How embarrassing.
“Yeah, sorry. I kind of lost myself for a second there. I’ve always loved reading, so if Heaven exists, I feel like it would look exactly like this.”
“Well, welcome to Heaven then,” Thane jokes. “The shop is pretty dead in the afternoons, so we should be able to work uninterrupted. Where would you like to start? I could give you a tour, or we could jump right into the business talk.”
“Um …” I’m feeling torn between wanting to explore the bookshop and building this plan for Eve. But before I can make a choice, a smooth, deep voice drifts from the back of the shop.
“Thane, why don’t you and our guest begin with business? I’ll handle the grand tour after. I imagine she’ll appreciate something more … in-depth. Besides, if I recall, you have a rather important date this evening.”
Both Thane and I jump as Ezra seems to unfold from the shadows of the bookshelves.
Goddamn it.
He looks even better than he did this morning.
“Ezra! I-I didn’t think you’d be here this afternoon. Is there something you need me to do?”
Thane looks surprised and a little worried.
Ezra strolls toward a beautifully upholstered chair at the front of the shop, sits with deliberate ease, crosses one leg over the other, and folds his hands in his lap.
“No, Thane. I need nothing from you this afternoon. I simply felt like getting out of my house. And now that we have a guest, it would be quite rude of me as the owner to not offer her a tour, don’t you think?”
The possessive asshole looks up from his lap, and when his gaze collides with mine, the air in my lungs turns to stone. His smoky grey eyes drift over me, slow and shameless, like he’s mentally undressing me just for fun.
Heat blooms beneath my skin as the air thickens, like some invisible beast just shifted in its sleep. His gaze stays locked on mine, but something in it flickers—not with darkness, but with something gentler. Something he swallows so fast, I wonder if I imagined it.
“Aurora, wasn’t it? But your friends call you Aury?” Ezra confirms coyly from his shadowed seat.
“Uh, yeah. Like I said this morning, Mr. Aster, you’re very welcome to call me Aury, too.” There’s a bite to my voice that’s not usually there.
This man is so utterly confusing. I want to slap him as much as I want to lick up his fucking neck.
Ezra hums thoughtfully, then turns to a stack of books.
“Thane, let me know when you two are done. If everything is in order, you may leave when your meeting is over, and I’ll show Aurora around the shop.”
This motherfucker is obviously used to getting whatever he wants.
He didn’t even consider asking me or Thane what we would prefer, but I’m a guest here today, and I’m not in the mood to play games with the local god.
“Sure, Ezra. Thank you.” Thane’s tone is so restrained and compliant. Not at all like the flirty, confident man I met last night.
He looks at me and shrugs, then points to an office in the back.
We settle in around a dark wooden desk that could be an antique if it weren’t in pristine condition. The knots pop along the wood grain, and I trace my fingers around the eye-shaped swirls, trying not to think about the infuriating man sitting only a few feet away.
“If Ezra’s here, he can manage any customers that come in while we talk.” He tries for casual, but the spark of curiosity in his eyes betrays him. “So … you met my employer this morning?”
Why does he sound so surprised?
“Yeah, I couldn’t find the key to open the shop, and he stopped to lend a hand,” I say, leaving out the part where Ezra touched me without my permission and laid some bullshit patriarchal claim to me.
My face flushes as I struggle to identify what I’m feeling.
Apparently, anger and lust run parallel.
“That’s interesting. I’ve never seen Ezra out and about, let alone around town long enough to offer help.” Thane eyes me curiously, while a smirk plays on his lips. “Anyway, let’s start by looking at the online shop I created. Then we can get into the profit projections I calculated, how close they were to reality once the shop was up and running, advertising, all of it. We should be able to cover everything in the next three hours.”
