The strong aroma of coffee and vanilla fills the air of the Cat's Meow cafe as I sit at a table with my two best friends.

"How were the kids today?" Sammy asks me as she lifts her latte up to take a sip.

I gaze into her blue eyes, which appear too big for her pale face. "Pixie is doing so great I can't believe it. She actually chased Duncan as if she was going to take his ball."

"Wow, that's huge," says Elise. "All Sadie and Sophie did today was finger paint each other before I caught them. It's a good thing I learned a spell to clean it up easily a long time ago."

"No!" I say before I laugh along with Sammy about our friend's twins. "What a mess."

"It was," says Elise. "I'm thankful for my cleaning spell."

"I bet," says Sammy. "My day at the library, working on Montessori theory, sounds boring now."

"I doubt it," says Elise over a mouthful of chocolate croissant. She swallows it down. "You love all that stuff."

"True," Sammy says with a sheepish smile.

I lean back as the waitress comes over and tops up my coffee, and liquid gurgles into my mug as I notice a man walk in. I gasp when I realize it's the guy I saw at the lake this morning. I lower my head and try to hide behind my hand.

Elise and Sammy's heads whip around so fast to look at what I saw their brains probably get bruised. Sammy says, "Mm-hmm. That is one Venti-sized drink of hotness."

"You got that right," says Elise, and she turns back to taunt me. "Something tells me Nina knows him."

"Lucky girl," says Sammy. She grabs my hand to pull it away from my face. "Spill it. Why are you trying to hide from him?"

My heart’s stupid, because it flips with excitement over seeing the hot guy again as if nothing awkward had happened. "We may have had a bit of a run-in."

"Run-in?" Elise reaches over, and her fingers are cool on my arm. "No matter how dorky you think you were, I'm sure he doesn't think so. What happened?"

"It's nothing." I look over to find the guy is sitting by himself at a table and looking my way. When he makes eye contract, my face heats up, and his eyes widen before he gives me a smirk. I quickly grab a menu and open it to hide behind.

Sammy's voice is soft and calming when she says, "Tell us what happened, Nina. We'll help you sort it out."

I don't move the menu but clutch it with a death grip as my coffee churns in my stomach. "He startled me at the lake, and the dogs kind of freaked-out on him."

"Kind of?" asks Elise. "Define that."

My logical friend is looking for an explanation, and I let out a sigh, because I trust Sammy and Elise to have my back. "They barked and growled at him, and I told him to go away."

"That doesn't sound bad," says Sammy as she tugs on the menu so I'll lower it and look at her.

I wonder if my face is as red as it feels and reach up to cover my cheeks with my cool hands. "Yeah, well, when he asked me to call them off, I didn't. I was so flustered all I could think to do was tell him to leave." I frown down at the table.

Elise chuckles. "I totally get it. He's exactly your type. He's got that dark-and-dreamy look you like."

"'Right?" I let out a bigger sigh. "And did you see those green eyes? Figures I'm so suave I bit his head off."

I glance between my two friends to see their sympathetic expressions, and I turn on the light of a smile as if it can cover up how dark I feel inside. "I hope one of you doesn't mind me putting a granny cottage in your backyard, because I'm destined to be single forever."

"That is not true," says Sammy.

"You know why the dogs acted up, don't you?" asks Elise.

"Because I should stay away from a guy that far out of my league?"

"No." She scowls at me. "I thought you'd been working on your self-worth. Anyway, he's a—" Elise looks around and then lowers her voice. "Like Ian." Because we're in a cafe where humans are present, Elise doesn't want to say that the guy is a werebear like her husband.

"That makes sense," says Sammy. "They probably thought he was a predator."

"Oh." I steal another glance at the guy. His shifter status explains his size, and I suppose it could also be why the dogs were nervous around him. Although now that I think about it, they could have been reacting to my emotions. "It could also be because I got angry when he scared me enough to make me jump. The dogs probably sensed my adrenaline rush and took it to mean we were in danger."

Sammy licks foam off her top lip. "I bet you're right. Animals are very in tune with our emotions."

My stomach knots up because even though I'm prone to overthink situations and want to make amends for things that mean nothing, I'm pretty sure I'm not wrong to think I should this time. I double-check with my rational friends. "Does this also mean I should apologize to him since I was the reason the dogs fre—?"

"Yes!" Elise exclaims, and Sammy laughs.

I roll my eyes at her, because since the day Sammy and I arrived, she's been trying to get us both to date werebear so we can fall in love with one and have shifting cubs like she has. "Gee, hidden agenda?" I ask.

"Pfft!" says Sammy. "Elise isn't hiding a thing." The grin on her face fades. "You're right, though, Nina. If you think you acted rudely, it will help you sleep tonight if you go apologize to him."

Elise nods. "Totally valid. Want me to come with you?"

I shake my head. "I've got it." Except I'm not so sure I do, because my palms are damp with sweat when I stand up and tug on the hem of my shirt. I start walking over to the guy's table before I lose my nerve.

He smiles as he sees me approaching. At least he's not mad, so I suppose that's good.

"Hey," I say when I get to him. "I'm sorry—” My mind goes blank for a moment as I stare at him. When the guy's eyes widen I blurt out, “About this morning. I—I should have called the dogs off."

"It's okay. I scared you. I'm sorry about that."

"Okay." I take a step backward as I kick myself, because now that I've apologized, I haven't got a clue how I'm supposed to gracefully leave. I wring my hands as I say, "I'm—"

He asks, "Are all of those dogs yours?"

"No." I smile, because this, I know how to answer. "I'm a dog trainer."

"Cool. I'm Seth, by the way."

"Oh." I nod as I wonder if it would be okay to just turn around and walk back to my table before I say something stupid.

He chuckles. "And you are?"

"Oh!" I close my eyes for a second as if I can become invisible, and my cheeks flush with heat. "I'm Nina." I take another step backward and wish I really could throw up an invisibility shield the way Elise can.

"I still scare you, don't I?"

I blink at him as I try to figure out what I'm supposed to say. I decide, since this can't get much worse, to go with honesty. "Yes."

He grins. "You are absolutely adorable, Nina." He glances past me and then motions with his hand. "Come sit for a moment and give your friends something to talk about. I promise I won't bite."

I scowl as I run the scenario through my head for a reality check. He's inviting me to sit and talk. That means he must like me, even though I know I'm acting beyond awkward right now. I bite my lip, because if I'm ever going to get better, I have to tamp down my fears.

Seth stands up and speaks softly. "Hey. Please sit with me, because now I'm going to look like a jerk if you walk away."

I nod and take action. I plop down in the chair across from him so hard that it creaks with the threat of breaking, and I think I bruised my butt too. "Hi," I say a little too loudly.

"Hi," Seth says as he smiles at me. I swear his eyes twinkle with a spell that sucks me in, because I suddenly don't want him to ever look anywhere else. "So, Nina the dog trainer, do you go to school here?"

I shake my head and break our gaze to grab a sugar packet from the bowl between us as I swallow to clear my throat. "Do you?" I let out a chuckle and try to joke back. "Seth the scary guy." Oh god, did I really just say that out loud?

Seth's laughter rings with a deep tone that is infectious, and when I laugh, too, my anxiety fades a little. He wipes at his eyes when he recovers and asks, "Do you think we could come up with a better name for me? Because not one of my friends would ever believe I scared someone."

I shrug with what I hope comes off as ease, even though I'm mangling the sugar packet in my hand. "What do you have in mind?"

He leans forward and speaks softly, "Seth, the guy who finds you the most attractive woman he's ever met. Go out with me."

My heart doesn't just flip. It hops up and does an Irish jig as the packet of sugar in my hand tears open and spills on the table. I stare at it as so many emotions rush through me I might vomit.

"I really freak you out, don't I?" asks Seth, and when I look at him, I find he's concerned.

"No." I let out a sigh of frustration. "Yes. But it's not you. I'm just not very good in new situations and"—I look down at the sugar strewn all over the table—"usually make a mess of things."

Seth reaches over and takes my hand. My jaw drops in surprise as the unusual warmth of his skin sinks into mine. "I don't think you can mess this up, Nina. Say yes."

I realize if I don't shut my mouth soon, I'm going to drool, so I force my jaw closed as I try to determine if this guy is for real. When he continues to look at me with a hopeful expression, I give in. "Okay." I have no idea why Seth likes me, considering I haven't done anything normal since we met, but I sit up a little taller and add, "Yes. I'd love to go out with you." And when he rewards me with a grin, I can’t help but smile too.