Lion shifter Weston King runs his family’s business, and that’s enough for him. He doesn’t want the hassle of a mate and kids. He’s fine all by himself, thanks. That stern exterior melts the second he lays eyes on Gabrielle Katz. Weston gives himself one night with his mate. Then he will walk away. Forever.

Gabrielle Katz’s life is seriously upended when she spends the night with Weston King. One night of frivolous fun sure wasn’t supposed to turn into the lifetime commitment of motherhood. Pregnant and with no clue how to tell her billionaire baby daddy about their child, Gabrielle’s future doesn’t look so great.

The second Weston learns he is to be a father, he knows he has to step up. Not an easy thing to do. What’s a lion to do when he doesn’t deserve that kind of love and happiness? Gabrielle might just be the woman who melts his heart … one meal at a time. This chef has the recipe for happily ever after, and Weston King is the main ingredient!

Chapter 1

Weston

       Weston King sat in his car, head bowed over his phone to glare at the screen. If there was one thing he could usually count on in life, it was his phone going off at just the right moment. Of course, that usually meant he could duck out of family or social obligations to leave and deal with some work emergency.

Those calls were suitable for him, but he always had to pretend it wasn’t what he wanted. However, he didn’t think he was a good enough actor to fool his family. They knew he definitely preferred to be at work than doing whatever they had planned.

Tonight, that was especially true.

It might be his little sister’s eighteenth birthday party, but he didn’t want anything to do with the whole affair. Not because he didn’t love Elisa. He did. Of course, he did. But they already had a private family dinner for her weeks ago. Tonight was a massive party with way too many invitees because his sister and mother decided to make this night all about getting a mate for him.

That’s why he didn’t want to go into the house. It would be packed with women he would have to pretend to be polite to. Weston knew he wasn’t good at pretending or being courteous when all he wanted to do was run for the hills.

If Weston was sure of anything, it was that mates complicated everything. He didn’t have to look too far to see the evidence of it either. Both of his brothers’ lives had been immensely complicated by their mates. 

First, there was Roman. He hired Zoe Creed, a private investigator, who turned out to be his mate. The next thing Weston knew, Roman and Zoe uncovered some nasty shifter business and gave away loads of the family fortune to some poor deserving souls in the process.

Second, and most recently, was Carter. He hired Amara Cutler as an acquisition’s professional. Unbeknown to them, they invested in a company that was owned by another pride’s alpha’s mother. It turned nasty.

The solution for Weston was obvious. Do not hire any new staff for the foreseeable future. Of course, that was easier said than done because Anita, his adoptive mother, had also caught on to the running theme in her sons’ love lives. She was hellbent on hiring all kinds of new staff for her home in hopes of inadvertently hiring his mate on purpose. Yes, that sentence made no sense. He was aware of it, but that’s how Anita explained it to him.

Weston didn’t want to have a mate. He was content with his life as it was. He didn’t want the hassle of sharing his life with someone. He didn’t want to go all empty-brained for some woman. All he needed was his job.

That’s why his little sister Elisa’s eighteenth birthday party was the very last place he wanted to be today. The whole event had been pushed back a full six weeks after Elisa’s actual birthday to give the women in the King family time to plan a shindig where they invited every single woman in a hundred-mile radius.

Now that he was the only King brother without a mate, all of their attention was turned to him. All because Carter couldn’t keep away from his mate. It wasn’t that fucking hard. You see a woman, you find out she’s your mate, and you leave, never to see her again. Not that fucking complicated. Both of his brothers had hired their mates like idiots. Did they look happy? Yes. But that was only for now.

Weston knew enough of the world to know the heartache would come later. That was a guarantee.

“Are you gonna sit in that car all night?” Carter asked, knocking on the window. Weston rolled the window down as his brother continued. “Or are you actually going to join us anytime soon?”

Weston glared at him, much like he had been doing to his phone. “I’m waiting on an important business call.”

“Stop lying.” Carter laughed.

“I’ve just convinced a mining company to buy some of our equipment. It took some doing. I lured them away from Coleman Incorporated.”

“Fucking with the panthers, huh?”

“To be fair, we both know the equipment King Industries makes is much better, and the mine hadn’t signed with Coleman yet. It’s fine.”

Carter rolled his eyes. “You do know my mate was just in a heap of trouble because we accidentally got involved with Jones-Fried, right?”

Weston huffed out a breath. “This is different. Coleman and I have always gone after the same ventures. A lot of the companies under our umbrellas are similar to theirs. There’s always been a competition between us. He knows. We both do.”

“May the best man win,” Carter teased. “Now, come inside. You don’t want to be the asshole that doesn’t show for his sister’s birthday.” He opened the car door and made a big show of motioning Weston up and out of the car.

“I really don’t want to go in there.”

Carter chuckled. “Ya don’t say? It’s not so bad. There are a lot of people we know. You might even enjoy yourself. The appetizers are good.”

Weston arched a brow at this. Carter very well knew there was not a chance in hell Weston would be eating in a crowded house like their family home.

“You need to give the party a chance,” Carter insisted.

“Given that this night is to pawn me off to a woman, I think I’d rather sit it out.”

Carter shook his head, smiling sadly. “You know, meeting your mate isn’t that bad.”

“Oh, right. Sure. It’s just a whole can of peaches to feel tied down to the same person for the rest of your life. All rational thought vanishes, but sure. Let me get right on that.”

“Don’t be a jerk, Weston. It’s really not like that.”

“No?” he pressed. “So you can still think clearly about life? It’s not all roped around Amara?”

“Of course, it is, but that’s not a bad thing. I enjoy sharing my life with her.”

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” Weston grumbled. “If you had only kept to our bet, you would be trying to get out of tonight as much as me.”

“Well, maybe. We’ll never know. Now, are you coming in? Amara is in there, and she looks amazing in that red dress of hers. I wanna stare at her some more and imagine all of the things I’ll do to her as soon as we get back home.”

“Gross,” Weston mumbled. “Those are things I would really prefer not knowing if it’s all the same to you.”

Carter rolled his eyes and clapped a hand on his brother’s back. “The chances your mate is actually here are very small, Weston. Just come in. Say a quick hello to everyone and have a scotch or six. Then in an hour or so, if you still want to leave, I’ll help you fake a work emergency. How’s that?”

“Fine. One hour. Sixty minutes. Not a second more.”

“Wouldn’t dream of going against your orders, alpha,” Carter teased.

Technically speaking, their adoptive father was still the alpha of the pride. But Liam was older and retired from the family business. All he wanted these days was to garden with Anita and live a life of leisure. Weston didn’t mind, but being the alpha heir did put pressure on him to find a mate. 

Never mind that both of his brothers had their mates and would no doubt have children to continue the family line. It’s not like blood was all that important to the pride. Weston himself wasn’t Liam’s son. He was adopted when he was six, and though Liam was a good father, Weston didn’t think he had anything in common with the man.

“You’ve got to try to at least not snarl at everyone,” Carter said in a hiss.

“I’m not snarling,” Weston shot back, pulling his features into a more pleasant mask. He had been snarling. Damn. This was going to be a long hour.

Carter led him right to the living room, where a few people were sitting around on the couches, drinking fancy drinks with waiters walking around with silver platters topped with finger foods. Carter grabbed a piece of something and popped it into his mouth dramatically before grabbing a couple of tumblers of scotch for them.

“To fate,” Carter said.

“No. I am not cheering to fate,” Weston insisted. “That’s foolish. I am not tempting things more than I have to. Tonight is bad enough as it is.”

“You’re actually here!” Elisa exclaimed, running toward them with a big smile.

“Yes, I am here,” he said, hugging her. “Happy birthday for the eleventh time.”

Elisa rolled her eyes. “You’re always such a joy to have around, Weston. There are at least four women in the dining room that I think you’d get along with.”

He took a deep gulp from his drink. “And just how do you know I would get along with them?” he wondered out loud.

“Oh, I don’t know. They’re smart and pretty. They might be able to tame that brain of yours.” Elisa flashed another smile as she took his hand in hers and tugged him toward the dining room.

The only reason Weston didn’t fight Elisa was because a lot of people were watching him. Business associates and the like. Being an ass to his little sister would hardly make him look good. He followed along begrudgingly, shooting a backward glance at Carter. His brother was too busy staring at his mate to notice Weston’s distress.

He was on his own. He could only hope that his mate … whoever she was … wasn’t in the house