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this infatuation with Vic was going to continue to be a problem.
    ~~ * ~~
     
    " It's embarrassing," Estrella told Jayde over coffee. "As soon as I see him, my kitty goes wild. And this time, I'm not referring to my liger."
    Jayde snorted and stirred her iced latte vigorously with her straw. Her bracelets jangled with her movements. "So did you tackle him in the woods and show him your wild side?"
    Estrella sighed. "No. I ran like a chicken. Did my liger thing and avoided him as much as humanly possible."
    "Pathetic."
    "I know."
    "You should tell him you like him," Jayde said. The tip of the straw disappeared between her bright pink lips, and she slurped loudly. Jayde was a good friend, but she didn't know the meaning of low-key. Even now. They were having a quiet morning coffee between friends. Estrella was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. Jayde wore a neon green mini-dress with a ruffled hem and enough bracelets to make a jewelry store pause. Her long black hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. "You want him, right? Just tell him. I bet he'll be flattered."
    "Or horrified," Estrella said quietly, sipping her own iced coffee. She normally preferred her drink scalding, but, with the heat, the thought of putting anything warm in her system was repulsive. "I just don't want anything to jeopardize my spot in the clan, Jayde. Bad enough that I'm an outsider. I don't want to be that weird outsider who’s crushing on the alpha. I'll never be able to look him in the eye again if he turns me down."
    "So who are you going to go with? The chauvinist asshole, the competitive asshole, or the pothead?"
    Estrella buried her face in her hands. "I really hate that those are my only options."
    "So don't have a baby. Get hot and bothered, get a date for the night, and then go on with your life." Jayde shrugged. "It's what I'd do. No time for a kid. I don't know that were-jaguars are the most maternal anyhow. Maybe tigers aren't either. Skip it this time."
    Not have the baby? But she'd spent the last week hyper-focused on the possibility of an upcoming child. Estrella touched her abdomen. "It's weird, but I want this baby."
    "It's not a baby yet."
    "No, but it's a sure thing," Estrella told her. "And what if I don't go into heat again? I'll have missed my chance to be a parent. The timing isn't great, but the more I think about it, the more I want this."
    "Suit yourself." Jayde sucked loudly on her straw, and then eyed her. "Which one of the three screams daddy material to you?"
    "God. None of them."
    "Time to climb that alpha like a scratching post, then. I bet he'd make some pretty babies."
    Estrella grinned. "You are single minded, aren't you?"
    "That's why we're friends. I have the cojones to say things that you won't admit to yourself." Jayde winked and shook her cup, dislodging the ice at the bottom. "And I'm telling you, bag that alpha."
    Estrella bit her lip, pushing aside her iced coffee. It was leaving a sour taste in her mouth...either that, or it was nerves. "I wish it were that simple, Jayde. I--"
    Her phone rang. Estrella frowned and glanced at the screen. Unlisted number. After a moment's hesitation, she answered. "Hello?"
    "Hi, may I speak to Estrella?" The chirpy voice on the other end was instantly recognizable. "This is Ryder."
    "Oh, hi Ryder. This is Estrella. Did you get my message?"
    "I did," Ryder cooed. "And I'm so glad you called me back! We did have someone mark you down on your card as interested."
    Jayde wiggled her eyebrows at Estrella encouragingly, her shifter senses able to pick up every word of the phone conversation. Estrella crossed her fingers. "Who was it?"
    "Let me get out my notes." On the other end of the phone, Estrella heard paper shuffle. "Ah, here we go. It was number six."
    "Which was..."
    "Vic Barlow."
    Estrella's mouth hung open. Across from her, Jayde did a fist pump in the air, making her bracelets crash like cymbals. "I...he did?"
    "Yes. Should I contact him and let him know you're