Mate (Bride, #2)

by Ali Hazelwood

“I was so self-conscious about my body. For the longest time.” “Why?” I draw up my knees. Cover myself. “Just the side effect of being the short, busty sidekick to a tall, elegant, cypress-like princess creature.” My cheeks are hot. “It’s nice, I guess. That you’re not disappointed in the way I look.” “Disappointed?” “Yeah. I mean, it could have shaken out in a different…Why are you staring at me like I just told you that angels’ wings are made of porridge?” He exhales, speechless. “You know what? You wouldn’t get it.” “How so?” “Leave it alone.” “But I want to know.” “Just…” He bites the inside of his cheek, looking for the right words. “You are my mate. I would have wanted you no matter what. I will want you no matter what. But you are also…” He licks his lips. “If someone had given me a piece of paper and asked me to list everything I liked, everything I dreamed of, everything that I was sure would make me happy, you would have been the final product of it.” My heart thuds in my chest. Good line, I want to tell him, just to dull the way it stabs through my ribs. No need to waste it on me, I’m already a sure thing. But it’s so obviously not a line. He’s trying to explain something to me, something that he knows in his belly, and I… I guess I’m listening. “There could never be disappointment, because there were never any comparisons, or expectations, or hopes, or standards to meet. There’s only…” He casts a glance around the room, searching. Then his eyes settle on me. “T...