Chapter 3 #2
“Oh, you’re right,” Milo said, bouncing up on their toes. “We always come Tuesdays and Thursdays, but we had this big boring board meeting—”
“A triple B, if you will,” Ray said, smirking at Milo, who elbowed him before continuing.
“Yes, a big boring board meeting this week, and the only day we could find time to slip away was today. I’m so glad we ran into you again, and it was great to meet you, Troy.”
The front door opened and a large group of business folk streamed around them towards the counter.
“We should probably find a seat before there aren’t any left,” Troy said.
It didn’t look like there were any four-seaters available, and the only two pairs of seats open were on opposite sides of the room.
“Maybe we’ll see you here again sometime,” Milo said, their smile much smaller than before as they used two of the fingers wrapped around their coffee cup to give a tiny wave.
“Next time, then,” Rowan said, inclining his head as Troy headed in one direction and Ray—with one more backward glance at Rowan—headed in the other.
Rowan’s hawk fluttered his tail feathers, but there was nothing Rowan could do, short of chasing after Milo and begging for their phone number. He thought he recognized several of his staff in the cafe, though, so he definitely wasn’t going to do that.
Troy and Rowan took their seats, and before Rowan could take his first sip of coffee, Troy placed both hands on the table and leaned across it.
“Tell me everything,” he said, and Rowan sank back into the overly stuffed armchair.
“About how I finally signed that shipping contract with Rexford Shipping Co?” Rowan tried.
Troy was having none of it. He ticked his chin across the room at Milo and Ray.
“There really isn’t much to tell,” Rowan said carefully, cognizant of the fact that he hadn’t told either of his sisters about this and had only shared the bare minimum with Ruben about killing time with a stranger at the theater bar.
“We met while I was waiting for Ruben to get his ass in gear and meet me for a movie. Milo is…a very interesting person, who shares way too much information with strangers.”
Troy took a long sip of his coffee. “And you’ve been talking ever since?”
Rowan’s hawk let out a mournful cry, and Rowan shook his head to try to dispel it. “No, we didn’t exchange phone numbers, so this is only the second time we’ve spoken.”
“Are you serious?” Troy asked, and Rowan knew he would be hearing about this later from Raina.
“Yes.”
“And in just one conversation, you told them you’re touch-averse? When it took you two months of constant handshakes and awkward bro-hugs to tell me?”
Rowan ducked his head. “I’m sorry again—”
“It’s seriously all good. I’m just saying, they must be pretty special if you opened up to them that fast.”
Rowan’s hawk shuffled from foot to foot before settling down quite primly on his nest. While Rowan would never hurt a feather on his alpha’s head, this past week had him wanting to shake his inner beast. What exactly did he want from Rowan? For them to befriend the strange shifter?
“I didn’t tell them,” Rowan said, tapping his foot against the tile floor.
He could only look at Troy’s surprised face for so long before his eyes drifted across the room to where Ray and Milo had gone to sit.
Milo was saying something to Ray, who was nodding, until his brows pinched together and he began shaking his head aggressively.
Milo’s eyes flitted over to Rowan and Troy for just a beat before they grabbed Ray’s arm, shaking it back and forth until Ray sighed and patted their hand.
“You have got to get their number, man. Look at you. You’re basically pining.”
Rowan jerked his head to the side to glare at Troy. “What?”
“You meet a cute shifter—”
“Cute?” Rowan asked, grabbing onto the subject change with both hands.
Troy had spent the better part of his twenties and early thirties getting an MBA and working his way up the corporate ladder. As far as Rowan knew, Raina was his first and only romantic partner. He had no idea if Troy was attracted to anyone other than women—or, frankly, anyone other than Raina.
“I mean, they’re definitely not ugly, right?” Troy said with an easy shrug. “Sure, their clothes are a little odd, but they have cheekbones and swoopy hair and shit. I’ve seen enough of the folks you’ve gone on dates with to know what you find attractive.”
Rowan gripped his cup a little harder than he meant to, and the lid popped off. “Cheekbones and swoopy hair?”
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You make it sound like I’m sixteen with a crush.”
“Okay, so what are you looking for?” Troy asked, sitting back in his seat with a smirk on his lips.
Rowan used the question as an excuse to look back over at Milo.
They were once again wearing an eclectic outfit consisting of a tunic with large mushrooms on it over top of slim cut magenta trousers and short pink heels.
The tunic was…interesting, but the pants accentuated their long legs and looked nice with the heels.
The longer Rowan stared, the more he realized that Milo did, in fact, have very nice cheekbones, and their hair did swoop expertly to the side. It looked like the kind of hair someone would want to run their fingers through. Except…
“I’m not looking for anything,” Rowan said, carefully pressing the lid of his cup back into place. “You know how my last several dates went.”
“They were assholes, man,” Troy said, leaning forward in his seat again. “I bet there are lots of folks out there who would not only get you but love you for you.”
Rowan narrowed his eyes at his favorite brother-in-law.
He was also his only brother-in-law, but that wasn’t the point.