INSTAGRAM REEL FROM EJVIBES – TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8
A blond man in his late twenties is sitting at a table in what looks like an office break room. “Y'all know I'm always lecturing you not to judge other people, because you can’t know what else they’ve got going on in their lives or what trauma they might have experienced to make them behave the way they do.”
He rubs his forehead. “Today I realized I hadn’t made an important exception to this rule. That exception is when other people are being hurt. If someone’s behavior is harmful to others, judge away!”
CHAPTER 1
ELTON
“Elton!It’shim. He's here!” Kate, who was supposed to be working the checkout counter, glanced behind her before turning back to me and hissing, “And he's in the Health Care section!”
I set my mug of herbal tea—vile stuff, do not recommend—down and raised my eyebrows at her. “Who?”
She leaned further around the doorframe of the employee break room so she could whisper. “Pregnancy Book Guy!”
“Ohhh.” I'd never been here when this particular customer had visited before, but he was legend around the bookstore.
“You have to work the register! I won’t be able to look him in the face to check him out!”
I sighed. “Okay, I'll be right there.” I’d admit I was a little curious, but if Kate could sell a copy ofThe Complete Illustrated Kama Sutrato an octogenarian without blinking, she should be able to scan and bag a few pregnancy books for this customer.
I dumped my uninspiring but nutritious salad of microgreens, sweet potato chunks, broccoli, and hummus in the trash andheaded down the hall to the public portion of the bookstore. Kate had vanished, of course, so I went behind the checkout counter.
Three male-presenting customers browsed the shelves, but only one was in the Health Care section. He was big, tall with broad shoulders, and he was magical, some sort of shifter. My magic wasn’t the type that allowed me to see which kind, and I wondered if his species would explain the frequency of his purchases. But if he was buying the same books each visit, it implied they were being gifted to different people. Different pregnant people. I wasn’t an expert on shifter species, but I wasn’t aware of any who were quite that polyamorous.
I busied myself checking the water level in the huge vase of roses next to the register before straightening the romance books artfully piled around it. Daphne, one of the other employees, had created a sign that said, “Book boyfriends won't leave you lonely on Valentine's Day”.
I deliberately didn’t open the drawer where we kept spare pens and other odds and ends, including a tally sheet of the dates the man in question had visited.
The thud of books on the counter had me turning around, and I put on my professional smile. “Hi, there. Did you find everything you need?” He was handsome, though the lack of expression on his face didn’t do him any favors. Short dark hair came to a pronounced widow’s peak on his forehead, and he had a carefully groomed beard and piercing gray eyes. His biceps strained the fabric of his hoodie, and his hands appeared callused, as if he did a lot of manual labor.
I made damn sure my expression didn’t change when I saw the three books he’d set down. Exactly the same as his previous purchases. Kate and the others were going to shit a brick.
He grunted an affirmative, and when I looked up again, he was staring at my chest, probably trying to figure out what kind of magic carrier I was. Good luck, buddy. I’d never met another like me, though I wouldn’t know even if I did, because I had to keep my abilities on lockdown all the time.
I used the scanner to ring up his books, and my urge to be nosy overtook my common courtesy. “These are great choices. Are you expecting a new addition to your family, or are they a gift?”
He just grunted and busied himself with getting his wallet out of his back pocket. Like a dumbass, I kept at it. “Bringing a new life into the world is such a miracle, don’t you agree?” No response. I told him the total and pointed to the card reader so he could complete the transaction. Our software didn’t display the customer’s name to us, so his identity would remain a mystery. “You know, the yoga studio down the block has a class specifically for expectant mothers. I know because?—”
“Could I have a bag, please?” He held out a hand for his purchases. His voice was low and growly, exactly like you’d expect from someone of his size and generally gruff demeanor.Hmmm. How did someone so grouchy attract so many women?
“Oh! Yes, of course.” Hastily I slid his books into a brown paper bag with the store’s logo on it. “Here you go.” As I handed the bag over, his fingers were within inches of mine, and our respective magics burst outward and practically danced the tango with each other. I jerked my hand back, and the guy smoothly caught the handle of the bag when I released it. “Sorry about that!”
He stared at his hand, still outstretched and holding the bag. Then his eyes met mine, and slowly his lips turned up into a smile. His face went from handsome to breathtaking. My heart began to beat faster.
Uh, no. Not good. Nope. Not interested in a mate. Not now, and definitely not him. Trying to maintain a pleasant but professional expression, I took a step back from the counter, well out of reach.
He ran his eyes over my body, then he winked, spun on his heel, and left.
He fucking flirted while he was buying pregnancy books? He hadn’t been wearing a wedding ring, and he couldn’t have been bonded to any of the women, or else his magic wouldn’t have resonated with mine, but still. What an asshole. And what a waste of all that gorgeousness.
The door had barely closed behind him when Kate reappeared. I could tell she was dying to ask about the customer, but I tilted my head toward the others in the store. I left her to handle the checkout counter and went to warm up my tea.
When I returned, the store was temporarily empty of customers. Kate wasted no time in yanking open the drawer under the counter and rummaging around for the piece of paper she and the other employees used to track Pregnancy Book Guy’s visits. Triumphantly she wrote down today’s date. “February 8th. Park, Taylor, and Daphne will be soooo mad they weren’t here. Did he say anything?”
“No, sorry.” I leaned over to read the paper. “How long has it been since he was in here last?”
“Four months. And it was two months between that visit and the one before. The previous gaps were six months, eight months, and four months again, though we had to guess the date of the first visit. Daphne was the one who noticed the second time he came in.”
