Chapter 13
On Sunday morning, Emmeline rubbed her temples as she rushed to the bookshop.
She had informed Luke she would be coming in today, though it was the weekend.
Sunday was the bookshop’s busiest day, and she wanted to study the bookshop at its peak to deduce how many workers the coffee shop would need over the weekend versus throughout the week.
While she hadn’t told Luke as much, he had confirmed that he would be there as well, bright and early.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t slept well the night before, so she was already in a crabby mood.
They had come back from Millie’s later than planned because Ira had wanted Emmeline to do bedtime with her.
Millie had said Emmeline should just stay over, but Emmeline already had plans to go to the bookshop today, so she had soldiered through and flew back at night, something Motu was decidedly not happy about.
Of course, once it was time to go home, the baby dragon had suddenly realized that Noah and Ira were his long-lost best friends whom he could not bear to be parted from. Emmeline was now his number one enemy, for she had ripped him away from those he loved most.
He had been fussy when they’d returned to her place, bothering her for an hour before finally falling asleep.
As such, Emmeline hardly got any sleep herself, which had led her to oversleep this morning.
She had rushed to get ready and drop Motu off at her dad’s, where the caretakers could watch the baby dragon while she rushed to town.
She had planned to pick up breakfast from the cafe, but she didn’t get a chance. Now, as she entered the bookshop, she heard her phone ringing, and pulled it out to see it was her mother.
“Hi, Ammi,” Emmeline said. She smiled and waved at Minh and Ola with her free hand, then spotted Luke heading for the office. She followed to set down her things.
“Hi,” Samreen replied. “Did you drop Motu off at home?”
Emmeline entered the office, where Luke was hanging up his coat, his back to her.
“Yes, he’s with the caretakers,” Emmeline replied as Luke pulled out his notebook, paging through. “I have to get some work done today.”
Samreen sighed a very motherly sigh, and Emmeline’s eye twitched. “It’s Sunday,” Samreen said. “You should have spent the day with your father and brothers.”
Emmeline closed her eyes, guilt needling through her. Her mother was always making her feel guilty. No matter what Emmeline did, it wasn’t enough.
“I know,” Emmeline replied, opening her eyes. “I’m going to swing by later.”
Even so, she felt bad. Maybe she shouldn’t have scheduled any work today, but she had been at Millie’s all day yesterday, and she was running woefully behind on her proposal.
This was a busy time, and during a busy time, one had to work extra hours.
Samreen hummed. “Okay,” she said. “They’ve been ordering in, so try and cook something when you go. If you can.”
“Yes, Ammi,” she replied, pinching the bridge of her nose, thumb brushing against her nose-ring. She noticed Luke watching her then, and she bristled. She had forgotten he was there. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
Emmeline hung up, throwing her phone into her purse. When she glanced up, Luke was still watching her.
“Hasn’t anyone told you it’s rude to eavesdrop?” she snapped.
“Excuse me,” Luke replied, dark eyes glinting. “Hasn’t anyone told you it’s rude to take a call in an office where others are trying to work?”
He was right, which only worsened her already vile mood. She glowered at Luke, hoping it would keep him away, but he only raised his brows, as if vaguely amused.
“You’re perky this morning,” he said, seemingly unbothered. She hissed.
“Here,” he said, handing her a thermos. “I brought you chai.”
Emmeline stilled. He had brought her chai? Precisely what she was missing and sorely needed now?
For a moment, tears pricked her eyes, and the amusement on his countenance shifted into concern. Embarrassment spread through her, and she quickly looked away.
“Why would you do that?” she asked, genuinely not understanding. Then, it was his turn to look away.
“Don’t worry, it wasn’t on purpose or anything,” he said, voice cavalier. “I ended up making extra and thought it would be better to bring it along instead of throwing it out.”
“Oh,” she said, though she still hesitated about taking the thermos from him.
“Besides, you can be quite devilish before your morning caffeine, so I thought it would be good to have on hand in case you didn’t get any this morning,” he continued, and the fact that he knew such a thing made her feel a sharp emotion she couldn’t quite pin down.
He said the words easily, as if they were excuses he had practiced. She didn’t know if she should believe him or not, but the fact remained that she desperately needed caffeine.
Hesitantly, she took the thermos, taking off the lid. Steam rose from the top. “Thank you,” she said, looking up at him.
He smiled. “’Course.”
Just as she was about to take a sip, he said, “Oh, and I poisoned it.” She paused, pulling the cup away from her mouth to glare at him. He gave her a boyish smile. “Just kidding.”
“I am going to choke you,” she threatened, then took a sip.
“Dirty talk, Sterling?” he said, checking his watch. “This early in the morning?”
She almost spat the chai out at that, and he snickered to himself. She clenched her jaw.
After setting down her things, she took off her jacket, revealing one of her favorite black dresses: a lacy number that fell to just below her knees.
The bookshop was always warm, so she wasn’t wearing any stockings today, just knee-high suede boots.
After hanging up her jacket, she slung her purse back on her arm.
Luke sat down in his usual seat, but turned when he saw she wasn’t sitting down beside him.
Grabbing the thermos, she stalked outside. A moment later, he had followed her out.
“I see we’re changing tactics,” he said.
“We are not doing anything,” she replied curtly, walking over to the side of the bookshop, stopping by a bookshelf. He followed.
“Any particular reason you wanted to come in on a Sunday?” he asked, watching as she pulled her notebook out of her purse. Taking a sip of chai, she narrowed her eyes at him.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she replied. He waited, curious. Maybe this was how she would get back at him for being so irritating, by not telling him.
Emmeline was in the center of the bookshop, with a clear view of the front door and the front desk.
Sipping her chai (which was really quite good), she watched as customers entered through the front door, the first of the day.
It was a couple with a blue-scaled azura baby dragon bouncing by their feet.
“Fine,” Luke said. “Don’t tell me.” He leaned against the other side of the bookshelf. She was momentarily distracted by the long stretch of his torso, the muscles of his arms as he folded them across his chest.
Blinking, she shook her head. Insufferable.
Emmeline turned her attention to the bookshop. She could feel Luke watching her, but she refused to glance over at him. Instead, she made a note of when the couple had entered in her notebook. A few moments later, the front door dinged; an old man entered.
She continued watching, making notes whenever anybody entered. About fifteen minutes later, the couple with the azura baby dragon left without purchasing anything, and she wrote that down as well. Then, five minutes later, she saw the old man go to the front desk to pay for a book.
She wrote that down. Along with studying how busy the bookshop got, she was studying how long customers spent in the shop, since customers who stayed longer would be more inclined to purchase a coffee as they browsed as opposed to customers who were only popping in to quickly make a purchase.
“Ah, so that’s what you’re doing,” Luke said, not even hiding the fact that he was reading her notes from over her shoulder. Closing her notebook with a snap, she threw it back into her purse. She turned her face to glare at him.
As she did, she startled; she hadn’t realized he was standing so close.
Her pulse quickened as she stared into the depths of his dark eyes. There were fine lines around his eyes, a sign of age that hadn’t been there when they were twenty-two. For some reason, she wanted to press her finger along the crease, to feel just how much he had changed.
Seven years was a long time. There was so much about him she didn’t know—and suddenly, she realized she wanted to learn more about him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Emmeline said, taking a step away from him.
“You’re studying how long customers stay in the shop,” he said. “I’ll bet you’re trying to work out what percentage will be likely to buy coffee as they browse.”
“No,” she replied, but he was clever, which was irritating. Unfortunately, his competence was also very attractive.
“Good idea.” He flashed her a smile, then disappeared and reappeared thirty seconds later with his notebook and pen.
Emmeline scowled. The front door dinged with another customer, and she turned her attention there, trying not to focus on the irritating presence of Luke beside her.
He stayed with her throughout the day, watching and jotting down notes. She tried to find some way to get rid of him, but no matter how she moved around the store, they ended up back in each other’s space.
Even so, her bad mood gave way. It was impossible to stay upset for long when you were surrounded by shelves and shelves of books, three entire stories full. Emmeline watched as some people quietly browsed while others showed book covers to their friends and partners.
A white-scaled baby dragon flapped through the air, landing on top of one of the bookshelves, wings spread as it looked down.
Another baby dragon—a red-scaled garneta—held onto a stack of books while its rider browsed, patiently sitting at the end of the bookshelf while it waited.
She watched as a basalta baby dragon bounced over to the fireplace, blowing a little flame of fire onto the wood, which crackled.
With a smile, she inhaled the scent of woodsmoke, which mingled with the smell of ink and paper. She continued taking notes and tracking the customers, getting a good idea of the market.
A little while later, feeling warm, she gathered her hair and twisted it up. As she did, she realized Luke was watching her, his pen stopped mid-motion.
“What?” she snapped, securing her hair with a clip. He closed his notebook, coming over to her in a few long strides.
Her heartbeat quickened at how close he was, the intent expression on his face. She gave him an odd look, unsure what he was doing as he lifted a hand up. Before she could react, he reached up and undid the clip in her hair, letting her long tresses unfurl and fall down.
“I like your hair down,” he said, voice earnest. Her cheeks felt warm. At the same time, indignation flashed through her.
Where did he get the audacity from to say such things to her?
“And I like your mouth shut,” she replied. “But we can’t all get what we want.”
He cocked his head to the side, as if in thought. “I don’t think that’s true,” he said, his gaze flicking down to her lips. “Not if I remember correctly.”
Emmeline blinked, heat pouring through her. He smirked. What was wrong with him? He was utterly ridiculous and absurd.
“You don’t,” she snapped, snatching her clip from his hand. Turning on her heel, she stalked away. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do anything about her racing pulse.
She had been minding her own business—why would he say such a thing? Releasing an irritated breath, she rubbed her temples. He was just trying to get under her skin, to distract her, she reminded herself. She wouldn’t let him.
Instead, she re-focused on the customers in the store.
She watched as an old man browsed the shelves, taking his time.
He pulled out different books, reading the back copy, then opening the pages to the first chapter.
After reading a page or two, he either set the book back on the shelf, or dropped it off at one of the tables.
As he browsed, his baby dragon bounced by his feet, happily following along.
The blue-scaled dragon flew up to look over his rider’s shoulder, and the old man lifted the book, showing the dragon, as if the baby could read. Emmeline smiled to herself. After about fifteen minutes of browsing, the old man paid for two books, and Emmeline jotted down notes from his visit.
Along with tracking trends, Emmeline tried to find some way to get back at Luke for his little stunt with the file last week, but she couldn’t find any opportunity, which was annoying.
Until she spotted a mischievous baby dragon nibbling on the end of a book. Its owner noticed and released a long-suffering sigh.
“No,” a woman scolded, pointing a finger. The red-scaled baby dragon begrudgingly dropped the book, leaving behind teeth marks; it was clearly hungry.
Just then, Luke went to get a cup of tea from the back. As he did, she saw him drop his notebook off on an empty display table, leaving his hands free.
Emmeline looked at the baby dragon, an idea flickering to life in her mind.