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Diego scratched at the back of his neck, then let himself admit his fears. “What if I ruin everything? I’m not going to get another chance. You only get one mate.”
    Andy grinned. “And that’s why I hope I never find mine. Tied down to one woman for the rest of my life? No, thank you!”
    “It’s a lot better than never having anyone you can trust, anyone who really knows you,” Diego retorted. This was an argument the two of them had had a million times over the years, and although he never gave up trying, he didn’t really have any hope of converting Andy to his way of seeing things. “I want to build a life with a woman, make a home, have kids. I think Carla could be that woman for me.”
    “So tell her. What’s the worst that could happen?”
    “What if she doesn’t believe me?”
    Andy rolled his pale blue eyes. “All you have to do is shift. She’ll believe you when she sees seven hundred pounds of grizzly bear. No way she could attribute something that big and furry to her imagination.”
    “I don’t want to scare her. I need to do this the right way.”
    “You’re over-thinking it. That’s why I’ve always had better luck with women.” Andy stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned back.
    He and Diego had been friends for years, ever since they’d bumped into each other back when they both were working as low-level ranch hands up in Wyoming. Shifters weren’t very common, and it had been good to find someone who understood the problems that came with trying to hide an animal side. They would watch each other’s backs around the humans to make sure the truth didn’t get out.
    But just because they trusted one another didn’t mean they didn’t have their differences – and how to treat women was a big one. Andy was a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy. Diego should have known better than to come to him for advice.
    “Forget it,” Diego said with a sigh. “Go on home before you make me really annoyed.”
    Andy laughed and strolled away, lifting one hand in a carefree wave as he went. Left alone, Diego took a deep breath and looked around the barn. Enough worrying and second guessing. He had work to do.

5. Carla
    Carla woke slowly. She was so comfortable and felt so content that she kept almost surfacing to consciousness, only to snuggle back down against her pillow and slip off again to sleep. She was just the perfect temperature, and her body had a sort of deep lassitude, a feeling like a sweet ache, that made sleep incredibly tempting.
    When she finally yawned and opened her eyes, she sat up suddenly. The room she was in had blank wooden walls and an open window looking out over green and brown rolling hills; this was definitely not her apartment.
    Then she remembered. I’m in Nevada, clear on the other side of the country from that grimy little apartment – and I’ve just spent the night with Diego Ramirez, the man who’s going to be my husband.
    Carla blushed; she couldn’t help it. Sleeping with Diego had been an experience like none she’d ever had before. She couldn’t wait for more.
    Where was he, anyway? She was a little annoyed that he’d gotten out of bed without her; she would have liked to wake up next to him, to be able to snuggle into those broad arms, to rest her cheek on his solid chest. She didn’t even care if he had terrible morning breath; she wanted a good morning kiss! She shrugged off her doubts, telling herself that it didn’t matter. They’d have plenty of opportunities to wake up together in the future. He was probably just in the kitchen eating breakfast.
    She got out of bed and found Diego’s shirt from yesterday still on the floor where he’d dropped it. After a moment’s hesitation, she picked it up and put it on. He was much taller than her, and the sleeves were way too long, covering her hands all the way past her fingertips. The shirt itself hung down to her thighs. Diego was wide too, meaning that his shirt draped loosely around her,