But it was his eyes that made me forget I was holding an armful of psychological thrillers.Gray.Not blue-gray or green-gray but actual storm cloud gray, and they swept across my shop with an intensity that made me want to check if my insurance was up to date.
The books hit the floor in a cascade of paperback dominoes.
“Smooth,” Mika called out without looking up from her book. “Maybe we should put down some of those ‘Caution: Wet Floor’ signs whenever hot guys walk in.”
My face burned as I dropped to my knees, scrambling to collect the scattered novels. Of course this would happen. Of course the one time a man who looked carved by horny angels walked into my shop, I’d immediately prove that I had the coordination of a newborn giraffe.
His footsteps approached the counter with measured precision. Combat boots, I noticed from my spot on the floor. Who wore combat boots with a leather jacket? Men who wanted to ruin my life, apparently.
I cleared my throat, doing my best to smile at him and willing the blush to stayawayfrom my cheeks. It didn’t work. I could still feel myself red as a damn tomato.
“Hello, welcome to Winters’ Books & Brews. What can I get you?” The words came out in a rush, and I cursed myself for not stopping to fuckingbreathe.
Earth, please swallow me.
“Iced Americano,” he said, and Christ, his voice. If whiskey could talk, it would sound jealous of that voice.
“In October?” Mika had finally looked up, one eyebrow raised. “What are you, too good for seasonal drinks? We have a lovely pumpkin spice-”
“Just the Americano.” He shook his head.
“Name,” I cleared my throat when my voice sounded too pathetic, “Name for the order?”
“Matthias.”
I nodded too fast, stars dancing in my vision. “An iced Americano coming right up!” I managed a smile and nodded at Mika. If I did his order, the machine would screw everything up.
“And a book recommendation, if you have one.” He added, making me freeze on my spot. He was looking right at me. Those gray eyes should have come with a warning label.
“Books? Yes! I mean, we have books. Many books. Who do you like - I mean, what kind of book do you like?”
Kill me. Kill me now.I sounded drunk.
“Thrillers,” he said, and I latched onto that single word with the desperation of a woman who’d just made an absolute fool of herself.
“Thrillers! Yes! I have thrillers. So many thrillers. This way.”
I practically vibrated as I led him to my carefully curated section. Books I could do. Books were safe. Books didn’t make me forget how to form coherent sentences.
“This one,” I pulled out a recent release, “has enough twists to give you whiplash. The narrator’s unreliable, everyone’s lying, and the ending will make you want to throw it across the room. In the best way, of course.”
He took the book, fingers almost brushing mine. “I’ll take it.”
By the time I rang him up and Mika finished his coffee, I’d managed three complete sentences without stuttering. Personal victory.
He paid in cash, took his book and coffee to the corner table. The one with its back to the wall and clear views of all exits and windows. He settled in with a type of stillness that made me think of predators waiting in tall grass for an unsuspecting bunny hop right in front of them.
“Well,” Vivi stage-whispered, poking her head out from the kitchen with flour in her dark hair, “that was the most adorable disaster I’ve seen all week.”
“I hate both of you,” I muttered, but my eyes kept drifting to his corner.
He read with intense focus, occasionally taking a sip of his Americano. He held the book carefully, like he actually gave a damn about keeping the spine intact. Every so often, his gaze would lift and scan the shop before returning to the page.
He sat there for two hours, and I spent every minute hyperaware of his presence. When he finally stood at exactly six o’clock, I pretended to be very invested in wiping down the already clean counter.
He gave me a tiny nod on his way out. That was it. A nod that shouldn’t have made my stomach flip but absolutely did.
“Twenty bucks says tall, dark and broody comes back tomorrow,” Mika said the second the door closed behind him.
