A Hollywood Shifters' Christmas: BBW Tiger Shifter Paranormal Romance Read Free Page B

cracker.
    She’d just pulled into the garage when her phone rang. She pulled it out. “Hello?”
    “I hoped to get you, Shelley, though I know you have to be as crazy-busy as I am.” Shelley instantly recognized that singer’s voice. It was Jan, her best friend ever since their theater days at UCLA. “Whatever happened to my simple wedding? Shelley, I am ready to run away to Vegas and get married by an Elvis impersonator.”
    Shelley laughed. “Hey, don’t tell me you’ve got evil guys attacking again . That was my wedding.”
    “Almost not wedding. No! No evil guys. Do not even talk about evil guys. My wedding shall have no evil. Thank you for the reality check. Townspeople who are hurt because So-and-So was invited but they weren’t, the cake person quitting because of the ever expanding number, and my dress coming back three inches too long are nothing compared to evil . But we did have a close call,” she added in a low voice. “He had to rise.”
    Shelley thought back to her own wedding, which had nearly not happened when Jan had been kidnapped by a ruthless dragon shifter who’d wanted to take JP LaFleur’s dragon hoard.
    Weird. Six months ago, the only crazy stuff Shelley ever saw was on the movie set when she did her stunt work, but ever since she’d fallen for Mick, she’d been pulled into his secret shifter world. The elegant musician JP LaFleur was a phoenix—a benevolent sort of dragon, but when danger threatened the town JP’s family had watched over for generations as mayors, he became a fire dragon: big, dangerous, and apparently very hard to bring back to human form.
    But Jan was able to handle him. Shelley let out her breath in a whoosh, wondering what kind of close call would require the fire dragon. One thing for sure, they weren’t going to talk about it over the phone. “Tell me when we get together, okay?”
    “Sure thing. And that’s why I called. I want to lock down your arrival time.”
    “We’ve scheduled the private plane for five, and, um, is it going to be a problem to add two more? Dennis and Mindy. Is her last name really Mork?”
    “It’s Maurek. Em-aye-you-arr-ee-kay. They explained that over dinner,” Jan said. “She used to get made fun of as Mork as a kid, but she and Dennis call each other Mork and Menace. It’s adorable.”
    “Did you like her?” Shelley asked.
    “Yes,” Jan said, sounding surprised. “Why, has something bad happened? No, not if they’re coming, and by the way, JP would be hurt if Dennis was anywhere in North America and didn’t come. But what’s with Mindy? I hear something in your voice.”
    Shelley decided not to mention the prenup stuff. Jan didn’t need any more to deal with, and it wasn’t anyone’s business. “Nothing but tiredness from a day of running around getting ready for the film premier,” she said, hoping she sounded casual. “Just wondered what Mindy’s like.”
    “She’s somewhere between your size and mine, with frizzy hair that looks great on her, and a kind of bright, happy expression that’s hard to explain.”
    “That sounds creepy—like a Stepford Wife.”
    “Oh, not at all. Opposite,” Jan said.
    “Cheerleader?” Shelley wrinkled her nose. A super-rich cheerleader who wanted a prenup? I already hate her , she was thinking, and tried to squash that down.
    “No! I’m describing her wrong. Wait and see—I think you’ll like her. I did. Now, tell me, did you try the pregnancy test?”
    “Yes, and it showed positive. How did you guess it might be that? I thought it was way too early.”
    Jan squeed, then laughed. “One thing I’m learning as Mrs. Future Mayor is how much people talk, and when these women got onto pregnancy, and all its varieties, the one thing that seemed universal was that when they have the flu none of them want to be touched. You hurt too much.”
    “That’s true,” Shelley said, thinking back to the few times she’d been really sick.
    “But craving sex when you think