Caffé Wolverino: A Kinship Cove Fun & Flirty Romance: Cuddles & Coffee, #3

By Ellis Leigh

The fates definitely love their version of Beauty and the Beast, especially when their beast comes with a record. Welcome to the Kinship Cove Diner, where a good cup of coffee comes with every fated mating.

 

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I haven't spent much time thinking about dating or mating or any of that sort of stuff. I'm more of a good girl, waiting for the fates to bring me my perfect match and working hard to help my family in any way possible. That's how I ended up in Kinship Cove in the first place—my aunt needed help at her diner, so here I am. Staying in an old bed-and-breakfast, trying to avoid being yelled at by my loving—if not constantly frazzled—auntie, and avoiding winking shifters like the plague. Men? Not on my radar.

 

At least not until a beast of a man comes strolling through the door. Literally. He's not what I expected—gray hair, deep, dark eyes, and a temper known throughout the town…including by local law enforcement.

 

The fates definitely want us together, but when his past comes fighting its way into our present, the fates may not be enough.

 

Love behind bars is a thing, right?

 

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I can't get enough of the mating in Kinship Cove. ~Reader Lynette

 

WOLVERINE WAFER is a paranormal romantic comedy from USA Today bestselling author Ellis Leigh. The story is a standalone PNR rom-com with wit, snark, shifters, and more than just flirting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kinship Press
• Release date: Feb 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781944336561

Ellis Leigh

A storyteller from the time she could talk, USA Today bestselling author Ellis Leigh grew up among family legends of hauntings, psychics, and love spanning decades. Those stories didn’t always have the happiest of endings, so they inspired her to write about real life, real love, and the difficulties therein. From farmers to werewolves, store clerks to witches—if there’s love to be found, she’ll write about it. Ellis lives in the Chicago area with her husband, daughters, and a German Shepherd that refuses to leave her side. Ellis can also be found writing tropey, erotic shorts with her bestie Brighton Walsh as London Hale or taking her suspense into the contemporary world as Kristin Harte.

Book preview

1

Lucy

Tilly! Section five needs to be reset before dinner tonight. Don’t forget."

My cousin—the Tilly who’d just been yelled at from across the room—rolled her eyes in my direction. The only direction where her mom—the one who’d done the yelling—couldn’t see her.

Yes, ma’am. I know. Lucy and I will get it done. Tilly shook her head, continuing to fill sugar containers with little packets of various colors—white, yellow, pink, blue, green. The tables were a virtual rainbow of sweeteners.

Is that a big deal? I asked, still feeling out this new job working at my aunt’s diner in Kinship Cove. Resetting section five?

Tilly laughed. Not really. We reset every section between services to be ready for the rushes. It’s what we’ve always done. She just likes to ride us about section five.

I glanced to where I knew section five to be. At least, I was pretty sure that one was five. What’s the big deal about five?

It’s the closest to the door so the one that’s always open. It gets reset a lot. Three and two are already set for dinner because they won’t be used until then unless we get some sort of mad rush for breakfast or lunch. Five has to be reset for every meal.

And it’s been that way since—

Since long before I started working here, which was when I turned twelve. Seriously, it’s just my mom being cranky.

She wasn’t kidding. My aunt was a wonderful woman and someone I’d always loved being around, but her soft attitude turned rock hard the second she walked through the front doors of her diner. She was a beast in the restaurant, running everything with an iron fist and a harsh voice. At least where her own kids were concerned.

Why is it that she yells at you like that but not me? Is she going to start on me eventually? What can I do to not have that happen? She seems awfully— I glanced toward the kitchen where I could hear my aunt yelling at someone, likely her grandson Jackson —angry. I really don’t want that turned on me.

Tilly shrugged. She may yell at you eventually, but you should take it as a sign of love.

That did not compute. What do you mean?

If she yells at you, she considers you more than just a niece—you’re a daughter to her.

Still not understanding that one.

She’s not your mom and, therefore, not responsible for you. She won’t yell…much. But when she feels invested in your future? The voice gets louder. Take it as a compliment when it happens. She grabbed the box of sweeteners and moved to the next table. Besides, the woman had eighteen children, who are pretty much all having litters of their own and bringing a lot of babies and chaos into her life. With a skulk that large, you’d be cranky too.

Of that, I had no doubt. I came from a family of five—me, my mom, my dad, and my two brothers. Between sports and school and games and just getting on one another’s nerves, it had been hectic and loud in our house for a while. I couldn’t imagine a home life with eighteen kids running around.

Well-deserved crankiness. Are you going to follow in her footsteps?

Tilly—newly mated and really only working at the diner to train me since she was soon moving to live on location with her movie star husband—looked up, her cheeks pink and her eyes wide. You mean with a skulk so large, I could field a baseball team with just my own kids?

That really was cool when your mom did that.

It was—we had fun. But I have no intentions of heading down that same road. Renit and I want a family, not a clown car.

Yeah, eighteen seems a bit…

Crazy?

Totally. I nodded toward the counter where a man in work boots and a heavy flannel shirt had just taken a seat. We’ve got a customer.

Perfect. I’ll let you take the lead and just…hang around in case you need me.

Okay. I took a deep breath and pasted on a big smile before striding across the room to my first potential tip of the day. Hi, welcome to the Kinship Cover Diner. What can I get you this morning?

The man glanced up, his posture straightening when he caught my eye. My inner fox chattered in my head, not liking the look in his eyes. Not happy about feeling like prey all of a sudden.

And then he smiled.

Uh oh.

Good morning, sunshine. How are you doing today?

Fine, thanks. And you? Having a good morning so far?

It’s better now.

Double uh oh. Can I get you some coffee?

Please.

I hurried to grab the pot, not missing the fact that his eyes had to bounce up—way up—once I spun back around. So he was going to be that sort of customer. Just what I needed. Still, I poured his coffee and kept my smile on. No sense making waves and all.

Besides, I had a job to do. One I wanted to be good at. Do you know what you want to order, or do you need some time with the menu?

I’m in here almost every day—I know what I want. He leaned across the counter, coffee in hand. Eyes locked on mine. Though, I haven’t seen you here before. I’d have remembered that.

I’m new—the owner is family, and I’m helping out while Tilly heads off to spend more time with her mate.

"So I guess Tilly meeting that movie star worked in my favor, too." He took a sip of his coffee, winking at me over the cup.

My smile dropped, the effort becoming too much. He winked? Who did that? Creepy guys, that was who. Looks like you’ve got a little problem with your eye—you might want to get that looked at. Now, what can I get you?

His expression soured, my answer obviously not to his liking. English muffin sandwich with two eggs and Monterey Jack cheese, plus a side of bacon.

I nodded, ready to get out of there. You got it.

I left him at the counter, heading for the POS machine to enter the order that would be sent to the kitchen. He didn’t try to stop me or flirt anymore, just sat there drinking his coffee and staring. A lot. But hey…he wasn’t winking anymore. Bonus.

New friend? Tilly said with a smile as she sidled up beside me.

I huffed. He’s flirty.

He is. His name’s Jacob, and he’s a tiger shifter. You don’t want to get messed up in his world. They’re not exactly known for their loyalty.

Jacob was also a winker. Automatic no from me. There was always something that was a no, though. I don’t want to get messed up in anyone’s world.

Not a big dater?

I felt my face heat, felt my neck go hot too. I’d prefer to wait.

To wait…for your mate? She smiled when I nodded. I did the same thing—I never really dated until I met Renit.

I hadn’t known that about her, but it made sense. At least to me. Do you regret it now?

Not in the least. He was my first kiss…and everything else. I don’t regret waiting for him at all. She glanced toward the guy at the counter. Though I didn’t really have to wait too long for him to show up.

Truth. The girl was still relatively young in terms of shifters. Renit, though, was a little older. The two made a gorgeous couple, but mostly, he was sweet to her. So sweet. I craved that same sort of care and connection. Wanted it like nothing else.

But I would have to wait for the fates to provide it. Well, here’s to hoping I don’t have to wait long either.

In Kinship Cove? The waiting period is much shorter than elsewhere. Everyone seems to be finding their mates.

Good. Because that was definitely one of the reasons I’d agreed to spend a few months helping at the diner. The cove was a shifter town, and that meant lots of options for finding a mate. Hopefully one who didn’t leer at me from across the room.

Customers. They weren’t always fun to deal with. I’m going to check on that guy’s order.

Tilly nodded. Good call. And, hey. If he gets too flirty, sic my mom on him. She’ll set him straight.

Yeah, of that, I had no doubt.

Order up, Jackson said just as I made it to the kitchen doors. He carried a tray with a single plate on it—English muffin sandwich and bacon on the side.

I’ve got it.

Jackson shook his head, balancing the tray perfectly. Counter guy?

Yeah. Want me to—

The ringing of the buzzer indicating someone was at the delivery door interrupted