The Maverick Pride Tales - Chapter 59: Chapter 59

Plus, he’d always been a dreamer. Even as a young man, Reg had wanted to believe he had a fated mate. How could he face her within the Pride if he’d slept with everyone they would be living and working with? He might not be the smartest guy around, but he was glad he’d had the foresight to curb his lusty appetites to women outside their town.
Luckily, his mate was nothing like those two females. Gretchen was beautiful, ambitious, funny, sweet, and smart. There was so much he wanted to know about her, and he couldn’t wait to woo her properly.
Shifters knew with no doubts their mates were their one and only, but Gretchen was human. She would need time and convincing, Reg nodded to himself, more than ready for the challenge. He pushed the encounter with the two skinny females out of his mind and went to get ready for his mate.
Anticipation of what was to come made him nervous, but Reg was okay with nerves. It was only natural. This was the rest of his life on the line here.
Both he and his Tiger were up for this, he just had to keep his eye on the target. Nothing was as important as claiming Gretchen.
Nothing.
Grrrrrrr.
Mine.
Gretchen was so nervous she didn’t know what to do. After fixing her hair for the tenth time, she finally pulled on a pair of sling-back pumps and readjusted the flattering wrap-around dress she’d splurged on from Jessica’s Closet.
She’d run over to the awesome boutique located next to her salon right before closing time and found the pretty flower printed dress almost instantly. Shopping was always like that for her.
Gretchen seemed to know within ten minutes of being inside a shop whether she was going to find anything she liked. It was usually a matter of them not having her size, but Jessica specialized in dressing women with larger assets in styles that were both fun and flirty.
Thank heaven! She was just so tired of department stores that only seemed to carry trendy clothing for thinner women. So called plus-sized outfits tended to be ugly as sin or made for an older crowd.
Gretchen was in her prime. Her thirties were still young enough to want to dress a certain way that did not remind her of her bitchy aunt’s old as fuck living room furniture. And no, it didn’t make her a slut, fuck you very much.
She just didn’t want to wear clothing that suggested she was ready for a home! Gretchen had always been larger than average, and it had taken a little while for her to embrace her fuller figure. Moving to Maverick Point was turning out to be the best decision she’d made in a long while, if for the shopping alone.
Relieved she wouldn’t have to limit her shopping to online stores in order to find the right sizes and styles, Gretchen sighed happily as she looked herself over. She loved the way her new dress clung to her curves, making her feel pretty and feminine.
Satisfied with how she looked, she sat down at her tidy kitchen counter and rapped her newly manicured fingernails on the white and blue tiles. She could not believe she’d scored a date on her opening day. Yes. she had planned to celebrate with a small bottle of champagne by herself, but this was so much better.
She huffed out a breath, biting her lower lip. Gretchen was so dang nervous, she could not sit still. What was happening to her? She’d never felt this out of whack over a date.
Then again, it wasn’t every day a man who looked like a cover model asked her out. She closed her eyes, and his face was there, those gorgeous, chiseled features, sinfully plump lips, and midnight blue eyes boring into hers. She pictured Reg Cray as if he were standing in front of her. His face practically burned into her memory.
True, Reg was beyond her sphere of experience, but it was more than his looks that had her heart doing cartwheels inside her chest. There was just something about him that made her want to climb on top of him and not let go until they were both sweaty and panting. He had all the makings of a man who could rock her world, and for the first time in her life, Gretchen was sorely tempted to let him prove it.
Yum.
Those were some pretty intense feelings for a guy she’d only just met. Gretchen had boyfriends before. She was not a virgin, not by a longshot. But something about that steady midnight gaze of his had her body trembling with need.
Maybe this last dry spell was too damn long. When was the last time she’d gone on a date? And actually had a good time?
Anxious and excited, she wondered if maybe she was putting too many expectations on this thing. It was just dinner. A good-looking man like that must have a list a mile long of ready and willing women. Hell, he’d probably asked her out to just be sociable.
Gretchen rolled her shoulders and exhaled a deep breath. This was ridiculous. There was absolutely no reason for her to feel so antsy. Instead of focusing on her ridiculous case of nerves, she forced her mind to think over the happenings of the day.
Cut it Out had been so busy. And not just with clients who had booked appointments beforehand, but they’d had walk-ins and folks wanting to check out the shop all day. Some were prior customers of her new employees, and others were just folks who wanted to say hello.
The phone never seemed to stop ringing, and she’d booked appointments for what seemed like the next two months in advance. It was more than she’d ever hoped for.
Her two new hires, Marion, and Bonnie, proved to be invaluable workers who’d brought their own clients with them. That was always a plus. She’d met them beforehand and knew immediately they would make excellent employees.
Gretchen had a gift for easing people. It came from working with so many over the past ten years. People really let the tea flow when they were getting their hair done. Like bartending, it was one of those jobs where you were part stylist and part therapist.
She did not mind. Gretchen loved people, and her outgoing nature made her easy to talk to. It was a blessing, she supposed, and she was going to take it as such.
Bonnie was the quieter of the two new stylists, with her long blonde hair tied back in a neat braid. Her clientele were mostly older women, but they seemed to love her, and Gretchen approved.
Marion, on the other hand, was loud and flamboyant. His customers were younger, a lot of men, and teenagers who liked his colorful and modern approach to cutting and styling hair. The man was a whiz when it came to highlights. She’d watch him foil two heads of hair like nobody’s business. Hell, even she did not work that quickly.
The two opposites worked extremely well together, and with Gretchen managing everyone, they did just beautifully for their first day.
She’d even found a third stylist, and she’d hired two young women who were qualified to do nails as well. For a small town, Maverick Point had a ton of people who seemed to rejoice in her opening. Things were going to go very well, she thought with an excited squeal.
It seemed after Mrs. Bowers had closed up shop, the townspeople had had to travel all the way to the shopping mall to get their hair and nails done. There was a barbershop in town, but Lou was currently out visiting his grandchildren, and the gossip was he wanted to move to South Florida.
Either way, people were happy to not have to trek all the way to the busy shopping center for a haircut. A few customers asked about spa treatments, and Gretchen already had a menu of items she was going to add to her growing list of specialties.
Hair treatments, facials, waxing, threading, massage, and more. But that was for another day.
Tonight, she was ready to celebrate her success by going out with a sexy as sin man who seemed genuinely interested in spending the evening with her. Who knew? Maybe that dry spell would end with a very long overdue night of sexy fun times.
Heck, she wouldn’t mind christening her new bed with him.
Wouldn’t that be something?
New salon? Check.
New apartment? Check.
Mind-blowing sex with a willing stud? Check check!
Gretchen jumped guiltily, face heating at getting caught with those naughty little thoughts running through her head, at the sound of her doorbell ringing. Fucking hell, that was loud! Or maybe it was the fact her apartment was super quiet at the moment.
After she’d closed for the day, Marion and Bonnie had helped her tidy things before leaving, but once they had gone, she was the only person remaining in the whole building. Was a bit lonely, to be honest.
“Coming!” she yelled and immediately blushed at the thought.
Well, with any luck she would be. And soon.
“Hello,” she smiled, using the new doorbell camera to see her guest.
It was him, she thought excitedly, and buzzed her date inside. Gretchen’s heart beat double time as Reg climbed the stairs to her apartment in record speed. She opened the door, staring helplessly as he stood there grinning at her like the Cheshire Cat.
“For you,” he said, holding out a beautiful bouquet of flowers towards her.
“Oh my! These are my favorite,” Gretchen replied, taking them, and pressing the bouquet to her nose. “They’re beautiful!” She laughed and accepted the colorful arrangement.
“Your favorite? Mine too.”
“Really? I just love tiger lilies. Actually, I just love tigers in general,” she confessed, laughing a little self-consciously as she let him into her apartment.
There was an obvious tiger motif in the striped pillows tossed on the couch and the several hand-carved statuettes she had on the shelves. Gretchen had always admired the powerful beasts. Naturally, she liked the flowers named after them.
“You do?” Reg’s perfect eyebrows arched over his intense midnight blue eyes.
Damn, he was sexy.
“Yeah, I know it probably sounds corny⁠—”
“Not at all. I think it’s amazing,” he replied, cutting her off. “Everything about you is amazing,” he said, backing her into the room, and she could have sworn his deep blues glowed for a second.
Must be a trick of the light, she thought as she turned towards the kitchen.
“Just let me put these in water,” she murmured, hyperaware of the electrical currents zipping between them.
“Hey, you read a lot?” he asked, eyes roaming over the apartment to her bookshelves.
“Yeah, sometimes. I love fantasy romance,” she confessed, aware of the man like she’d been for no one else.
Reg was so big, and good looking. She wondered for a second what he was doing with someone like her but pushed the thought away hastily. Gretchen was not going to go down that road of insecurity and doubt. She’d worked too hard to get where she was, and she was a fun, bright, and good person.
Any man was lucky to date her, she thought with a reassuring nod.
“Did you want this? It might get cold later,” Reg said, appearing directly behind her.
Fuck. He smelled so good. Like spice and man, she thought, fighting arousal as her stomach clenched in need. He handed her the light pashmina and clutch she’d left on the couch, his fingers grazing hers as she took them.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“My pleasure,” he replied, leaning down and, wait, was he sniffing her?
She must have imagined that. Reg took a step back and ran his hand over the sides of his hair that she’d shaved earlier that day.
“Shall we go?” Gretchen asked, unable to stop the thrill that coursed through her when she looked at him.
What she wouldn’t give for a night in this man’s arms! Sigh.
“Absolutely,” he answered, and held his hand out.
She accepted it, shivering slightly at the contact. Christ, he was warm! In fact, heat seemed to emanate from his entire body as he walked behind her down the stairs, one hand on her back.
Gretchen felt the effect ripple through her, all the way to her toes. Ever the gentleman, Reg escorted her to his vehicle, hand in hand. He opened the door and lifted her inside, to her surprise.
He drove a suped up Jeep. She’d always loved them! It was large and comfortable with real leather seats, and an expensive sound system. It smelled clean too, like he’d just washed it. Gretchen smiled, thinking he’d probably done that for her.
This date was already starting out way better than she’d hoped. She smiled as the promise of something warm and bright began to tease her mind and heart. Warning bells should have been going off by now, but Reg was smiling at her, and Gretchen sighed wistfully.
She was not asking for rainbows, but wouldn’t it be nice if this turned into something more than a meal?
A girl can dream.