“No idea.”
“It’s a naked lady store!”
I rolled my eyes as Carter’s exclamation drowned out my response. “It sounds like it’s a lingerie shop. I haven’t met the owner yet, but I bet that’s who’s parking in my spot.”
“If it’s one of the ladies I saw painting in there today, the owner is pretty. There were two of them, both pretty. Maybe you guys should go introduce yourselves,” Carter suggested. “Are you sure you don’t want to leave a note on the car? You could put your phone number on it.”
Maverick and I exchanged a look over my nephew’s head. Carter was anything but subtle when it came to trying to set either of us up at every opportunity. While my big brother had somehow managed to avoid falling into any of the traps his son laid, I’d gotten stuck having dinner with the kid’s math teacher.
She was lovely, but not exactly a comic book fan. There hadn’t been a second date.
“Buddy,” Maverick began.
Carter cut him off, saying, “I know, I know. Uncle Milo met the love of his life at Comic Con and we need to give him time to get over her before he tries again.”
My jaw dropped at his matter-of-fact recounting of my love life. “I beg your pardon?”
The words were quiet, but both my brother and my nephew froze, staring at one another with wide eyes in an attempt toconvey some unspoken sentiment that I could read all too clearly.
“Jesus, Mav,” I muttered. “First, she was not the love of my life. We metone time.I don’t even know her last name. Second, seriously? I confide in you and you reveal all my secrets to the ten-year-old?”
“It just slipped out, man, I’m sorry. You were sulking for an entire week,” Maverick replied.
His voice was soft, like he could cushion the blow, but I shook my head as each word plunged into my body like a blade.
“Right. No, it’s fine. Milo Davies shoots and misses. That’s big news around here—oh wait, nope, it’s just more of the same old story.”
“Don’t be like that, man.”
“Doesn’t matter. See you Wednesday, Carter,” I said, laying a hand on the top of his head. “I have a shipment coming in tomorrow. You can help me put out some new stock.”
Carter stared up at me, his gray eyes troubled. “Sorry, Uncle Milo.”
“It’s fine, buddy. Go on, have a good night, you two.”
“I’m sorry, Milo,” Maverick echoed.
He wasn’t just apologizing for blabbing about the pathetic state of my love life to his kid. Maverick knew all too well what it was like to think you found something special and have it disappear from your life without a backward glance. I nodded, holding his gaze until he saw that I’d forgiven him.
It wasn’t his fault I’d let a good thing walk away so easily.
With a lift of his hand, Maverick led Carter out of the store and I was alone once again, staring down at the daisy resting on top of my book.
Maybe it was time to move on.
ThelittleredSUVwas in my parking spot when I got to work the next morning, its bumper sporting some stickers that unfortunately indicated I might actually like its owner—one readTalk Nerdy to Me,another was a watercolor Triforce symbol fromTheLegend of Zelda.Interestingly, the last sticker was for a local martial arts studio.
Still, annoyance thrummed through my veins as I parked even further from the store than the day before.
By the time I got inside, breathless from the muttered expletives I’d cast upon the parking spot thief, I was met with even more frustration when I found the alarm on the back door screaming at me. It was a miracle no one nearby had reported the blaring sound, but the doors were still locked and nothing appeared to have been tampered with, so I reset the device, updated the code, and set a reminder on my phone to be sure the alarm was engaged every evening when I left.
Maybe daydreaming about seeing Eden again had me so distracted that I forgot to set it the night before.
I spent half the day sorting through boxes of new comics in the limited space I had behind the counter, silently cursing whoever had moved into the bigger space next door, cat pee or not. Hell, with those extra rooms at the back, I could have had an event roomanda room for out of print or vintage comics.
I could have done any number of things with that extra square footage, but I’d missed out. Small, intimate parties were more fun anyway, weren’t they?
The bell over the door jingled and I straightened from a crouch to see a pretty blonde in high-waisted jeans and a red plaid cropped shirt enter the store, rubbing her upper arms against the chill of the January air outside. I froze, thinking about Carter’s comment—two ladies in old-fashioned clothes.I hadn’t been sure what he meant, but now that she stood before me, I was suddenly certain she was one of the women Carter saw painting next door.
