Free Surrendering to the Stag (BBW Shifter Mail Order Bride Romance) (Mail-Order Mates Book 6) by Lola Kidd Page B

experienced and very good at her job. She was assistant manager of the place in all but name. She did her job well and she knew it.
    “When was the last time you went on a vacation?” Clint asked her after he and Dom had put in their order.
    She thought back. “I think it might have been ten years ago. I went to Pennsylvania to visit my aunt before she died.”
    Dom groaned. “He said vacation, Rachel. You know, something fun and relaxing.”
    “I don’t know if I’ve ever done that.”
    Clint looked thoughtful. “I don’t think I have as an adult, either. My parents took me on trips almost every summer when I was a kid. But once I started working, I never got around to taking myself anywhere.”
    “You know what this means?” Dom asked. “You two need to go on a vacation together. This is the setup of a great buddy movie.”
    “Or a romantic comedy,” Clint said.
    Rachel’s face burned as she took her plate from Sally. Why did he always have to do that? She liked Clint, but he was always making jokes that bordered on being inappropriate. She didn’t think it was very funny at all.
    “What do you think, Rachel?” Dom asked. “If you have a buddy to go with, there’s no way to back out. And we all know there’s a seventy percent chance that you’ll back right out at the last minute.”
    “I will now,” she insisted. “I’m going on a vacation this year and it’s going to be very relaxing. Maybe I’ll do one of those luxury spa trips.”
    “Don’t tell Gwen,” Dom said. “She’ll die of jealousy if you go to a fancy spa and she has to stay here being all pregnant.”
    Rachel laughed. “Gwen loves being pregnant. But maybe I could wait to have a girls’ trip.”
    “Gwen loves babies,” Dom corrected. “She does not love being pregnant. She’s been sick the whole time.”
    “Wait, that’s a thing?” Mark asked, alarmed. “I thought they were sick for a month and then it was over.”
    Dom shook his head. “Not all the time. Some lucky ladies get to stay sick longer.”
    “Amy and Molly are fine,” Mark said. “And Erin had it easy. Sounds like this sick thing is rare. Maybe it’s a tiger thing. You two made some kind of fire baby.”
    “It isn’t very common,” Dom assured him. “I bet Jackie will waltz through her pregnancy.”
    Clint’s and Dom’s food arrived. Clint looked at Rachel as he took his plate. “So you’re replacing me with Gwen? I see how it is. Old Clint can’t get any love.”
    “After people hear about this initiative you’re doing, I think Old Clint is going to be getting a whole truckload of love,” Dom said, saving Rachel from having to answer.
    “What are you up to?” she asked.
    Clint gave her the rundown of his plan to take care of the small projects in town.
    “And the best part is, I think we can get some federal money,” Dom said. “I’m going to fill out some grant forms and see what I can do for next year. You’re doing a great thing, man.”
    “It really is great,” Rachel said.
    Clint beamed. “Thanks. I’m just doing what I can to help out the cause.”
    It was just like Clint to do something so wonderful. He was one of the sweetest men in town. Rachel knew that he had signed up for the mail-order bride service that was so popular among the shifters in town. She was surprised he hadn’t been matched yet. A great guy like Clint shouldn’t be waiting around for a wife.
    The service was helping a lot of people. Her own bosses had found love that way. Rachel’s friends had encouraged her to join, but so far she’d refused. She knew there were going to be some special circumstances for her match if she could get one, but it couldn’t hurt to try. She’d sign up that night and see what happened. It wasn’t like she had a line of suitors in town.

Two
    Clint waited as the phone rang. He liked to call his LK agent once a month and have a little check-in. He’d missed her at all the weddings somehow. She was always busy talking to