Page 33 of The Bear's Christmas Love
“Christopher!” the woman called out, her face lighting up. “We haven’t seen you in weeks!”
“Been busy at the cabins,” he replied, leading Sorcha to the counter. “Renee, Louis, this is Sorcha. She’s visiting Bear Creek for a travel article.”
“Welcome to our little pizza paradise,” Renee said, wiping flour-covered hands on her apron before extending one to Sorcha.
“It’s wonderful to meet you,” Sorcha said, already enchanted by the place. “I didn’t expect to find a pizzeria out here in the woods.”
Louis, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and laugh lines etched deep around his eyes, chuckled as he stretched dough with practiced movements. “We didn’t either, at first. This was supposed to be our retirement cabin. But I couldn’t stop making my grandmother’s pizza recipe, and word got around.”
“Now we’re here five days a week,” Renee added. “People come from all over for Louis’s pizza.”
“What can we get you today?” Louis asked, his hands never stopping their work.
Christopher looked at Sorcha. “The Forest Forager is my favorite…wild mushrooms, local cheese, and herbs. But everything’s good.”
“That sounds perfect,” Sorcha agreed, already pulling out her notebook.
After they ordered, Christopher led her outside to one of the empty tables nestled among the trees. The benches were simple but surprisingly comfortable, worn smooth by years of use. From their spot, Sorcha could see a small stream trickling through the snow nearby, and birds flitting between branches overhead.
“This is incredible,” she said, her gaze sweeping over the scene. “One of the most unique places I’ve ever eaten.”
Christopher smiled, clearly pleased by her reaction. “Wait until you taste the pizza.”
“I can’t believe this place exists,” she marveled, watching a cardinal land on a nearby branch. “A gourmet pizzeria in the middle of the forest? It’s like something from a fairy tale.”
“Louis and Renee are Bear Creek originals,” Christopher explained. “They moved here thirty years ago, built this place themselves. The pizza started as something they did for friends,then friends of friends, and eventually they gave in and turned it into a business.”
Renee appeared with their pizza on a wooden board, steam rising from the perfectly charred crust. “Here you go, dears. Enjoy!”
“Renee,” Sorcha said quickly, “would it be all right if I took some photos and included your place in my article? This is exactly the kind of hidden gem my readers would love.”
Renee beamed, her cheeks flushing with pleasure. “We’d be honored! Louis, did you hear that? We’re going to be in a magazine!”
After Renee returned to the shack, Sorcha took several photos of the pizza, the setting, and the quaint building with its chimney puffing smoke into the winter air. Then she pulled out her notebook and began jotting down details, the way the crust bubbled at the edges, the perfect balance of toppings, the unexpected delight of finding such culinary artistry in such a remote location.
As she wrote, she became aware of Christopher watching her, his pizza half-eaten on his plate. She looked up, suddenly self-conscious.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I get caught up sometimes. Occupational hazard.”
But Christopher shook his head, his eyes warm. “I enjoy watching you work. You get this look of complete focus…it’s fascinating.”
Heat rushed to Sorcha’s cheeks; she could not recall ever being described as fascinating. She ducked her head, hiding behind her hair as she took another bite of pizza to cover her reaction. The flavors burst across her tongue—earthymushrooms, tangy cheese, the subtle hint of herbs she couldn’t name.
A movement caught her eye, and she looked up to see a doe and her fawn cautiously approaching the edge of the clearing, apparently accustomed to the humans but still wary. Beyond them, the forest stretched in every direction, ancient and serene. The winter sun filtered through the branches, casting dappled light across the snow. Christopher sat across from her, his presence as solid and reassuring as the mountains themselves.
In that moment, everything felt perfect. The food, the setting, the company. Sorcha couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so content, so present. There was nowhere else she needed to be, nothing else she needed to do. Just this. Eating remarkable pizza in the woods with a remarkable man.
She was falling in love with Bear Creek, she realized with a start. With its quirky charm, its breathtaking beauty, and its unexpected treasures like this hidden pizzeria. And maybe—just maybe—she was falling for Christopher too.
Or perhaps there was no maybe about it!
Chapter Thirteen – Christopher
Pizza had never tasted so good! Not even those handmade by Louis!
That’s because we have never shared pizza with our mate,Christopher’s bear said, wishing he could enjoy pizza in the forest with their mate too.
One day,Christopher said as he watched Sorcha from across the wooden table.