He shrugs. “Well yeah, those brothers of yours never shut up. I’ve only worked here one morning and feel like I already know half your family’s history.”
I chuckle. “Well, that’s pretty creepy.”
He holds his hands up in surrender. “Hey, blame your brothers for this one. I just kept my head down and was trying to earn an honest living.”
“Out of curiosity, why wait for lunch until next week?”
Kaiden comes to the front door to yell at Vyrian to leave me alone and get back inside, so he rushes out, “So you have time to think on it and change your mind if you don’t really want to. I don’t want you to think you’re rushing into things with the revelation you just went through and have to date the first guy you see.”
I give him an appraising look, not being discreet in the slightest. “That’s actually really sweet.”
He laughs as he calls over his shoulder before Kaiden storms over here. “No need to look so surprised, I pride myself on not being a total asshole. Keep the bar higher than basic decency, Ezra; you’re worth jumping for.”
Kaiden smacks the back of his head and starts barking orders while I drive off, heading into town to put my winnings to good use and get some stuff for around the house we’ve been putting off.
I hit the hardware store first, picking out some lumber and stain so I can add to the library we turned our parents’ room into. It was the largest in the house to accommodate all four of them, but none of us could bring ourselves to move in there, so we compromised to turn it into a library instead.
We bracket shelves directly to the walls, running around the course of the room completely. The highest shelf near the ceiling is reserved for trinkets that remind us of them; a music box here and ornate hourglass there. Anything we see when we’re out and about that makes us pause and thinkDad would have loved thatgoes on that shelf.
The rest are books, and we’ve filled up a huge portion over the years, but there’s still plenty of space to fill. I have enough from my winnings to justify adding another shelf around the room, about waist level. Not much longer and there won’t be space to add anymore so I can just focus on stocking them with books.
“Ezra,” a man purrs, and I turn, consciously suppressing the fireball that wants to grow in my hand. This place would rank right in the top ten for places I should not start a fire; it’s kindle heaven.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?”
He scrubs a hand over a beaded jaw. “Not yet, but I’m hoping to change that.” He extends his hand and I shake it politely. “Derrik.”
“Nice to meet you,” I politely dismiss.
Just because I got the go ahead to date, doesn’t mean I need to take up anyone offering. If they don’t do anything for me, I don’t want to waste the precious time I have as my biological clock ticks down towards doomsday and blows up my life in an atomic cloud of lust.
He falls into step beside me as I grab the brackets and some more screw before heading towards the registers. “What would you say to joining me for dinner tonight? My treat?”
I give him a polite smile. “I’m flattered, but I’m actually busy tonight. Maybe some other time.”
I get into line, and he follows behind me, still jawing away. There’s a couple of men in front of me that turn towards him with scowls. The taller of the two looks at Derrik with harsh disdain.
“Back off, Derrik,” he snarls. He glances down at me and winks. “Don’t fret, sweetheart, he won’t touch you.”
I fight off the gag at how cheesy the whole thing is. “No frets here. Just want to buy my shit and get out.”
The snarl-er lets me go in front of him to stand as a block between me and Derrik, leaving me caged between him and the guy ahead of me. Silent up until now, he looks at me strangely.
“Something’s different about you, Ez. Haircut?” he asks, mulling it over.
“Nope, just me; same as every other day,” I huff in frustration.
Even after he’s rung up and the cashier is scanning the stuff in my cart, he persists. “No, there’s something, I just can’t put my finger on it.”
I blanch, playing over the last few days in my head and debating the merit of my current theory. Elias mentioned they thought that if I wasn’t aware of what was going on, it would change things.
Did finding out about my impending deadline and accepting it was time to find mates change something?
“Likely my latest victory,” I goad, bolstering up my defenses. “The souls of those that fall at my feet give me a nice afterglow for a few days; best skin care routine in the world.”
They laugh, I fake laugh, it’s a whole mess of awkward, and I leave. I load the lumber in the back of my SUV and head a few blocks away, talking myself off the crazy ledge.
You’re being ridiculous, Ez. Colton asked me on a date before I knew what was going on, and I bet the majority of the town is just as aware of my birthday. They’re probably thinking the same thing as him and deciding to get bolder.
