she would start in on me again.

It was just how she was. Until Justin came along, we were all each other had since I was sixteen and she was twenty and our parents were killed in a small plane crash.

Sam didn’t even think twice about leaving college and moving back home to take care of me while I finished high school.

We were lucky that our parents had planned for tragedy, and there was more than enough life insurance money to pay the bills while I finished high school and Sam went back to college.

But during those two years, Sam had to be not only my sister but my stand-in parent.

Sadly, she sometimes still went overboard when it came to certain areas. Mainly, me dating and settling down.

“All right. I think I’m ready,” I told Sam after checking myself in the mirror one last time. I honestly was nervous and hoped it didn’t show.

“You were right,” Sam said as she stood there and nodded. “About the pink. With the blue blazer and the blue-and-pink bow tie, it’s perfect.”

I smiled at her. “Thanks. I might normally live in khakis and a polo shirt for work, but I was assured this outfit matched and looked good.”

Sam narrowed her eyes. “By who?”

I blinked several times. “By the person who sold it to me at the department store.”

Sam opened her mouth to protest—I just knew it was going to be another argument—but I stopped her with a hand held up in front of her face.

“No. Don’t. You’d been so nice there at the end, and I’m not Justin. I’m not falling for the ‘you’re pregnant and can’t control your emotions.’ That’s an excuse to be bitchy. Nope, not today. I need to go.” I tilted my head. “Why are you here instead of with your own mate?”

Sam’s expression went from irritated to downright pissed off. “Because he’s working tonight. He’s been on evening shifts for a month. Don’t you follow our schedules at all?”

I shook my head and gave her a blank look.

Why would I follow her or her mate’s schedules?

I didn’t live with them, and if I was lucky, I saw them once or twice a month.

They’d been stuck in the honeymoon phase of their mating since they had found each other.

I did not need to see that every time I wanted to visit with my sister, so I’d slowly started visiting less and less.

Luckily for me, she hadn’t seemed to notice.

“Go home. Order pizza or whatever is this week’s cravings, and enjoy your evening.”

“Fine. But call me as soon as you get home. I need to know all about how your date went. And don’t leave out any details.”

I shook my head. I absolutely wasn’t going to give my sister details on how my date did or didn’t go.

It was honestly none of her business. I was already going on this date at her insistence.

I didn’t owe her anything beyond this, as far as I was concerned.

And besides that…eww. Why would she want details?

I grabbed Sam’s arm and tugged her along with me through my little house.

I loved my house. It was small, sure. It was what was considered a cottage and had one bedroom, a living room, and a kitchen with an eat-in dining room area.

There were actually one and a half bathrooms: one in the bedroom and then a half on the other side of the kitchen.

I loved it, and it was all mine. It was cute and perfect for me.

I was single and didn’t require more room; why would I need something bigger?

“You know, you used to be sweeter,” Sam said as we reached the front door. I grabbed my phone, wallet, and keys that were on the table there before I opened the door.

“And you used to not be so pushy. I can accept somewhat protective, but since you’ve mated with Justin, you’ve become downright unbearable at times.” I was not going to sugarcoat things with my sister.

Sam gasped, acting offended. I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t believe me? Ask your mate.” Justin and I had discussed it more than once.

It was probably true I should be nicer to my sister, but she had become too much since she and Justin had mated.

She felt that now that she was happy in mated bliss, everyone else needed to be just like them.

Well, that wasn’t how life worked. Not everyone found true love and lived happily ever after.

I pulled the door shut behind us, locking it with the key, and turned and almost ran into Sam. “Do you really think I’m pushy?” she asked.