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“If you don’t mind, I’d like for you to do it.”
“Not a problem at all. Josh loves those things. He’s got it down to a fine science,” he said with a laugh. The younger guy, who I assumed was Josh, rolled his eyes and retrieved the box from the living room.
“I’ll let you two finish up with that,” she said, feeling awkward just standing in the doorway watching them.
Much to her surprise, the hottie followed her back out. He busied himself double checking the balance on the table and chairs as she began opening some more boxes and laying them out on the kitchen counter, deciding where they would go.
“This is a nice place. You’ve got good taste,” he said.
“Thank you. I just moved in, obviously.”
“Right. We have some very nice bookcases that would go well in your office if you were looking to put something more than just a desk in there.”
“I am, but actually, I was thinking more along the lines of having shelves built along the back wall and around the one side. I don’t own the house, but I was told that it is going on the market and that I would have first option to buy, so why wait to make improvements? I’ve only been here a few days, but I already love it.”
“Well, if you want to go that route, we can certainly help you with that too.”
“You know a carpenter then?”
“I am a carpenter. My family owns the furniture store. Grant Lyonas, by the way. Hold on. I have a card here somewhere.”
“Oh, wow. That would be great. I would ask for references, but I already love your furniture, so I guess that is reference enough.”
“Thank you. We do our best. Everything is made by either my father or myself, sometimes a group effort. Josh in there is my little brother. He’s still learning, but he’s a whiz at putting the pre-fab stuff together.”
After a bit of digging around in his pockets, he produced a business car and handed it to her. She glanced at it. Lyonas & Sons Furniture. There was a number for the shop and someone named Dan Lyonas, who she assumed was his father.
“My number is on the back. Do you want to take a look at the shelf situation now?”
“Oh, I’m not ready just yet. I don’t know when I’ll have time to get it done.”
“No problem. We can get some ideas and some measurements. I’ll keep them on file and when you are ready, we can get to work.”
“Really? That would be great.”
They returned to find Josh was already finished with the chair and wiping the dust from the box away. He helped his brother take measurements as Aileen discussed what she wanted for the room. She found herself a little mesmerized by Grant and kept trying to avert her gaze so as not to stare at him. From the smile he gave her from time to time, she was pretty sure that he noticed anyway.
Of course, it was a wasted effort. She couldn’t explain to someone like Grant, a human, what she was. She couldn’t blend in with his kind, not when, even with a human partner, she was doomed to produce a half dozen or so baby dragon shifters if they decided to have a family. Then, there was the fact that she would do so in about a third of the time as her human counterpart.
For that matter, with no clan, the baby shifters didn’t stand a chance. With no Alpha male in their bloodline, any babies would be Omega, boy or girl. Omega shifters were weaker. The women had their place, but the men ended up in accounting offices or teaching. They weren’t warriors and, in the face of any danger from another clan, relied on their stronger counterparts to protect them. To mate with a human only made them more vulnerable, so it was either that or not having children at all and denying who she really was.
“Aileen?” Grant was saying.
She realized that she had gotten lost in her thoughts and, in her confusion, wondered how he had known her name. It took a moment for it to sink in that it would have been on the work order.
‘I’m sorry. I was completely lost in thought.”
“Anything good?” he asked.
“Unfortunately not,” she replied.
Aileen watched his face fall. No doubt, with her overt interest, he had assumed it was about him, which wasn’t wrong. He could never imagine what her thoughts really entailed, though. He and Josh left with notes about her shelves and she locked the door behind them, unsure if she would ever let him return. He was a taboo she couldn’t afford, not now . . . maybe not ever. She could get the shelves done by someone else or, like he originally suggested, just order some bookcases.
