The Snow Leopard's Pack (Glacier Leopards 5)

The food, as it turned out, was delicious. But that had nothing on being out as part of a big group like this.

Lillian’s friends had all somehow melted away from her over the years, first drifting off after college, and then driven away by the discomfort of witnessing the messy, awful divorce. Her life had become such a small, circumscribed thing, with her co-workers at the library, her parents, and no one else.

And now, here she was, in this circle of laughing, happy people. Tucked up against her mate’s side.

“Mmm,” Cal said into her ear. “This is fun.”

She twisted to smile at him. “That’s just what I was thinking.”

“They do this sort of thing a lot,” he murmured, with a jerk of his chin that indicated the rest of the group. “I never come along.”

“Because you’re the boss?” Lillian guessed.

He nodded, his stubble rasping along her cheek. She shivered a little. “Never felt quite right. And I didn’t want it to be—just me, sitting here alone, and then the rest of them all young and excitable. But now...”

Lillian smiled. “We can be boring old people together?”

“Hey,” Cal said, his eyes lit with laughter. “We just told off a whole group of mountain lion shifters together. You got to give your jerk ex the what-for. I’m reliably informed that this story’s gonna be told to your grandchildren. Don’t think we’re that boring.”

Lillian laughed, the sound going through her like a shiver. “Fine. Terribly interesting old people.”

“Better.” Cal snugged her up tighter, and Lillian turned again to face the rest of the group.

Across the table, Alethia caught the movement, and leaned forward. “So,” she said. “Lillian, you have to tell us about yourself! You’re a woman of mystery so far. Teri’s revealed nothing.”

Lillian found all eyes on her. She would’ve thought it would be uncomfortable, but somehow, with Cal next to her, she didn’t feel self-conscious at all. “Not much to say,” she said. “I’m a librarian.”

“Which any of you would know already if you ever went into the library,” Teri broke in.

That got a couple of napkins thrown at her, but no one disagreed. “We are not intellectuals,” Zach agreed sadly.

“You’ll have to help us fix that,” Alethia said, smiling. “I could use some books on small business.”

“Oh, are you starting a business?” Lillian leaned forward, interested.

“She is!” Leah spoke up, and then suddenly there was a whole discussion starting about Alethia’s business, and how Nina’s mother might be somehow involved, and how Alethia felt about clothing and fashion, and then Lillian thought to bring up interior design...

The men mostly sat back and smiled, or chatted softly with one another, and Lillian realized that even in addition to Cal’s steady presence, the possibility of a partner, she also had something else. Something just as valuable—a whole group of women, including her sister, to be friends with.

She reached out and took Cal’s hand, squeezing hard, and he squeezed back. I love you, Lillian thought fiercely, and then he squeezed again, and she was sure he’d felt it.

She was so happy. She’d never thought this could be possible. But it was.

Epilogue

“Are you ready?” Cal gripped her hands hard.

Lillian nodded. “Yes! I’ve said yes a thousand times. I’m excited.”

She was. There was a little bit of fear, but it was more a thrill that came with facing the unknown than anything really scary. Mostly, she couldn’t wait to learn what the rest of her life was going to be like.

Living with Cal had already been so much of an adventure. She’d been able to make her own decisions, stretch out into her own space, but it was all with the most wonderful partner she could ever have imagined.

She’d even been able to set some real boundaries with her mother. So far, her mom hadn’t been able to stick to any of them (don’t dictate personal choices to me was particularly difficult for her), but when she didn’t, Lillian could simply say, “I asked you not to do that. I’ll see you next time,” and simply...walk away.

It was amazing. It felt like stretching her body after being curled up in a cramped little hole for years.

And now she was about to stretch even further.