Chapter Three
You've got my jacket.
The text from the unrecognised number sent a thrill down my spine.
And you got my card. Good.
An angry face emoji followed and I paused, wondering what the hell I was doing, flirting with the mystery biker. When he'd dropped me off at my parents, without me telling him my address, alarm sirens had exploded in my mind. I was a sucker for a bad boy, there was no denying it, but I already had one stalker. I didn't need another.
How did you know to bring me to this address?
I'd stayed at my parents, sneaking in like I had many times. They weren't ever surprised to see me at the dining table in the morning, especially if I'd been out the night before. My ex didn't know where they lived after they'd had to move, so I felt safe here.
My stomach bubbled as I picked up the leather jacket from the bed and headed out. My parents had gone to work, asking whether I'd be back when they got home. Obviously, I couldn't stay there all the time. I had a life to live, despite my stalker ex, who legally shouldn't have come anywhere near me.?
Except, he didn't know how to abide by the law. Plus, he was a clever bastard, always just keeping his distance enough to evade punishment.?
You know where I am if you want the jacket back.
The fizz of excitement returned as I walked to the bus-stop, hugging myself to keep warm from the cold. My car was at my apartment the other side of town, I'd have to bus to work. It wasn't ideal, considering I'd then have to make my way home after work, without the protection of my car.
“Alia!” My parents’ neighbour greeted me.?
Lifting my gaze from my phone screen, I smiled at the elderly lady, who'd always been friendly.
“How are you, dear?” She waved the bus down as it approached, smiling at me from under her sunglasses.?
“Good, thank you.” I lied.
Smiling back, I checked the area, just to make sure that no one watched me. I couldn't be too careful.?
“How is the shop?” Barb asked, waving her bus pass as she climbed on.?
Asking for a single into town, I thanked the driver, ready to try and escape from my mum's friendly neighbour.
She waited until I had finished, indicating that I go into the seat before her. I hesitated, knowing exactly what was coming.?
Not wishing to be rude, I sat, holding the jacket and my bag tightly on my lap. Of course, she plonked next to me, pushing her sunglasses onto the top of her head.?
“The shop is good,” I answered her question with a pang, “but there's still quite a lot to do.”
Her sharp nod was accompanied by a smirk. And here it came...
“Lily is currently in New York.” She closed her eyes slowly. “Helping a billionaire to adopt twins. She's able to afford a house in the centre of town now, but she chooses to stay closer to us.”
Humming a reply, I looked at my phone, ducking my head when I saw Moth's name, which I had saved as soon as his first message came through.?
You should deal with your stalker problem.?
Fire burned my insides as I frowned down at the words.?
“And Lionel has got a promotion. He's going to be interviewing Tom Cruise!” She laughed loudly. “Imagine that?”
Usually, Barb's gloating would piss me off. She had a bad habit of making me feel like a complete and utter failure. Her kids had fifteen years on me, and she told literally anyone who would listen, but it still reminded me of my shortcomings.?
Today didn't matter though. The heat that had fired up inside was due to Moth and his ignorant remark.?
You don't think I've tried? He's evil and the police don't care.
I had no idea why I was explaining my business to the guy who had wanted to end it all.?
Anyway, you need to deal with your bridge jumper issues.?
My hand clapped over my mouth as the message sent. Shit, I'd aimed to match his grumpiness, but I'd hit below the belt. I’d intended to stop him from doing anything stupid, not push him towards it.?
Barb was still talking, but the blood rushing in my ears had drowned her out until she said my favourite word.
“Book.”
“Sorry, what?” I turned to her. “I missed that.”
Smiling kindly, she put a hand on my arm. “I said, you should get that author who writes the sexy stuff. EG John's?”
Frowning, I pushed my hair behind my shoulder. “Do you mean EL James?”?
Her eyes lit up. “Yes, that's the one. I love her books and a signing in your new shop would attract a big audience.”
Blinking, I stared at her, unable to form an answer to her confession. Okay, so a lot of people had read Fifty Shades of Grey, but…Barb?
“Oh,” she muttered, jumping up, “here's my stop. Take care, dear.”
My phone buzzed and drew my attention away from the elderly lady who liked kink books.?
It's only an issue because you stopped me.
Don't talk like that. I typed. Please.
Tears filled my eyes as my brother came into my mind. He'd struggled with so much for so long. And yet, I missed him every single day.?
You can keep the jacket. I hope you're able to get your ex sorted. Bye.
Fuck me, talk about being blunt and confusing. I had no idea of the age of my saviour. Maybe I'd painted a fake picture of the biker in shining leather, making him older and more rescuable than he actually was.?
Sighing, I sat back in the seat and watched the world go by. It was stupid to be attracted to a guy in a helmet when I was too busy dealing with Brandon and my newish business venture.
Okay. Thank you for rescuing me last night. I appreciate it. Bye.
He was right to push me away. He could've been an eighteen-year-old, struggling with life, for all I knew. I had too much going on to worry about a stranger, even if he'd got me hot and bothered.
Standing as my stop appeared in the distance, I sighed. I'd been doing okay since I’d left school ten years ago, but when my brother took his life two years ago, everything had gone to shit. Hence why I'd taken the brazen decision to open my own book shop and fucking live my life to the full. Except, I hadn’t anticipated how stressful it would be.
“Thanks!” I called to the driver as the bus came to a stop and the doors whooshed open.
I climbed down, straight onto the street. Teenage students were making their way to the school down the road, some waving at me as they passed. Several of them had fallen in love with the bookshop and often visited. I smiled, suddenly remembering why I'd set out to actualise my vision. Yes, I was a sad twenty-eight-year-old, fighting a losing battle with my ex, but bringing joy to teens who loved to read. It was well worth it.
“Alia!” one of them called as I stepped to the shop door and took out my keys. “Have you got the newest Sarah J. Maas in yet?”
Looking over my shoulder, I smiled at Gracie. She was my first and favourite customer. She'd visited the shop almost every day since I’d opened three months ago.
“It's due in today.” I winked as she walked past with her friends.
“See you after school!” She waved goodbye, her warmth radiating from her and sinking into me as I unlocked the door and went into the shop.
There was a little walkway in front of me, lined by a wooden bannister on either side. A few steps took me to the centre of the shop, where I looked up to the ceiling, which was painted like the blue sky with fluffy white clouds. To the left, it curved back round to the bay window, where there were several couches and thick coffee tables carved from tree stumps. Mythical creatures hung from the ceiling, dragons and Valkyrie, hovering over a mountain that jutted out of the wall. A crafty acquaintance had moulded the half mountain and mounded it to the wall. I’d adorned it with little fairies and fantasy creatures that splashed in the fake waterfall. The rest of the wall was painted to extend the scene, depicting a fantasy land.
The shelves around the mountain were full of fantasy books of all sub-genres, enticing the reader to try before they buy.
On the right side of the floor, there was a kid’s corner and a small group of tables and chairs for those wanting some lunch. A set of stairs, on the left hand side, just after the fantasy section, lead to the upper floor. At the top of the stairs, to the left, there was the contemporary romance reading room and to the right, my top secret room.
Bringing my attention back to the downstairs, I licked my lips and pushed on. At the back of the shop, there were two counters that almost ran the length of the room, the left side selling food and drinks, the right a sales counter.The little area behind that was for food storage, food prep and the back exit.
“Hello, beautiful,” I greeted my passion project. “I wonder if anyone will come and see us today.”
I'd been so busy decorating and getting the downstairs finished that I hadn't had time to advertise properly. Word of mouth had spread between the teens, but they weren't around during the day. Plus, they didn't have much money to spend in the shop. Not that I minded them browsing and reading, I would let them do that whenever they wanted. However, I hoped to attract the passion readers, maybe make a friend or two at the same time.
The doorbell pinged and I turned as I placed the leather jacket on the counter. An older woman with a ponytail and long grey jacket smiled shyly.
“Welcome!” I greeted, trying not to look intrusive. “Please feel free to have a look around or read for a bit.”
Smiling, she went over to the fantasy section and had a little look, running her hand on the fake mountain and studying the little fairies.
I busied myself turning on the coffee machine and firing up the cash register. I still hadn't honed my customer service skills. Being an introvert hadn't helped, but I'd been determined to push past my fears.
“This is beautiful,” the lady called, grinning when I poked my head out from behind the food counter, “Did you design it yourself?”
Humming an affirmative, I came out into the shop and forced myself to keep my hands by my side, instead of wringing them in front of me. “I did! I've been a reader my whole life and after I lost my brother, who was a writer, I vowed to make my dream come true. Oh gosh…” Holding my hand over my mouth, I gulped. “I'm so sorry, that's too much information.”
Laughing softly, the woman shook her head and put a hand on my arm. “Oh no, not at all. I'm sorry for your loss.”
Swallowing the lump that came to my throat, I nodded to distract myself. “Thank you.”
“And do you have a contemporary romance section?” She looked around, her eyes searching the labels above the shelves.
Oh shit. I always got nervous when someone asked me the question, even though it was my favourite genre.
“Yes!” I replied, gesturing towards the stairs. “Well, almost. Upstairs, I'm working on my contemp room. Would you…? I mean, if you're a contemp fan, I could use an opinion?”
Her eyes widened, lighting up as she nodded enthusiastically. “Yes please! I've been reading contemp since I was fourteen years old. When I saw this place open, I looked through the windows but I couldn't see a section, so didn't come in. When I saw how enthusiastic that young girl was just now, I thought I'd give it a chance.”
Indicating that she follow me, I started up the steps that were on the left, between the fantasy section and the food counter.
As we trod up the steps, I chewed on my bottom lip. I'd hidden this side of me from most people, so to show it to a stranger was nerve-wracking.?
“I'm honoured to be allowed up here!” The woman, I hadn't even asked her name, said behind me.?
I arrived at the top of the stairs where there was a small walkway with three doors, one on either side and the toilets ahead.?
“This is the contemp room,” I said, leading her to the left.
Inside the room, the walls were decorated with half white panelling and cutesy white wallpaper, covered in teapots. Bookshelves were attached to the walls intermittently, showing every possible contemporary book I could get hold of. Each bookshelf was labelled with the sub-genre at the top, painted on a panel in gorgeous script.
White-washed sideboards held cutlery and sauces while sofas with coffee tables were in each corner. Several round tables dotted between them with cushioned chairs tucked under.Perfect for eating a light lunch with friends.
“Oh, I love it.” The kind woman went straight over to the shelves, scanning the books until she was all the way to the other side. “But I can't find dark romance? Do you not stock it?”
The corner of my lip quirked. A girl after my own heart. “Come this way.”
Going through the archway, I led her through the opposite door, straight into my favourite part of the shop.?
“Welcome to the darkness.” I opened my arms as she followed me inside.?
This room was bigger than the other one?stretching away to where a stage lined the other end. A small semi-circular bar was being built to the left corner side of the stage, the parts of it over the floor. On the walls on either side of the door there were shelves for dark romance, gothic and horror books. Tables, couches and chairs dotted around, filling the space of the room. The whole room was painted black with various coloured lights in the ceiling, highlighting different parts of the room and the gothic features that would be finalised before opening.?
“How exciting!” The woman went straight for the dark romance. “This would make a great event space. Are you allowed to serve alcohol? It would be incredible to have somewhere to come where no one is going to judge me for my taste in books.”
Grinning, I nodded. “Exactly. During the day, people can come and read in privacy and we'll serve coffee from downstairs. In the evenings, we're allowed a short alcohol licence, so we'll have a few events like music and readings, local authors and that type of thing.”
The woman's eyes widened and she shuddered. “Congratulations on making such an incredible space. I can read with indiscreet covers and talk dirty like I've never been able to before.”
“No offence,” I said, “but I never would've guessed.”
Laughing, she waved a hand in dismissal. “Never judge a book by its cover, girl, you know that.”
“I do.” I put my hands on my hips. “And I'm sorry.”
Walking towards the stage, she looked over her shoulder. “No need to apologise. My husband always says I'm a dirty bitch with the face of an angel.”
My insides warmed as she got up on the stage and turned to face me, opening her mouth wide. “Wake me up inside,” she sang, “wake me up inside, call my name and save me from the dark.”
I stared, my own mouth dropped open as she hopped off the stage. “You're a singer?”?
Shrugging, she smoothed her ponytail. “In my spare time. I'd love to do a gig here, if you'd have me... no fee, of course, I'm not famous enough for that.”
She came to me, her cheeks pink and her energy high.?
“Yes please! I'm not ready to open upstairs yet, but when I do, I'd love you to be the first to perform. As long as you don't mind no fee, I've not been open long enough to pay.”
“Bitch, please,” she replied, crossing her arms over her waist, “it won't be long until this place is heaving. Plus, I'm a starving artist outside of my job, so I don't mind. Anyway, I'm Kat.” Offering her hand, she smiled. “And I'm happy to do anything I can to help.”
And just like that, I had a new friend.