Free Jade Crew: Forgotten Bear (A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Ridgeback Bears Book 3) by Amelia Jade Page B

work.
    “Gwen?” Emma said, getting her attention from behind her.
    “Yes?” she said, turning, but the smile on her face died when she saw her friend’s face. “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing’s…wrong,” Emma said, though the words seemed to leave a bad taste in her mouth. “It’s just something that I’ve avoided telling you, but that I really should have.”
    “Okay, you can tell me anything Em, you know that.”
    “I know,” she grimaced. “It’s just that I feel really bad about it, but there wasn’t really a way around it, and I just didn’t know what else to do…” she trailed off.
    “Emma, you’re starting to scare me,” Gwen said with a little shake of her head. “What is going on?”
    “Well, you know how I told you that Garrett and I didn’t know when we were getting married yet?”
    “Yes…” she answered, suddenly realizing where the conversation was heading as her mind whirred. “You’re getting married soon, aren’t you?” she asked.
    Emma nodded reluctantly.
    “And, if that’s the case, because I was incommunicado for almost three months, you had to plan it without me, right?”
    Another nod.
    “Which means, that despite being your longest friend, I’m not part of the wedding, right?”
    Emma winced, but nodded nonetheless, still not speaking.
    “You’re adorable,” she told her friend, enjoying the look of shock on her face.
    “You’re not mad?”
    “Hell no. It is my own fault you silly woman. Actually wait, I am mad about something.”
    “What?” Emma said suspiciously.
    “You didn’t tell me when I first arrived. You cost me two days of trying to find a dress!” she said with a laugh, enveloping her best friend in a hug. “You should have just told me dummy! I’m smart enough to figure out that you couldn’t have planned this all in three months and just hope that I might show up to be a part of your wedding party.” Gwen paused for a moment as she thought. “Wait, I am allowed to attend though, right?”
    Emma laughed. “Of course! That was never in question. And yes, a dress. I didn’t think that you would have brought one with you.”
    “I didn’t. Not good Emma. Not good,” she said. “Also, I’m so happy for you. Seeing you two together, I understand why you’re not opposed to moving quickly. The chemistry there is just…magical.”
    Emma blushed. “Thank you,” she said appreciatively. “Now let me go steal Garrett’s truck, and you and I will go downtown, pick up Trestin, and go dress shopping!”
    “Trestin is…Cole’s mate?” Gwen asked tentatively. She still hadn’t formally had a chance to meet most of the crew. The first night in town she hadn’t met anyone other than Garrett. They had offered to billet her at the Lodge, but she had declined, insisting that she stay at the hotel in town. The next day she had to wait for Emma to be done with her work with the Ridgebacks, and the two of them had spent it getting caught up. Then yesterday had been rather…eventful. So she was still trying to learn, but Trestin had come up a couple of times before in conversation.
    “Right. She works at a restaurant downtown, so we can grab a late lunch there. By the time we’re finished she should be done,” Emma said, looking at her phone for the time.
    “Sounds good, let’s go,” Gwen said, taking a quick few pictures of the bar on her phone, in case she saw anything great in town.

***
    “Okay, where do you want to go?” Trestin asked as they piled into Garrett’s truck, fed and ready to shop. “Have you been anywhere yet?”
    “Nope. We were busy over at Ferro’s all morning with the crew cleaning up the mess from the fight.”
    “Oh right, Cole was talking about that last night,” she agreed. Then she frowned.
    “What is it?” Gwen asked, since Emma, who was driving, hadn’t been paying attention to her friend.
    “I was just wondering. If you guys were over at Ferro’s all morning, why did I see Evan