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“Morning, Jean,” I called as I entered. I had a key despite rarely being in the shop by myself.
The store owner didn’t reply, though a light was on in the stockroom. I frowned and made my way in, pausing when I saw Jean sitting in his usual seat, staring down at a piece of paper.
“Hey,” I said, trying not to startle him.
He looked up, the usual twinkle in his emerald eyes absent. “Oh, Julietta. It’s you.” With a heavy sigh, he set the paper aside.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
He didn’t answer right away. He scrubbed a wrinkled hand down his worn face, then said, “I’m afraid, my girl, that I won’t have a job for you after this month.”
I inhaled sharply. “What? Why not?”
“The bank doesn’t think we’re doing well enough. They’re foreclosing the mortgage.”
His words were a punch straight to my heart. “But they can’t do that.” I knew that wasn’t true, but I didn’t want to believe it. I needed this job as long as Romero planned to withhold the money I’d made. Without it, I had no way of making it on my own.
“I’m afraid there’s nothing more I can do,” Jean said. “We’ll have to mark everything down to basically nothing and hope we can sell off most of it before the bank comes in and gets their grubby fingers on my work.” He shook his head, looking around the storeroom. “My livelihood.”
I felt tears burn my eyes and swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry, Jean.”
Slapping his palms on his thighs, he cleared his throat and got to his feet. “Well, what’s done is done. No use crying about it now. Come on, girlie. Let’s open shop.”
I followed him out and got to work, marking everything down. The morning passed in silence until the store’s doorbell chimed.
I came out of the aisle I’d been in and headed for the door to greet the customer. “Welcome to Jean’s Shoes and Repairs, how can I—”
I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw who stood in the doorway: Kieran, looking like a Greek god carved from pure, arctic ice. His sharp jaw and even sharper eyes held me frozen in place.
“Julietta,” he greeted politely. He took in the small shop, allowing me a shallow breath. “Quaint little place.”
“For now,” Jean barked from a few rows down. “Everything is on sale!”
Kieran blinked in confusion and I offered an apologetic smile.
“We’re uh—the place is getting shut down, I guess,” I supplied.
The intense, beautiful man nodded his understanding. Taking a few steps, he plucked up a handmade leather shoe from a display stand and turned it over in his hands. “That’s too bad,” he commented. “Shoemakers are so rare these days. It’s mostly machines now.”
Though he spoke softly, Jean still piped up. “Tell the damned bank that! They don’t care. Ruddy expensive building.”
A smile curved Kieran’s sensual lips, though it only managed to make him look more intimidating.
He turned to me and said, “Is there somewhere we can speak in private?”
I bit my lip and nodded. Striding past him, I pushed out the front door and walked around the side of the building, hearing Kieran’s quiet footfalls behind me. We stopped at the back, near the loading dock.
“This is about as private as it gets,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
Kieran nodded. “I’ve come to make my own offer in person.”
My arms dropped to my sides. “Does Romero know you’re here?” I asked.
He paused, then his smile returned, looking too much like sin and heaven all at once. I imagined what those lips might feel like on mine. Or on other parts of my body.
“If he doesn’t, I’d be incredibly surprised. Although, he’s been burying himself with work lately.” His words were pointed, and I blushed.
