AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sapphire did most of the work,” Elijah says as he walks out of the back room toward us. “I don’t have to tell you how amazing she is.” The way Elijah says this has my heart rate speeding up. Great, all I need is for Jer and Zach to walk in, and all the men I like will be gathered around me in a tiny area…
“I’ll go see how the twins are doing! It’s almost time!” I squeak, but as I rush around the register, heading for the door, Isaiah stops me.
“Not so fast,” he whispers as he pulls me in for a hug. I notice Anton frown, but Elijah just grins.
“Right, well. I am going to go out there. To, um, greet people.” I stumble over my words, but none of them comment as I flee.
The twins matching elf outfits have gathered a crowd, and I sigh. Thank fuck. Saturday mornings in this town are busy. Now that the bookstore is open for business, I’ll be working most weekends.
“Good morning, everyone! Welcome! It’s my pleasure to invite you to the grand opening of Caroline’s Wish Bookstore!” I push the door open and prop it with the stopper, then back up. A line forms, and I watch as people start grabbing drinks and baked goods. I run to the back room, ignoring the three men still standing by the register.
I quickly shrug out of my heavy winter jacket, so I can take my place behind the register, but before I can make it more than two steps toward the front, Elijah stops me. He doesn’t say a word, just scoops me into his arms and kisses me.
His hand cups my cheek, and his tongue swipes across my bottom lip before he’s pulling away.
“Get to work. Customers will complain.” I blink, stunned. Eli grins, smacks my ass, and walks away.
“Isaiah went down on me during our date!” I blurt, making Eli pause. I wait for him to react. Anger, disappointment… Whatever I expected isn’t what I got.
“Damn, lucky bastard.” He turns to face me, walking backward. “I need to take you on a date then. Make it even.” He chuckles when my mouth falls open. “Don’t worry, Sapphire, you won’t scare me off by fucking any of them.”
And just like that, he disappears between the stacks.
I don’t get the chance to process because I have a job to do.
What are these men doing to me? Fucking hell.
* * *
“Let me drive you home. It’s snowing,” Anton insists. I look down at my bike and sigh.
“Okay. It’s been a long day,” I admit. The twins and Isaiah left with Anton hours ago. “Did you come back just for me?” I ask, and he blushes. “Thank you,” I say, bumping his arm with mine. He lifts my bike into his truck easily, and I climb into the passenger seat.
The drive back is quiet, and when we get there, the snow has really amped up. He grabs my bike and sets it on the porch. When I slip on some ice, he insists on making sure I get inside safely.
“Thank you. I don’t know if I would have made it home on my bike! The storm wasn’t supposed to hit until late tomorrow night,” I complain.
“My pleasure.” We hug goodbye, and I watch him from the doorway as he climbs back into his truck. I frown. Why isn’t he turning it on? Two minutes later, he jumps back out and jogs to me. “Uh, it won't start.”
“Oh, shit.”
“I can call Isaiah and have him come give me a jump, but,” he looks back over his shoulder. Ah. I see.
“He won’t make it.” I realize.
“In the morning when the snow stops, I can take a look at the engine, or maybe Jer can get out here, but…” There's a long stretch of silence, and then Anton clears his throat.
“Oh, right. Want to come in?” I get out of the way, so he can step inside. I shut the door and head toward the kitchen. I expect Anton to follow me, but when I turn around, he’s still standing in front of the door. “You’re going to be here for at least the rest of the night. Better get comfortable now.”
“Okay,” is all he manages to mumble.
“I have no clothes that will fit you, obviously.” I shed my jacket and gloves and kick off my shoes, and then open my fridge. I pull out two beers and hand one to Anton. “But I can wash those. You can use a blanket or sleep in the nude,” I joke, but Anton doesn’t even crack a smile. He just chugs his beer. “I’m gonna go change.”
I scurry down the hall and into my room. It was a long day, and I need a shower.
“I’m gonna shower, when I’m done you’re welcome to use it!” I call down the hall before quickly stripping off my clothes and jumping in the hot water.
“What’d you say?” Anton asks, and I look up through the glass door just in time to see his eyes go wide before he sprints back out the way he came.
