She narrowed her eyes at him as he strode toward her. “You hate that stuff.”
The words were spoken as if they had slipped out; her dark eyes immediately widened. He slowed his steps, stopping right in front of her.
His lips parted with surprise.She remembered that. Why would she remember that?
Could it be that she thought of that time together as often as he did?
He took a step toward her, looking closer. Before he could dissect her expression, she went to walk past him, turning her cheek.
She made it two steps before a red-scaled baby dragon shot across the bookshop, right into her path. And for the first time, Luke saw Emmeline falter.
In trying to avoid stepping on the baby dragon, she lost her balance. Arms flailing, she dropped her coat and stumbled forward. Luke stepped toward her, easily catching her as she landed straight into his arms.
Her hands clutched the front of his shirt, the fabric bunching between her fingers. He inhaled the sweet scent of jasmine on her skin. His blood quickened, roaring in his ears as he touched her bare elbows, holding her up.
Her sharp intake of breath filled his ears. She brought her gaze up to his, and he found himself drowning in her kajal-lined eyes. Her lips parted.
Suddenly, they weren’t business rivals with a complicated history—they were just two university students, their eyes big and bright.
Chapter 6
Emmeline’s pulse quickened.
Luke’s arms were strong as he held her upright. His gaze lowered to her mouth, scorching through her. Her hands tightened, and his eyes dropped to where the fabric of his shirt was bunched in her hands, her fingers brushing against his bare chest and the chains lying there.
She felt wholly disarmed, and the moment stretched between them.
Until he seemed to recall something, and his expression shifted. Dark eyes glinting, he gave her an amused tilt of his lips. He leaned closer, and her heart pounded painfully as he brought his lips close to her ears. Inadvertently, she clutched him closer.
“You don’t have to throw yourself at me, you know,” he said, voice husky.
Indignation burned through her.
“You wish,” she snapped. Pushing him away, she righted herself. Grabbing her coat off the floor, she stalked away, hoping he didn’t notice her warmed cheeks.
She couldn’t risk him having the satisfaction.
The only reason she felt hot to begin with was because they had known each other intimately; this was a natural bodily reaction, she reasoned with herself. Plus, he was objectively good-looking, there was no point in trying to deny that.
But neither of those things meantanything.
Emmeline gathered her hair together, twisting it up and holding it in place with one hand to get some cool air on the back of her neck. Her curtain bangs fell forward immediately, over her eyes, and she blew out her cheeks, trying to remember what she was doing.
She had been scoping out a location for the coffee shop. Just as Emmeline was retracing her train of thought, her phone rang in her purse. She dropped her hair, letting it swoosh down her back, and answered. It was her mom, Samreen.
“Hi, Ammi,” Emmeline said, picking up.
“Where are you?” Samreen asked. “It’s loud.”
“Just doing something for work.”
“Tch, always working,” Samreen said, voice displeased. If Samreen had her way, Emmeline’s full-time job would be solely to be her mother’s daughter.
“I like working,” Emmeline replied. She liked it much better when she didn’t need to cross paths with an insufferable chimera owner, but that was neither here nor there.
“And I like being a grandmother,” Samreen replied. “Maybe think about that.”
“Ammi, please.” Emmeline snorted. “Besides, Millie is dutifully seeing to that task.”
