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Elijah kept looking at the clock as he worked. As soon as he clocked out, he was going home to shower, check on his grandparents, and making the trek across town to get some barbeque. That was what he kept telling himself.
He definitely wasn’t going there to see Mason. Elijah wasn’t going to become one of Mason’s groupies. It was bad enough he’d had to witness Drake fawning over the guy and listening to Tido and Drake describe how delectable Mason was.
For reasons Elijah couldn’t understand, just thinking of his friends gushing over Mason made him jealous. Why? Elijah had just met the guy. They were strangers, yet he wanted to smack Drake and Tido for what they’d said.
Or, more to the point, for drooling over Mason.
Elijah shook off the feeling and headed to the pass-through to grab his order.
“You okay?” Julian asked. “You seemed distracted today.” He leaned closer. “Are you still freaking out about shifters?”
“Nope, I’m totally over that.” He wasn’t over it, not really. Elijah kept sneaking glances at his boss all day, and even though he’d witnessed Roman changing into a snow leopard, he still couldn’t see his boss as anything other than smoking hot.
“Then why have you been distracted?” Julian leaned a hip against the counter as he crossed his arms. “Did your grandfather try to bite you again?”
Elijah chuckled. “No. Granddad has been behaving. I just met someone.”
Julian’s eyes lit up. “Spill!”
“Nope.” Elijah placed his hands on his hips. “When I was fishing for details on you and Sheriff Harper, you wouldn’t tell me shit. You don’t like it when roles are reversed, do you?”
“If you weren’t smiling, I’d think you were being bitchy with me,” Julian said. “Fine, don’t tell me about your mystery man. We live in a small town. Secrets don’t stay secrets for long, Elijah. I will find out.”
That made Elijah smile. “Okay. I’ll give you his name, but don’t ask for anything else.” Because Elijah was dying to tell Julian. Lord, he really couldn’t keep a secret. Someone needed to duct-tape Elijah’s mouth. “His name is Mason. He owns Wild Tiger Barbeque.”
“I know him,” Roman said from the order window. “I hear his employees actually work instead of standing around gossiping.”
“After the freak-out you gave me two weeks ago, I deserve a pass,” Elijah argued, though he kept his voice low so the customers couldn’t hear him. “Cut me some slack, pussycat.”
Roman narrowed his eyes. “I told you to never call me that.” Then a devious look entered his gorgeous blue eyes. “Mason is a Bengal tiger.”
Elijah’s jaw dropped. Wild Tiger Barbeque. Mason was telling people without telling them that he was a tiger. “You’re lying.”
Roman chuckled. “Now you really have something to distract you from working.” His chuckle died. “Get your asses back to work.”
Elijah looked at Julian. “Do you think he’s telling the truth?”
Julian shrugged. “Ask Mason. That’s the only way you’re going to find out.”
Bengal tigers were huge. So was Mason. He had a body that Elijah wanted to lick from forehead to the tips of his toes. Elijah shivered, pushing those thoughts out of his mind as he got back to work, taking orders and clearing tables.
When it was finally time to clock out, Elijah raced for the door. He’d never walked home so fast, excited to see Mason.
Then Elijah stopped. “You’re not one of his damn groupies,” he reminded himself. “You just want the barbeque.”
After taking a deep breath, he walked home at a normal pace. When he arrived, he saw granddad sitting on the porch in his rocker.
“It’s cold out here,” Elijah said. “You don’t even have a coat on. Go inside, Granddad.”
“Boy, the day you start bossing me around is the day I bend you over my knee.” He slapped his knee. “You betting I won’t?”
Elijah smirked. This seemed to be one of Granddad’s good days. He wasn’t rambling or looking confused. His eyes were sharp and clear.
“I meant no disrespect, sir.”
His grandad nodded. “That’s more like it. Go help your grandma. She’s baking cookies.” He licked his lips. “Can’t wait until they’re done.”
With a shake of his head, Elijah headed inside, only he didn’t smell anything baking. After removing his coat and tossing it onto the couch, Elijah went to the kitchen. His brows shot up and his heart nearly gave out when he saw his grandma lying on the floor.
