AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dating was the one thing he and June never spoke about. They knew vaguely about first kisses, first semi-relationships. But the older they got, the less detail was shared. Dragan wasn’t even sure if she’d had sex, or had said I love you to anyone. She sure as hell never said it to him, and Dragan always mentally kicked himself for letting the words slip out in a moment of drunk teenage stupidity when they deserved sober intention. Even stupider, he’d laughed it off and that was that.
“I’ll see you soon, June.”
Rhys’s voice carried into the back room, louder than before. Dragan saw it for what it was: a man marking his territory, letting the others know she was his.
Dragan clenched his fists, wanting to put one through the wall.
June was his.
“D?” Her voice was soft as she poked her head into the office, her black cardigan and shirt highlighting her blond waves. She stared at him with wide eyes, glancing at his fists before breaking out into a smile.
“Okay, He-Man.” June stepped towards him, placing a hand on his bicep. She gave a playful squeeze. “My mirror needs fixing, my last contractor blew off the job before straightening it out. Do you think you could help a poor lady like me?” She batted her eyelashes, swooning against his body.
The warmth of her immediately centered him and he chuckled. “Alright, alright, milady. Show me where this brute left you hanging.”
Her fingers trailed down her arm, fingers wrapping around his as she pulled him back into the light. They’d always been quick to hold hands, but it felt different coming after Rhys. She squeezed his hand three times before dropping it, pointing at the horrendously wonky mirror job and sitting behind the counter.
“You should fire your last contractor.”
“Didn’t get a chance, he just stormed off.”
“What an ass.”
She laughed. “He’ll be back, then I’ll read him his rights.”
“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled,” Dragan snorted.
“Especially since I need to tell him about the app he had me QA.” She looked up at him, biting her lower lip.
“Oh, did you finish?” Dragan’s heart dropped into his stomach. The app he and Archer were working on was almost ready to sell — an app that tracked all upcoming elections across the country and notified users of various deadlines based on their location — and they had their close friends testing it. They were still deciding if they wanted to take the prototype to investors first or launch and try for a buyout. But they were hopeful that within the next month, their lives would be drastically changed for the better.
“I did,” June said, giving him a sly smile before turning her attention to a customer that just walked in.
He swallowed. “You’re killing me, Smalls. What are your thoughts?”
She shrugged and walked over to the new customer, leaving Dragan staring after her. And hey, he wasn’t complaining. Any view of her was a mighty fine one. But he was going to explode if she didn’t tell him what she thought of his app.
Instead, his blonde bombshell was chatting up a young woman with a toddler on her hip, and June was really into making the tyke laugh. Dragan sighed, knowing it would be some time before they could talk. He ambled over to the mirror, straightening it and taking a step back only to straighten it some more. Hands in his pockets, Dragan looked around. He’d helped her rearrange the layout, installing a coffee bar and wall shelves to help keep people in the store. The bookstore was sinking — had been for awhile, based on the numbers June showed him — and while they needed a miracle to save the space, every little thing could buy them enough time for that miracle.
A miracle that lay in the app sitting on his and Archer’s computers.
It was his idea, his original build, but Archer’s design. Dragan had scores of app ideas he was constantly flipping to his firefighter buddy, who was a former data systems specialist in the Marines and currently spent his free time coding personal gaming projects. But when Dragan brought this one to his attention, Archer jumped on it.
Which was all Dragan needed to know they were onto something.
He wandered between the shelves, glancing at June as she pulled some children’s picture books off the shelves in the far corner diagonal from him. She was glowing, as she always was around kids. Her joy was one of his favorite things about her. It was infectious, like the sun, even when the world seemed to be falling down around them. She worked so hard and had been through so much. Dragan would give anything to give her security.
But the security he could give her would never be enough. Not for the kind of life June deserved.
He’d keep his head down, keep The Little Prince from sinking. He’d give her support and friendship. And that would be all. He came from a bad family, the wrong side of town. He pushed himself through high school, but never went to college. Hell, maybe someone like Rhys Dougherty would be good enough for her.
The mere thought of his smarmy smile made Dragan’s blood boil.
Nope. Someone like Rhys would never be good enough. Not for his June.
4
June finished ringing up the young mom and her adorable toddler, grateful for the five books they purchased. It wasn’t a lot, but every cent counted in keeping the store afloat while she figured out a more long-term strategy.
