I had my phone trapped between my cheek and shoulder as I started attempt number three at gift-wrapping the largest box I had on hand. The last thing we needed was for me to embarrass myself in front of a customer as I struggled with a tape dispenser or the baby blue satin ribbon that matched the store logo perfectly.
“I just don’t want you to forget. Dylan is a sweet kid and hereallywants that graphic novel. It was the only one on the shelf yesterday. I’m kicking myself for not buying it.”
“I told you I’d go over as soon as I finish this. Remind me again why I didn’t go with those cute gift bags instead? No matter how pretty it is, this ribbon is a giant pain in my ass, Addie.”
My darling cousin laughed at my pain. “I have to go, Eden, I’ve got a client coming. The ribbons are a nice personal touch. Any slouch can throw something in a gift bag. Text me later. I need to know if you can get that book or if I have to go search for it in the city. I want to focus on the grand opening this weekend!”
“Yeah, okay,” I muttered. “Go on. I’ll get the book, then I’ll come back and master these stupid ribbons if it’s the last thing I do. If you don’t hear from me, assume this handy little ribbon dispenser strangled me.”
“Ciao, babe!”
Addie ended the call before I could voice a goodbye, so I tossed the phone aside and finished tying an ugly, uneven bow. I let out a growl at the sight of it and shoved the empty box across the counter before grabbing my purse.
“Bossy, bossy, bossy,” I grumbled, still uncertain why Addie couldn’t have popped back over to the shop next door yesterday afternoon, when she suddenly decided her godson needed that book. I barely even knew the kid, but Addie insisted that I attend the party in a few weeks as her plus-one so she wouldn’t be bored out of her mind.
Given how much help she’d been in setting up Garden of Delights, I caved. I could sacrifice a few minutes to buy a book.
I let myself out the back door, following the sidewalk around the corner of the building. Since the front door was now covered with the same blank newsprint paper adorning the windows, it was the easiest way in and out of the shop.
Friday couldn’t come soon enough. I was looking forward to finally seeing the sun shining in the front of the building. Dreary gray was just not uplifting, no matter how many ugly purple bows you stuck on it.
The bitter cold of winter was depressing enough—some sunlight would work wonders.
As I rounded the corner onto Main Street, I caught sight of a piece of paper stuck underneath the windshield wiper of my car.
“Shit,” I whispered, hoping it wasn’t a parking ticket or a note that someone had hit the vehicle. Surely I would’ve heard a fender bender from inside the shop? I rushed over and pulled the paper loose, then wished I’d ignored it.
It was a Bible tract about the nature of sin.
I glanced wildly around the street, expecting to see someone staring, someone judging, but the pedestrians nearby all seemed cheerful and focused on either their destinations or their phone screens as they moved down the sidewalks. There was no sign of anyone out of place, not like the woman I’d seen from inside the sandwich shop the other day.
Not a long denim skirt to be seen, only the normal array of jeans and puffy winter jackets.
Crumpling the piece of paper in my hand, I tossed it into one of the cute barrel-shaped trash cans the town lined the street with and forced myself to ignore the pit in my stomach.
The store next to mine was called Dueling Dragons. It looked like a combination of comic books and gaming, and I had yet to venture inside. Really, if I was honest with myself, the comic thing reminded me of my idiocy in sneaking out of Milo’s hotel room without leaving a note.
Since I was still berating myself for that decision, I didn’t exactly need to pile on more reminders.
Window paint depicting various superheroes covered the front door and I wandered in just in time to hear a kid say, “I told you, you should put your name on the parking spot.”
“It’smine.Everyone knows I’ve parked there since I opened the store. I shouldn’t have to put my name on it.”
“Do you want me to key the car?” the kid asked, sounding hopeful.
“Jesus, Carter, no. Don’t do that. Ever, okay?”
I took a few steps deeper into the store to see the kid sitting on the counter, his Converse-clad feet swinging back and forth. Dark hair tumbled over his forehead and his mouth dropped open when he caught sight of me.
“It’s one of the ladies from the naked shop!” he exclaimed.
Naked shop?
From behind him, the man I’d heard speaking rose slowly from a crouch that had hidden him from view, and all the breath left my lungs.
It washim.Milo. Comic Con Milo. Red-bearded Viking Milo. Sweet, attentive, funny Milo.
“Eden?” he said softly.
