Chapter 1
Charlie
“Do orcs go with aliens or shifters?”
My fingers pause, hovering over the keyboard as I look over at where Flossie is standing by the counter. She’s holding a book up, the cover showing a green-skinned orc, his muscular torso bared, and a leather loincloth wrapped around his hips. The orc is towering over a pint-sized, curvy woman, her mouth open and eyes wide as she gazes up at him.
I blink for a second, tilting my head as I consider the answer. “Shifters,” I decide. “Aliens are Sci-Fi. Shifters and orcs are paranormal.”
Flossie arches her dark red eyebrows. “I would argue that aliens also fall under the umbrella of the paranormal.” She pauses, attention dropping back to the book, her square-framed glasses doing nothing to hide the spark of interest in her green eyes. “But I’ll put it with the shifters anyway.”
I smile. “Or you’ll put it on yourbuy laterpile.” I slide a look at the shelf under the counter and the five books already sitting there.
Flossie doesn’t look at me, her red curls bouncing as she walks away, telling me over her shoulder, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Charlie.” She disappears down one of the aisles, and I roll my eyes. We’ve worked together at Spellbound Books—a new and pre-loved bookstore—for well over a year now. I know how Flossie operates.
Not that I’m any better.I rang up today’s new inventoryon my lunch break—a cozy small-town romance with a baker and her neighbor, and the first in an alien series where a group of women get trapped on an ice planet.
Flossie comes back empty-handed, the book shelved or stashed in the waistband of her pants. I eye her suspiciously, but she just ignores me, casually plucking the next stack of books from the box she’s been unpacking. “You and Dillon have plans tonight?” she asks casually.
“Not tonight.” I can’t stop my grimace from scrunching up my nose, staring at the computer screen until all the words blur. I’m supposed to be putting in an order for next month, following the current trends of stalkers, stepbrothers, and cowboys—an eclectic mixture if there ever was one. “I’m having dinner with my parents.”
She pauses, sending me a concerned look. “You’re still not taking Dillon?”
I avoid her eyes, my cheeks heating. “I know it’s not healthy. But he doesn’t like the way they speak to me, so it’s just easier to not have him there, you know?”
Flossie stops what she’s doing, leaning a plump hip against the counter. “I thought Dillon didn’t agree with that.”
My smile is tight. “He doesn’t, but Dillon and I have only been living together six months, and not even together two years yet. ” Her mouth firms with disapproval, so I quickly add, “It feels too new to drag him into the drama of my family.”
“If a couple of years is too new,” Flossie counters, “when does it change? Five? Ten? Maybe when you have your first kid? I don’t understand why you keep your parents in your life anyway.”
“They’re my parents,” I remind her softly. “And I’m their only child. My mother is just?—”
“A bitch,” Flossie supplies dryly, and a soft sound of amusement escapes.
“I was going to say she’s set in her ways, butbitchworks.”
“Is Barrett going with you, at least?”
My shoulders loosen at the mention of my best friend even as I shake my head. “He’s playing poker. I can handle my parents and whatever they dish out. And hey…maybe this is the one time they’ll surprise me.”
Flossie nods, but this isn’t a new conversation, and she knows when to drop it. “So, when is Dillon going to pop the question, then?”
I shake my head with a laugh. “Probably about the same time that you decide to actually date a real person and not just a book boyfriend.”
Flossie gives me an exaggerated frown. “Why would I do that? Real boys are smelly, dumb, and always set you up for disappointment. Book boyfriends, however…” She waggles her brows. “All they need is a…companion,” she says suggestively, “and a few long-lasting batteries.”
I sidle closer, snatching the orc book out of the elastic waist of her tights before she can stop me. “Is that why you have this?” Icluckmy tongue, smirking at her. “Well, you asked about my plans for the night, and now I know yours.”
Flossie giggles, yanking it back and clutching it to her chest. “Hey, if a big, manly orc wants to sweep me off my feet, who am I to argue?” She tucks the book onto her pile, fingers lingering over the cover. “I even got these yummy-smelling bath salts and a waterproof vib?—”
I slap a hand over Flossie’s mouth as the soft patter of rainfall reaches us. A customer steps into the store, the open door triggering the rainstick mounted above the frame.
“Good afternoon!” I greet, smiling brightly. “Welcome to Spellbound Books. Can we help you find anything?”
The older woman pauses, her brow knitting together as she looks between us, my hand still clamped over Flossie’s mouth—just as she darts her tongue out, licking my palm. I yank my hand away with a yelp, scrubbing it against my pants.
The customer rolls her lips inward to hide her smile. “I was looking for a children’s baking book for my niece. She loves cupcakes and wants to start icing her own.”
