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“I do,” I said as she slid my drink across. “My record player is tucked away somewhere.”
“You haven’t unpacked yet?” she teased. “You’ve been here like a week.”
“No. I don’t know how long I want to freeload off of my brother and I haven’t even looked for a place yet.”
“Now, Micah and I aren’t exactly friends, but he doesn’t seem the type to think you’re a freeloader,” she snorted.
“He’s not,” I said. “But I feel kind of like a loser staying there for long. What other shops are in town?” She laughed at my obvious change of topic but didn’t outright call me on it.
“Across the street from that is an antique shop. It’s a claustrophobic person’s nightmare, but you can find some gems in there and she spends her weekends closed and going to random estate sales and storage clean-outs, so she’s always got new stuff coming in. That could easily kill time. Then the taco place is a few doors down from there when you’re done. Honestly, anything you can do in town is on this road.”
“I’m starting to realize that. Though somehow, I ended up in the graveyard today and didn’t know how to get back.”
“Oh, was it Ezra that picked you up?” she questioned as she put the pieces together.
“It was,” I said. The haunted look in her eyes as she nodded knowingly meant something big had happened to Ezra that I wasn’t privy to. Was that why he wasn’t acknowledging us as mates?
Before I could ask any questions the after-work rush started, a line queuing up in seconds. She gave me a quick wave before jumping in.
I slipped out of the front door as someone came in, the person behind them going so fast they slammed right into me. Hot coffee seared at my skin and I cried out as I pulled the damp fabric away to give my poor torso some relief.
Thankfully, it was on the sidewalk and not in Walter’s shop but now my shirt was ruined, the coffee cup on the ground, and a very handsome, very angry beta glaring at me.
His long blond hair was wrapped in a bun and his pale blue eyes were full of fury.
“What the hell, dude, I like coffee but I don’t want to wear it,” I said as I fanned my shirt to cool it off faster.
“You got it on my shoes!” he growled, matching my energy. I looked down to see his white shoes quickly staining brown.
“Well, maybe if you’d paid attention and didn’t slam into people, it wouldn’t have happened,” I shot back at him. Reaching down, I picked up the crumpled cup and tossed it in the bin.
I was wet and lost my caffeine. This day just kept getting worse.
“Fucking ridiculous,” he groaned. “The entitlement of some people.”
My surprised laughter at his words had the guy turning red.
“This was not my fault,” I argued but he was stomping off down the sidewalk, done listening to me and not bothering to apologize.
My feet were glued in place as I watched him stalk away, shocked, wet, and fuming.
What a dick.
Walter walked out of the shop not bothering to say anything, simply handing me a violet shirt before walking back inside. I took it, a bit confused but grateful.
Since I’d worn a sports bra I ripped off the wet shirt and replaced it with the one Walter brought out. It was the shop’s logo in watercolor, a raven sitting on a stack of books with a steaming cup of coffee in front. I was just grateful to have something dry on.
“Stripping on the sidewalk these days? This town sure has changed since you arrived.”
“Of course, you’re here right now,” I groaned at the sound of Collin’s voice. Glad he found it amusing because I currently didn’t.
“Coffee accident?” he questioned.
“Don’t tell Micah, he already nags me about caffeine,” I said with a sigh.
“Glad it’s not just me he nags. I think he’s just jealous he can’t drink it like we can,” Collin joked.
“Well, jokes on me since some asshole bumped into me and spilled it all. Then yelled at me like it was my fault his shoes were covered in coffee and stomped off down the sidewalk,” I explained.
