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She is right. After the “accident” I was afraid to leave the shitty apartment we shared. She worked, paid the bills, and made sure I didn’t sink further into the darkness. I tried to suffer alone, but she wouldn’t let me waste away. One day she finally told me I had to pull up my big girl panties and woman the hell up. She had told me that just because I felt useless or broken didn’t mean I was. So, she forced me to attend classes for the newly blind. They taught me to read braille, and I actually picked it up pretty quickly.
After a few months, she bought up, starting our own bookshop. I laughed in her face the first time. Because come on a blind woman as a co-owner to a bookshop. That in itself was laughable, but she told me to think about it. So, I did. It took me a few days, but I had finally decided.
I was so angry at myself. I realized I allowed a man to make me feel useless, inadequate, only good for looking pretty and a good fuck. Then I allowed him to destroy me to the fullest, but I survived. At first it wasn’t really surviving but hiding. And now I see it for what it is. I was a survivor, and I was never going to be a victim again.
Two years later, Amber and I were doing really good. We had regulars. A kid’s nook. I even read to the elderly once a week, all the classics of course, but Mrs. Henson has requested a few shifter and demon harem books. She is totally my spirit animal.
“Well, one of them was nice. Xander. He helped guide me to the table when I almost fell on my ass. Maverick, the asshole, caught me. Thank god, I would have asked the ground to swallow me after that. Ugh. I thought he was sweet, because he saved me and all, but then he opened his mouth. He called the Cozy Nook a and I quote, “small insignificant bookshop”. Then I may have gotten emotional, letting a tear fall, which I think they felt bad about. But then I got angry because how dare he call this place small and insignificant.” I huff and Amber snorts again.
“This isn’t funny Amber. What do I do now? Mrs. Williams offered to help, but that’s too much to ask from her.” I pout, continuing on reading the different titles as I pull them out, stacking them on the counter. I suddenly feel sad at the fact that there is a chance I will have to sell off most of my inventory.
“Ooooh. You have a crush. First the coffee shop guy, now the investors. Wow, you have options now, girl. I haven’t met the mystery coffee guy, but I can tell you that Mr. knight in shining armor and Mr. asshole are both hot as fuck. Before you try to deny it, you have been so happy and on cloud nine since this morning. Also, they are your kind of hot, not mine. Haha.” I snort at that. “Who knows, maybe they have a little crush on you as well.” I laugh out loud at that.
“Amber. I may not be able to see their so-called hot as fuckness, but their voices said it all. Players. I bet they could get any woman in this town, so why bother with a blind, broken woman who would rather stay in, reading books all day instead of going out to party. My adventurous days are long gone, babe. I’m basically an old lady at the ripe age of twenty-five.” She burst out laughing, making me join in with her until the bell rings over the front door. I frown. We should be closed now.
Amber leans into me, making me tense before I relax into her scent of roses. “Maybe I was right.” She whispers mysteriously before she straightens, clearing her throat. “Mr. Ashford.” Amber says in a bright cheery voice. I instantly tense back up again. “Wren, you can close tonight, right? Jake is waiting for me. We have dinner plans, remember?” She bumps my shoulder, grabs her bags, and proceeds to walk off, leaving me alone with Xander Ashford. Great best friend right there, not. I hear her pause, whispering something to Xander before she continues on. I hear the door ring a second later. Damn bitch. She’s lucky I love her.
“Should I lock the front door for you, Wren?” He asks, the sound of his voice sending a bolt of pleasure shooting towards my core.Oh god. Why does he have to say my name so sensually?
Without answering him, I try to calm my racing heart and sound stronger than I actually feel. “Why are you here, Mr. Ashford? Did you forget something?”
“Call me Xander.” He all but growls out.
I crinkle my brow in confusion. “I’m sorry. What?”
“Call me Xander please. Do you close the shop often by yourself this late at night?” I jerk back at the tone he uses, the way he seems almost angry about it. “It’s not safe for a woman like you to be alone this late at night.” Okay, now I’m getting annoyed. Who does he think he is? Telling me it’s not safe in my own fucking shop.
“Excuse me, Mr. Ashford.” I grind out. “But what I do or do not do is none of your business. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to close up my small insignificant bookshop and head home. Please see yourself out.” I go to turn away but am stopped dead in my tracks by his next words.
“Would you have dinner with me, Wren?” He sounds so sincere about the request, but he can’t be serious. Is he serious right now?
“I have a boyfriend.” I squeak out. It was the first thing that came to my mind because there is no way in hell I will be going to dinner with a man who won’t even hear me out about my bookshop and how wonderful it is.
“A boyfriend?” Xander growls out, making me jump, because he sounds a lot closer than he was a second ago. “What’s this boyfriend’s name?” I panic, there is no actual boyfriend, haven’t been in years, but I also can’t foresee a man who sounds like him just wanting dinner.
“Jax.” I say nervously. I startle again at the sudden bark of laughter he lets loose. “Is that so? Well, then. I will be seeing you around, little bird.” I shiver at the odd pet name before a frigid chill runs through my entire body. I suck in a deep breath, holding it in, not believing what I just heard. No. No. No. The bell rings overheard, indicating he just left. That’s when I break.
They came back for me.
Chapter fifteen
Jaxon
My phone ringing makes me roll over, letting out a groan. Who the fuck is calling me at this hour? I look over at my clock, groaning even louder at seeing that it’s eight at night. “This better be fucking good, or I will murder someone.” I mumble, grabbing my phone before slamming my finger on the answer button. “What?” I growl out.
“You talked to her.” Xander growls out, making me immediately sit up, rubbing the last bit of sleep from my eyes.
“Is she okay? What happened?” I rush out. Worry flooding my veins as I get out of bed, looking around for my pants.
“Tell me what happened today.” If I didn’t know Xander was all just alpha male, I would think he was a goddamn bear with how much he growls when Wren is involved.
“Not much to tell. Why?” I counter, not sure how he knows I talked to her or why he is asking. We all agreed to share her. Well, me and Xander did, Mav just grunted like usual, but I know he wants her just as much as any of us. He's just an asshole, afraid of feeling anything. All because of his stupid barbie bitch of an ex from years ago. She ripped out his heart, smiling while doing it. And he hasn’t been the same since.
“Not much to tell?” He repeats. “Is that so?” His growls have turned into his calm, deadly tone. The one he uses when he knows someone is lying to him and he wants blood in payment. Of course, he won’t make me bleed. We have a brotherly bond, but he has always been the one in charge. He leads us, we follow, but we are also his equals. I’m just better at using my fist than dressing up in a stuffy suit, pretending to be interested in the corporate world. No, blood is more my forte.
“What are you getting at, brother? She ran into me at the coffeeshop. I just so happened to save her from falling on her juicy looking ass. Nice choice in dress, by the way. I asked her to have coffee with me. That was all.” I pause for a second. We haven’t put cameras up in the small coffee shop she always goes to yet, so how the hell does he know we officially met? “How do you know we talked?” I ask, curiousness getting the best of me.
He clears his throat almost awkwardly, like he is uncomfortable all of the sudden. Odd for a man like Xander who thrives on control. “The meeting with my little bird didn’t go as well as I would have liked. Mav opened his big month, called her shop small and insignificant.” I bark out a laugh. Of course, Mav would open his mouth and insert his fucking foot. He is an asshole through and through. “She got very upset, shed a few tears before getting angry and telling us to fuck off.” I freeze.
