“Okay.”
Mina said goodbye and hung up. I scowled at my phone, pulling my best Dom impression until he cleared his throat to remind me he was actually present.
He cocked an eyebrow. “What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
“Uh-huh. That’s why your face looks like a bulldog chewing a wasp.”
“Fuck off.”
“You’re in my house.”
“It’s an apartment. And you’re supposed to be selling it, remember?”
Deflection was my baseline, even when I had nothing to hide, and Dom usually let me be, but the conversation he’d overheard through no fault of his own, was apparently too interesting for him to ignore.
I explained my predicament to him. When he was done laughing, he pinched my laptop from across the table and tapped something into the search bar.
“Here.” He spun it back so I could see it. “I don’t know if it will suit your needs, but it so happens that Thorston, your snoozeville village of choice, is home to the highest rated exotics shop in the south east. Fate?”
It was my turn to roll my eyes. Dom didn’t believe in fate, at least he hadn’t until his life had turned into a goddamn fairy tale. Still. I reclaimed my laptop and studied the web page he’d brought up. Cool and sharp with its monochrome theme and clear graphics, it was a little slicker than I’d expected from a village pet shop. Even the name—Madfall Exotics—was cool.
I clicked through the intuitive menu, navigating the site and scanning the photos of various creatures that made me shudder, until I stuck gold with an entire page dedicated to corporate events, and children’s birthday parties. It was exactly what I was looking for, and even better, it was ten minutes away from my next appointment after Dom. I could stop in on my way home. If I went home. These days, I detested my Primrose Hill house enough to sleep in a faceless hotel instead. Perhaps I’d even come back here and sleep in Dom’s empty apartment while he went home to his beautiful boyfriend.
Dom nudged me. “Are you legit on another planet today? That’s the third time you’ve zoned out on me. Stick to your own role, man.”
I blinked. “And what exactly is that?”
“The über-organised, sharp-as-fuck control freak who keeps my life in order.”
He was taking the piss, but he wasn’t wrong. It was a rare moment that Dom caught me not on point in a business meeting, even when I had family shit to deal with. With considerable effort, I pushed all thoughts of where I’d sleep tonight and exotic pet shops aside.
Until the end of the day, at least.
* * *
I stoodin front of Madfall Exotics, half hypnotised by the neon lights in the window, and half horrified by the creepy crawlies I was already imagining on the other side. It had been a long day, and I was sorely tempted to slope off to a hotel and send a cop out email instead of going inside, but…I was here now. And wasting time wasn’t my jam.
Steeling myself, I pocketed my car keys and pushed the door open. Immediately, the scent of a spotlessly clean space hit me, and then the soothing sound of bubbling water. It was unexpected enough to send my gaze darting around, but instead of hordes of slithering snakes and hairy spiders, all I saw were rows of glass tanks, and colourful displays of equipment I couldn’t name.
So far, so good.
I ventured further into the shop. There didn’t seem to be anyone about, but it was the end of the day. Perhaps whoever was in charge had already gone home—
“Can I help you?”
I jumped, and whirled around. Somehow, in my SAS-style scope of the place, I’d missed the door by the bizarre coconut display opening, and a vision in black and khaki sneaking up on me.
Hot damn. It wasn’t often a bloke stood me stunned, but shit, this one was fucking gorgeous. He had dark hair—as dark as mine—and was dressed in cargo shorts, Timberlands, and a T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up just far enough for me to glimpse his leanly muscled biceps. But where my skin was brown, his was alabaster pale. Creamy. Smooth. Flawless except for a series of grazes that covered his forearm. My fingers itched to trace them, to push his sleeves higher and press my face—
Whoa. I caught the errant thought before it ran away with me.Birthday party, remember?
Barely.
Fuck, I needed to get laid. But that wasn’t about to happen here, so with my second Herculean effort of the day, I reined my horny self in, and searched for the man within who’d carried me this far. “Hi.” I held out my hand. “Isha Hussain. I was hoping to talk to someone about a children’s birthday party?”
The dude’s eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? In those threads, I was expecting you to try and sell me something.”
