Bear Again (Second Chance Shifters 3) by Meredith Clarke, Ally Summers

outside the theater, and I should have gone over and talked to you, but I didn’t.” He tucked a cushion behind her, and settled into a pile of pillows next to her. “So, I’ve recreated our own movie theater.”
    He pulled a remote from his pocket and hit play. A projector he had secured to the top of the truck began to play a movie on the wall next to the bakery.
    He heard the sigh from her lips, and pulled her into the crook of his arm.
    “I swear, I’m not trying anything. Just keeping you warm.”
    She relaxed into his chest. He felt the warmth of her soft skin against his solid chest. He wrapped an arm around her, for once feeling like he was protecting her the way he should be, even if it was only keeping her from being cold.
    “I can’t believe you did this,” she whispered.
    “Do you like it?” he asked.
    She nodded against his chest. “I love it. And I love this movie.”
    “I thought it was your favorite.”
    He held her like that for two hours. They watched the movie, talking and laughing through some of the scenes. Liam broke out a bowl of popcorn and a couple of beers. It was surprisingly warm under the layers of blankets. It helped that he was a natural heater.
    When the movie ended, Sophia turned to him.
    “Thank you. It was fun. And I can still make my early morning. I just have to walk upstairs to bed.”
    He had to remind his bear he had promised her he wouldn’t try anything, but she was so close. He could feel her breath on his cheek. He could smell her lotion. He could hear her heart beat.
    “I’m glad you had a good time.”
    He swallowed hard. He ached for her. He wanted to pull her under the blankets and kiss her. He wanted to rip the clothes from her body and love her until dawn. Fuck, he was losing it.
    “Liam?” She searched his eyes.
    “Yeah, sorry. I was thinking about something.”
    “This was really sweet. I didn’t know you had such a romantic side.” She giggled but stopped, her eyes closing quickly.
    “Why do you do that?” He turned her to face him.
    “Let me just go upstairs.” She tried to shake him off. “I had a good time tonight. I don’t want to ruin it.”
    “No, talk to me. Tell me why that beautiful smile of yours just suddenly vanished.”
    “I can’t.”
    “You can’t or won’t?”
    “It’s the same thing, isn’t it?” Her eyes blazed.
    Liam pulled the blanket tightly against her shoulders, keeping her warm. “Let’s just talk about him. Get it out of the way.”
    Her eyes filled with panic. “You want to talk about Noah?”
    “No. I mean yes. Hell, I don’t know. All I know is that you’re thinking about him when I least expect it. That’s the sadness, isn’t it? You’re happy with me, then you think about him, and it all disappears. You forget the laughter and linger in the sadness. So, let’s fucking talk about him.” His brows knitted together.
    “Right now?”
    “When else?” He clicked the remote to stop the credits rolling on the brick wall.
    “This is ridiculous. We are not talking about Noah. There’s no reason.”
    Liam exhaled. “There is a reason. You belong with me, Soph, and I’m trying every way to show you how fucking insane I am about you. I want this. I want you. And it’s not going to happen if you won’t let yourself be happy with me.”
    “I can’t be happy. Don’t you see that?”
    “No, baby, I don’t.” He brushed the side of her cheek. “You can.”
    She clutched the sides of the blanket. “No, I can’t.” Her eyes darted frantically. “I can’t love you, Liam. You’ll leave. You’ll leave me too.”
    The words hit him in the gut. It was as if Sophia had punched him with an anvil. He was a fucking idiot. He didn’t have anything figured out. All this time he thought she was mourning Noah. And while there was probably a part of her that still grieved for him, Liam had it all wrong. She was scared shitless.

15

Sophia
    A s soon as the words were out, she covered her mouth. She