Chapter 5
Luke went to the Tails it was well situated in terms of the event space, but he didn’t know if the coffee shop’s proximity would disturb the events or create too much of a rush.
The third floor was also a bit out of the way, so there would be less natural foot traffic.
He checked out the second floor, which housed nonfiction and literary novels; this was by far the quietest floor, with the least traffic. While there was ample space for it, a coffee shop on this floor might disturb the patrons, who mostly seemed to be older or browsing alone, enjoying the peace.
Jotting down a note, Luke made it back to the first floor, which housed the most popular fiction and was the busiest. It seemed like the best option, but he’d need to work out where the best location would be.
Another thing he’d need to consider was the fact that they were just a street away from the Baby Dragon Cafe, which was a roaring success, so they would need to ensure their coffee shop was different.
In Luke’s opinion there could never be too many cafes, and the coffee shop extension could be beneficial to him, personally, if he could source the coffee.
He desperately needed to up his number of clients, among other things. Tempest was, to put it lightly, drowning.
About nine months ago, the owner of his roasting plant had sold the property to another corporation and, rather than keeping Luke’s rent on the place fixed, the new owner had doubled it.
Luke had been saving for a new packaging system that would save time and increase profit margins, but since the rent had doubled, all of his money had been funneled towards that bill.
Things were getting pretty dire. Which was why he needed Anh’s investment. With it, he could buy the new packaging system, and things would fall into place on their own.
Running a hand through his hair, Luke perused the first floor, passing by a fireplace with a roaring, crackling fire.
He inhaled the scent of paper, smiling to himself as he watched patrons pulling books from the shelves.
There was a magical quality to books; they were endless keepers of stories: the author’s, the book’s, the reader’s, each different and distinct.
Luke recalled now why he had loved coming here so much in university. While the bookshop was far away from where he lived in Bayview, it was close to the university and had always been a sanctuary.
But that serene feeling vanished as he turned out of a row of bookshelves and spotted an obnoxious fur coat with a matching hat. The energy that jolted through him was better than any espresso shot.
“Ugh.” Emmeline rolled her eyes when she spotted him, as if she thought he was tedious. She shrugged her coat off, revealing a tiny dress that made her long legs seem as if they went on forever. All the ideas from the last hour emptied out of his head.
Luke mentally scolded himself, reminding himself to focus.
She was his competition. He needed to beat her. The investment was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to lose; if he didn’t get it, he knew what the projections looked like.
Tempest would have to permanently close.
All those years, all that energy, and all the money he had given to his business would go to waste, and he couldn’t let that happen. Besides, it wasn’t only about him—he needed a profitable business to pay for his mother’s medical bills.
Luke walked past Emmeline. As he did, she turned her nose up at him, irritated, though the vexed expression did nothing to take away from her beauty. She slung her coat over one arm, sticking her ridiculous hat (that only she could pull off) into one of the pockets before shaking her long hair out.
For a moment, Luke was mesmerized.
“What?” Emmeline snapped, catching him looking.
Embarrassment shot through him, but he gave her an easy smile. “You have fur in your hair.”
“No I don’t.” Still, she touched a hand to the crown of her head.
Luke snorted, and she rolled her eyes at him before stalking off, disappearing from sight. Once she was gone, he felt like he could think again. He went over to the small table against the wall in the back of the shop, where there was a cart with complimentary tea and coffee.
Turning on the kettle, he made himself a cup of tea. When he took the first sip, he wrinkled his nose. This stuff really was terrible. But it was hot, and gave him something to hold, so he continued sipping from the disposable cup.
Nursing his tea, he walked around the shop, trying to see where the best position for the coffee shop on this floor was. Once he had a location locked down, he could work through the logistics.
As he analyzed, he caught a glimpse of Emmeline walking toward a bookshelf. Luke turned his attention to his notebook but lasted a second before he glanced up again, eyes searching for her. She had disappeared between the stacks, and he took a step back, craning his neck to catch a glimpse.
She was scanning the shelves, a painted fingernail tapping against one of the spines.
The image reminded him of that evening years ago, when they had first met in this very store.
Despite the busy bookshop, Luke had noticed her immediately. It was hard not to, and he wasn’t the only one; more than one head turned when she entered a room. A fact she seemed used to. Unperturbed, she had headed for the bookshelves, and he had watched as she searched for a title.
She had tilted her head to better read the spines, and her dark hair was pushed back, revealing the slant of her throat. His gaze had traveled down the slope to her collar; he’d stopped his eyes from wandering before they went lower, desire spreading through him.
Enraptured, he had watched as she strode over to the lounge chair Minh was sitting on, holding a book in one hand and a mug of tea in another.
“Minh, do you have Letters to Milena?” she had asked. “I can’t find it.”
His heart had kicked as he looked down at the book in his hands. Fate. He had picked up the last copy.
He’d walked up to her, offering her the book and his heart on a silver platter. She’d taken care of the book, he was sure, but she hadn’t handled his heart with the same delicacy.
A fact he reminded himself of often. Behind that beautiful exterior was a heartless woman. She had used and discarded him.
He should have hated her.
Unfortunately, he didn’t. She had gotten under his skin all those years ago and never left. All he wanted was to do the same, to drive her as insane as she drove him.
She walked past him to the back, pausing to pet a blue-scaled baby dragon who was trying to (incorrectly) reshelve a book.
Unable to stop himself, he tossed his empty teacup and headed in the same direction. Pretending to look around, he stole glances her way, indulging himself even as he knew he shouldn’t.
It was impossible not to look at her, like being out in the cold on a winter night for a bonfire: everyone circled around the warmth, watching the flames. No matter how far into the darkness you went, your gaze was still directed to the light.
Emmeline glanced back, and he immediately turned his attention to a random book in front of him, pretending to have been looking at it the whole time. When she turned around again, he shifted his focus back to her, wondering what ideas she was thinking of for the bookshop.
She was brilliant and clever—a fact he needed to not admire at the moment when those very qualities would lead to his downfall.
Emmeline whipped around, catching him looking. “Are you following me?” she snapped.
He absolutely was, but he looked at her like she was absurd. “Not at all,” he said. He pointed to the table behind her. “Just getting more tea.”
She narrowed her eyes at him as he strode toward her. “You hate that stuff.”
The words were spoken as if they had slipped out; her dark eyes immediately widened. He slowed his steps, stopping right in front of her.
His lips parted with surprise. She remembered that. Why would she remember that?
Could it be that she thought of that time together as often as he did?
He took a step toward her, looking closer. Before he could dissect her expression, she went to walk past him, turning her cheek.
She made it two steps before a red-scaled baby dragon shot across the bookshop, right into her path. And for the first time, Luke saw Emmeline falter.
In trying to avoid stepping on the baby dragon, she lost her balance. Arms flailing, she dropped her coat and stumbled forward. Luke stepped toward her, easily catching her as she landed straight into his arms.
Her hands clutched the front of his shirt, the fabric bunching between her fingers. He inhaled the sweet scent of jasmine on her skin. His blood quickened, roaring in his ears as he touched her bare elbows, holding her up.
Her sharp intake of breath filled his ears. She brought her gaze up to his, and he found himself drowning in her kajal-lined eyes. Her lips parted.
Suddenly, they weren’t business rivals with a complicated history—they were just two university students, their eyes big and bright.