Chapter 8
Three months later
Ava
“Ava, we’ve got a delivery coming in about a half hour.” A small figure bustles through Elizabeth’s Little Bookshop, bundled up in wintry layers. “Don’t worry about unpacking it. We can handle it when I’m back.”
“You sure?” I ask my boss, Lily, from the window display panel where I’m setting up a selection of overlooked new releases.
“Very.” She turns back and flashes her pretty smile, which makes her green eyes sparkle. “You just focus on selling books and being your usual charming self.”
I laugh. “I’ll do my best. See you later.” I wave as she darts out of the store.
I watch through the window as a big, broad-shouldered man appears on the sidewalk and sweeps her into his arms.
My silly heart skitters.
I’m still a romantic, despite everything.
Vaughn is Lily’s mate, and an Alpha wolf shifter.
They met a year ago, when she fled to her mom’s old house in Perdue to escape a forced marriage.
Vaughn was looking after the house, because he was her mom’s best friend when they were kids.
He’s a few years older than her, of course, but the sparks flew big time, and… the rest is history.
He’s a little intimidating, but kind, and he totally dotes on Lily. His protectiveness is on another level. Typical wolf, she tells me. I don’t know if that’s true, but I can tell the two of them are fated mates. Their bond is incredible. They even seem to know what the other is thinking.
The store is quiet this midwinter’s afternoon.
I figure a lot of people are staying indoors.
Snow is piled up at the edges of the sidewalk and there’s a cold wind blowing.
It often gets busier after five p.m. though, when people finish work for the day and come in to get their reading fix.
The bookstore has been open for six months.
Lily says it was slow going at first. Folks in Perdue are suspicious of new things.
But she patiently built up the business, and now we entice new customers with all kinds of themed evenings.
I’ve got a ton of ideas for events, and Lily listens enthusiastically.
She says I’m the bookworm buddy she’s always dreamed of.
A bright orange van pulls up in front of the window—the delivery.
I prop open the front door and the delivery guy struggles in, lugging three boxes stuffed full of new books.
I get tingles at the thought of all those stories, just waiting to be read.
I direct him to drop them at the rear of the room, sign a slip of paper, and he’s off again.
I’ve finished the window display and I’m alone in the store.
Might as well stack some of those deliveries.
I tear open the first box eagerly. The top layer is a brand-new regency romance from one of my favorite authors.
I snatch it up and scan the blurb on the back cover.
I’m so tempted to spend the rest of the day lost in it.
Lily encourages me to read when the store is quiet—she says it’s important that I can discuss books with customers.
But I also want to prove my worth to her. I make a deal with myself: I’ll stack all the deliveries, and then I’ll go full-on bookworm.
I lay out all the romances on the shelves, then I get to work on a bunch of school textbooks. I pull out a step and climb up to slip some boring-looking math book onto a higher shelf, and—
A weird flutter darts across my stomach.
Whoa. I press my hand to the spot. What was that? Maybe my lunch didn’t agree with me—
But there it is again… and again.
I gasp.
My baby.
I know it. I know it in the same way I knew I was pregnant a week after that night with Stinger.
“Oh, my god,” I whisper. My baby is kicking—for the first time.
I clamber down from the step before I fall down. I stroke my belly, tears stinging my eyes. The first time I’ve felt it move inside me.
And I don’t have a single soul to tell about it.
I stumble to the cash register and perch on the high stool while I get my breath back.
I’ve been real lucky so far. Beyond a touch of nausea, I didn’t get morning sickness during my first trimester, and it’s been easy to hide my pregnancy.
But now it’s moving, and so early. Guess it’s because it’s a shifter baby?
How long before I start showing, now?
How long before I have to admit to my new boss that I got knocked up on the way to start my dream job?
I have no idea how she’ll react. What maternity leave she’ll offer me, if anything.
In Perdue, things don’t work like they do in the rest of the world.
When I asked Lily if she could pay me in cash, she agreed right away.
She’s been so great, helping me find accommodation, advancing me my first paycheck, introducing me to people. She’s going to be so disappointed.
I’m so, so mad at myself for getting into this situation.
For having a baby as a single mom—especially after the way I was raised.
For screwing up my dream job.
For throwing away my dreams of losing my virginity to the man I was going to marry.
Shame burns my cheeks as that night rolls through my mind again.
For saying I didn’t need to use protection.
Who the hell knows why that dumbass comment fell from my lips?
All for the sake of one hot moment at a truck stop.
All such a mistake—
My breath catches as desire flickers to life inside me again.
Okay, the sex part doesn’t feel like a mistake.
That was… way, way hotter than anything I could’ve imagined. I still get wet at the thought of it now. The thought of Stinger’s huge, muscular naked body. Of his thick cock pushing inside me, taking my virginity. His skillful tongue. All those orgasms.
Crap, I’m squeezing my thighs together like some kind of pervert. I stand up, pace up and down the little store.
At least when I start to show, being pregnant with some other man’s baby should keep all the scary dudes of Perdue at bay.
You won’t last a minute in Perdue, Stinger told me.
Well, he was dead wrong. I’m surviving here. I’ve built a little life, and I’m proud of myself for doing that.
And, most importantly, I’m safe. No one is looking for me.
But the truth is, I can’t stop thinking about him. The man who took my virginity.
Not the prince charming of my childish fantasies, but a fierce, growly truck driver who saved me—twice. Then gave me the most passionate, incredible night of my life.
And impregnated me.
I don’t expect to see him again. I know he’s banned from Perdue. And I’m relieved. I don’t want him to know about the baby. I’m going to do this all by myself. My baby might not have a daddy, but I’m going to make sure it grows up with nothing but love, support and encouragement—
A shape appears at the window. I jump, my nerves jangling. But it’s just Lily, bustling in, trailing laughter from her conversation with Vaughn. She glances at me and her face fills with concern.
“Are you okay, hun? You’re real pale.” She comes right over and lays a hand on my shoulder.
I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. “Yeah, I’m fine, thanks. Guess I didn’t sleep too well last night.”
She takes in the empty boxes. “And you’ve been working way too hard. I told you to leave these for later. I want you to knock off an hour early today.”
“No, it’s fine—”
She holds up a finger. “No arguments. You’ve done plenty of overtime lately.”
“Okay.” I flash a grateful smile. I sure could do with a little time to myself to process.
At five p.m., Vaughn bursts into the store, the wooden boards creaking under his heavy tread.
“Hey, Ava,” he calls, then he greets Lily like they’ve been apart for two weeks, rather than two hours.
“Okay, you’re outta here, Ava,” Lily tells me.
I go grab my coat, hat and gloves from the back. It’s almost dark, and I step out onto the sidewalk cautiously, watching for icy patches.
I’m heading to the apartment I share with Elinor, a hectic little crow shifter.
I wonder if she’ll be home now. She works shifts in a bar and I can’t remember if she’s doing days or evenings this week.
I’m kind of hoping she’ll be there. Maybe I’ll tell her about the baby.
She’s pretty cool, and she’s been a great friend to me—
What am I thinking? She won’t want to share an apartment with a chick with a baby.
My gut tightens. I wouldn’t blame her. I was so happy when Lily put us in touch with each other, and we got on like a house on fire.
Elinor used to live in the hostel above Sinner’s Refuge where she works, and I always lived in one of my family’s properties, so it was the first time each of us was looking for our own place.
We found a cute apartment after a couple of days of searching, and it feels like home.
Fairy lights in the living room, inspirational slogans on fridge magnets. Freezer full of cookie dough ice cream.
I feel sick at the thought she might ask me to move out.
Probably better not to tell her. I’ve got to keep this secret for as long as I can—
“Ava?” a deep voice calls. A tall dark figure is looming up to me. The back of my neck prickles.
“Ava Benotto? How’re you doing?”
I stiffen. He’s acting like we’re friends, but no one in Perdue knows my last name. I’ve been using a fake one at the bookshop. This is bad news.
I search his features, trying to work out whether I recognize him.
He’s tall and slim, dressed in a long wool overcoat, and carrying a folder under his arm.
“Who are you?” I demand, shoving my panic away. I’ve got to stay calm. I’ve got my baby to protect now.
He clears his throat and presents the folder to me.
I know what it is: a goddamn subpoena. The thing—or one of the things I’ve most feared ever since I left my family.
“Ava Benotto, you are—”
“No way. This is not happening,” I yell. “You come after me, you’ll be very sorry.”
I turn on my heel and stride away.