“We can take it slower.” They had the rest of their lives together, after all.
But to his surprise, she shook her head. “I don’t want you to.” Her blue eyes were wide as she looked up at him, excited with a bit of apprehension. “I missed you.”
“You already said that.” Where was she going with this?
“No!” Her fingers curled tight in his shirt. “It’s ridiculous. I saw you only this morning and then I was here and I missed you. When you got here with the mayor, it was like I hadn’t seen you in days.”
He smiled, trying not to look too smug. “Fated mates.” She felt it.
“It’s ridiculous,” she repeated. “I can’t love you this much already.”
He grinned. “You love me?” His hawk soared inside of him.
Her cheeks turned a deeper red. “I—yes.” She opened her mouth to say something, but he had to kiss her again.
She knows! His hawk cried. She knows she’s ours and we’re hers. Forever.
“I love you too, obviously,” he told her. “In case you didn’t know.”
“I had a hunch.” She laughed, eyes shining with joy. “Does this mean I have to make you food as well?”
“If you like.” He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “If that’s what your instinct tells you to do.”
Her smile turned heated. “Mmm, that’s not what it’s telling me to do…”
He didn’t have to ask, because she kissed him again, pressing him against the tree. He ran his hands underneath her open coat, searching for the hem of her shirt, needing to touch her and feel her skin against his.
There was a pointed cough a few feet away.
“Doctor Adams?” A tentative male voice called out. “Um, we put up that net you wanted?”
He watched Madison pull away, her eyes wide with mortification. She stepped back, tugging her shirt back in place. “Thank you, Paul. Well done. I was just…”
“It’s fine!” The blonde woman next to Paul told them, pointedly looking at the ground. “We’re heading back to the camp now. If you want to stay and um, check on that net or something, we get it! Bye! C’mon, Paul!”
Simon watched the two of them go. After meeting Daniela and Chloe, the American accents were a bit of a surprise. “They seem nice?”
Madison ran her hands down her face. “They are. They’re also gonna tell everyone in the department when we get back that they found me making out with some guy like a horny freshman.”
He struggled to keep from laughing. “Gossip spreads fast, huh?”
She sighed, then smiled as well. “Small towns and college campuses really aren’t that different.”
He took her hand. “So, do you want to check on that net they put up?”
“We should head back,” she said, sounding reluctant. “Before they make up any wild stories.”
She had a point. “True. But you still owe me a tour of all the places you’ve put up nets.”
“Oh yes! But that might be a long tour. Some of them will be in very secluded spots.” She headed back to the path, but he caught her suggestive glance.
“Then I’ll have to bring plenty of food. Long walks like that take a lot of energy.”
And maybe he could lick some crumbs off of her after all.
8. Madison
That Friday, Madison’s stomach fluttered with nerves. After another long day of fieldwork, getting dressed up for dinner with Simon’s family wasn’t high on her list of Fun Ways To Start The Weekend.
She knew he’d understand if she told him she was tired, or that it was too soon, or that she’d need to supervise the students.
But she loved him.
She’d felt ridiculous telling him on Sunday. Who did that two days after meeting someone?
Fated mates, apparently.
The more time she spent around him—and without him—the more she felt it. Happiness bubbling up the evening he’d swung by for a quick visit and more home-baked goods. Hot desire during the two evenings she’d visited him. She’d hated leaving that second night. He’d been the one to tell her she had to go back to her students rather than the other way around.
The students had been supportive in their own ways, as well as making a few jokes at her expense. Daniela had insisted on giving Madison a fishtail braid, while Paul and Chloe wondered if they could make requests for different pastries. Natalie had kept an eye on the time, assuring Madison they’d be fine without her for one night.
She’d done a lot of thinking in between teaching the students how to safely and quickly band a bird, and how to write down what they’d found in such a way that it would still make sense in a few months.
Simon worked in Pinevale as well and if he moved in with her, it’d save him an hour of commuting every day. No more rushed breakfasts on her own. No empty apartment to greet her after another long day of teaching and research. Someone who’d remind her that the weekends were for rest and relaxation, not for work.
But whenever she’d tried to imagine Simon in her apartment, it felt wrong. He belonged in Kirkwood.
As she walked up to his front door, ready to walk over to his parents, she wondered if maybe she belonged here.
He was already at the door, wearing a button-down shirt over his jeans. He kissed her, then locked the door behind him. “Ready to go?” His eyes ran down her dress, the same blue one she’d worn for their dinner date. “I’m sure my parents would understand if you had second thoughts…”
She was sure he was having second thoughts for reasons nothing to do with nerves. “Let’s go. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can head back home, right?” Her heart skipped a beat, watching his eyes widen a fraction at her choice of words. “Also, I’m pretty sure Paul wants
