I’d be smart to wait until I was recovered from the surgery, but it could be a month or more for me to be ready physically. Mentally might take even longer.
Around 3:00 p.m. I finally took my break. I was starving because I'd skipped lunch, but all we had in the communal fridge was leftover pizza from last week. Sighing, I made myself some disgusting herbal tea and sat down to finally text Rafferty back. I'd barely unlocked my phone when Taylor walked into the break room, wide-eyed and whisper-yelling. “Elton! That guy! The one who buys the pregnancy books! He's here and asking for you by name!”
Oops. Ruefully I glanced down at my phone before locking it again and putting it into my pocket. “Thanks, Taylor.” I got up and walked toward them, but they didn’t move out of the doorway.
“How does he know your name!? Kate said he was here the other day, but she didn’t mention anything unusual had happened.”
Smirking, I squeezed past them to head up front. “He knows my name because we're dating.” Leaving a gaping Taylor behind, I walked swiftly toward the retail area of the store. I'd said it out loud. Rafferty and I were dating. Whether it would be more remained to be seen.
He was leaning against the counter next to the Valentine's Day display. I waved. “Hey, I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to text you back. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything's fine.” He gestured in the direction I'd come from. “What's up with your coworker? They got really squirrely when I asked for you.”
“Oh! Hah. No reason.” He narrowed his eyes at me, and I wondered if those stories about shifters being able to tell when you were lying were true. “What brings you by?”
He cocked his head but accepted my topic change “If you don’t have plans after you get off work, I wanted to see if you’d come with me somewhere.”
“Somewhere? Is that as much detail as I'm getting?”
He grinned, and lust shot through me. My balls didn't care that one of them wasn't real and the other one had a limited lifespan. They wanted me to get naked with Rafferty ASAP.
He glanced at Taylor, who’d walked behind the register to check out a customer. I gestured for Rafferty to follow me toward the front door, where we’d be out of the way. “I have twenty minutes before Daphne comes back to work the rest of her shift. If you don't mind hanging out until then, I'll go with you, but we have to stop and get me something to eat. I skipped lunch.”
His face lost its smile, and his eyebrows drew together. “You shouldn't skip lunch. I'll go get you something, and you can eat it here before we leave.”
Aww. He was so sweet. “If you're sure you don't mind, that would be amazing.”
“It's no problem. What would you like?”
I told him where the salad place was around the corner, and his scowl deepened. “If you skipped lunch, you need more food thansalad.” His voice dripped with disdain, and I flashed back to the lack of vegetables at dinner last night.
I opened my mouth to explain about antioxidants and cancer-fighting foods, but suddenly I was tired. Tired of trying to make myself feel like I was accomplishing something by eating things I didn't enjoy, when the cancer was already present. My shoulders sagged, and I nodded. “You're right. There's a deli half a block beyond the salad place. I like anything they make, as long as it doesn't have mayonnaise on it.”
“That's more like it.” I got the sexy grin again, and he told me he'd be right back before hurrying out the door.
The customer Taylor had been helping left right after Rafferty. As soon as we were alone, they rounded on me. “What’s happening? When did you start seeing Pregnancy Book Guy, and why didn’t you tell us?”
“His name is Rafferty.”
Taylor made a frustrated grimace and spread their hands out to the side. “Okay, but what's up with all the baby mama books?”
I shook my head and gave them a reproving look. “It’s none of your business or anyone else’s. In fact, that reminds me.” I wentbehind the counter and opened the drawer next to the register. A few seconds of rummaging produced the paper the team had been using to track Rafferty’s visits. I crumpled it up and put it into the trash before shutting the drawer firmly. “No more speculating about clients’ personal lives.” Well, they'd never stop doing it, but at least I could keep them from writing things down.
Daphne arrived back from her kid’s soccer game and was getting settled behind the register when Rafferty returned with a white bag that smelled heavenly. Going forward, I promised myself, I would eat healthy, but I was also going to enjoy my food. I took the bag from him. “Thanks for this. Do you want to sit with me in the break room for a few minutes while I eat?”
“Sure.” He nodded at Taylor and Daphne as we walked past. Daphne goggled at him, then looked between me and Taylor. I just kept walking. When we got to the break room, I headed for the table and sat down to unpack my meal. My tea was still sitting in its mug, cold and even nastier than usual. I stood up again to dump it out in the sink. Rafferty was still standing in the doorway, his head tilted oddly.
“You can shut the door. Do you want something to drink?”
I rinsed out my mug and filled it with water before heading back to the table. Rafferty hadn’t moved into the room, but now his arms were crossed and his eyebrows were raised as he stared me down. His lips twitched, which ruined whatever intimidation he was trying for. He jerked his head toward the front of the store. “You were tracking how often I came in? And my nickname was Pregnancy Book Guy?”
Oh, shit. Wolf shifter hearing. Taylor was no doubt filling Daphne in. I shrugged, affecting unconcern. “You have to admit, a male-presenting person buying the same three pregnancybooks over and over again is a little unusual. And in my defense, this week was the first time I’d ever seen you myself. I did throw away the tracking sheet.”
He opened his mouth then shut it before shaking his head. “And here I was, trying to support an independent bookstore.”
I sat down and grinned up at him as I pulled the deli bag toward me. “We appreciate your business.”
Chuckling, he pulled out a chair and sat down across from me, making sure not to kick my feet accidentally. If we didn't have to worry about this stupid mating connection, I would’ve loved to have hooked my ankles around his under the table.
