Firefighter Sea Dragon (Fire & Rescue Shifters 4)

She’d scoured the profiles of every man within a hundred miles. She ignored their pictures—except to weed out the ones who were clearly far too good-looking for someone like her—and concentrated on their words. She’d created spreadsheets to analyze their professed interests and backgrounds and dreams, comparing them against her own.

Out of a sea of disappointment, she’d found Dave.

He came from the Loch Ness area, just like her. He liked classic Hollywood movies and gardening and long hikes through the Highlands, just like her. He dreamed of having two kids and a dog one day, just like her. He was even Scottish-Chinese, so he’d understand the challenges of growing up looking a little different from most of the other people around.

To top it off, he was a park warden! There couldn’t be a more perfect match for a conservationist. They were clearly made for each other.

And there wasn’t the slightest chance that he would ever, in a million years, message her.

So Neridia had screwed up her courage, tweaked one tiny fact on her own profile… and messaged him.

As she’d hoped, they’d instantly hit it off. Now, after two months of increasingly flirtatious online conversations, here he was, sitting in a romantic little pub on the north shore of Loch Ness. With her. And, to all appearances, having just as good a time as she was.

Neridia pinched herself again, just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“I wish we’d done this sooner.” Dave wagged a finger at her teasingly. “I warn you, I’m not going to let you find excuses to delay our next date for another two months. No matter how busy you may be.”

Neridia shifted a little in her

chair, a stab of guilt twisting her stomach. She was glad that her dark skin hid the blush rising in her cheeks.

Despite what she’d told Dave, she hadn’t been busy at all. It had been the same quiet, lonely routine as always—long, solitary treks cataloging evidence of deer activity for her job, followed by long, solitary evenings back in her small lakeside cottage. She could have gone out to meet Dave at any time.

Except, of course, that then he would have seen her. And that would have been the last she’d have seen of him.

“Oh, w-well, there’s been a lot of work to do, what with the proposal to reintroduce wolves into the area,” she said, her words sounding unconvincing even to her own ears.

She’d never been a good liar. Dave was looking at her a bit funny, as if he could tell something was up. Seeking to distract him, she placed her hand on his, smiling across the table at him.

“I’m glad we got to know each other first, before we met in person.” That was perfectly true. “Don’t you think there’s something to be said for discovering who a person is on the inside before getting distracted by what they look like on the outside?”

Dave’s furrowed brow smoothed. “Oh. And your profile picture only showed your face…Neridia, did you deliberately delay meeting me because you thought I wouldn’t be interested once I saw all of you?”

She flinched, unable to meet his eyes. “I’ve…had some bad experiences.”

“Then those guys were idiots.” She looked up in surprise, and discovered that he was smiling at her. “You’re stunning. Maybe some fools can’t appreciate a curvy woman, but I certainly do.”

“U-uh, um.” She was tongue-tied by mingled fear and hope, simultaneously marveling at how perfect he was and utterly terrified that she was about to mess it all up.

I’m never going to get a better opportunity to broach the subject.

“It, I, well…” She let go of his hand, before he could notice how much her own palm was sweating. “Um. It wasn’t my weight that I was worried about.”

Dave’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “What do you mean?”

She’d made sure to arrive at the pub a full hour before they were due to meet, to ensure that she’d be safely seated behind a table before he arrived. He’d clearly been a bit surprised that she’d stayed sitting down when he’d walked up, but better to be thought a bit odd or old-fashioned rather than revealing her secret too soon.

I have to do it. I can’t stay sitting down for the rest of my life. He’d be bound to notice eventually.

“Your glass is empty,” she said, striving for a casual tone and no doubt failing miserably. “I’ll go get the next round, shall I?”

She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves.

Then she stood up.

Dave recoiled as hard as if she’d just tasered him. “Holy fucking shit!”

She’d changed one tiny detail on her online dating profile. Just one number, one single digit. She’d told herself that it was okay, that men did it all the time.