Bookstore princess

Chapter 3

Nadia

I felt him before I saw him. Those steel blue eyes were focused on me when I finally looked up, and now, I can barely look away. Customers keep coming, but really, I want to go to him. It's like a string is pulling me to him. We've only met once and that was last night. My body and my brain's reaction is crazy. It should be crazy. Maybe I need to be hospitalized or at least seen by a doctor. I'm not usually one to be this readily attracted to a man. It usually takes a few meetings, and a gentlemanly gesture of some sort to grab my attention. My entire body is hyper aware he's watching me from the corner of Potions while I take care of the counter.
"What's wrong?" Jacob asks me, as he comes out of the staff only door.
"Me? Nothing" I lie immediately and shake my head. My cheeks feel heated and I know I'm blushing. I've always been a horrible liar and we both know it.
"Is that him?" he nods with his chin towards where James is seated watching us with something in his gaze that makes me want to go to him. I'm not sure what it is. It feels heated almost, like he only sees me and wants me. His eyes flick to Jacob before they come back to me, and I feel like I'm blushing again.
"Yes, that's James and his brother Steve" I say softly. "Be nice, he's sweet," I warn Jacob.
"I'm always nice" he says nonchalantly, as though picking on me isn't his favorite hobby. "I'll take over the counter while you go put the books away and then have your little date" he offers and I grab the few books that customers left behind.
"Thank you" I say with an upbeat tone and scurry away quickly. No matter where I go, I can feel James' eyes on me. It's almost unnerving, but I'm enjoying the attention. I know nothing about this man, and I know I should have looked him up last night. But my book called to me, more than my curiosity.
"Miss Dragonheart" I hear a familiar voice and see Steve coming towards me with his hands outstretched. "Did you need help with that?" he asks sweetly and I give him a large smile.
"No, I've got this" I shake my head. "I'm almost done anyways" I assure him.
"Then I'll just walk with you while you put these away. James has been looking forward to seeing you all day" he gives a bright smile and I flush again. I hate having this complexion, everything makes me blush.
"Maybe I'm looking forward to seeing him too," I say softly. I head to the history section with my last book and Steve takes it from my hands.
"I've never read this one," he muses softly. "Do you have anything on the local area, doesn't matter what subject" he asks and I point at a row two aisles over.
"Everything local, including history, legends and geography" I list it all off easily.
"Thanks, we are moving here permanently and want to get to know the lay of the land" Steve waves and carries his book with him as he heads in the direction I just pointed. I take a moment to straighten out my dress and make my way towards Potions. Jenny stops with her current customer and hands me my refillable bottle, and I just know it's the perfect iced coffee she always makes. I stop and take a sip and I'm surprised by the caramel shot in it and raise my eyebrows.
"I got you buddy" she says before going back to her customer. I look over and there is James in his black suit, white button up and red tie with a smirk on his face as we make eye contact.
"Hi" I say a little breathlessly as I get to his table. He gets up quickly and pulls out the same chair that Steve had been sitting in earlier and he waits for me to sit. I sit down, and he pushes me back in.
"I was worried you were going to make me wait until closing time" he chuckles and takes his seat again. "How are you, baby doll?" he asks.
"I'm good. Just you know, working" I giggle a little nervously. "If Jacob didn't take over, I might not have made it over here" I admit softly.
"I'll have to thank him. Thank you for joining me as well. The coffee here is great! You have a good location, and a lot of steady business" he points out.
"We worked hard for it" I quickly agreed with his statement. "The coffee is also fantastic, and the florist gives us a great deal on the flowers every day" I smile.
"What made you decide to open a bookstore?" he asks, his voice soft but commanding. My knees feel like jello just listening to him. That magnetic pull hasn't gone away, if anything, it feels like it's getting stronger.
"Well, I love books and everyone here has to drive an hour to the city to go to the bookstore and their prices are horrendously inflated. The town seems to be growing, which means we will have more clientele. People from the surrounding villages come here too, which is great. And a lot of people are really addicted to Jenny's coffee" I add, taking a sip of my own. I already know for a fact he's on his third for the day, since I had been watching him every chance that I've gotten today. "I've always felt comforted by books, same with my two best friends. It was a giant leap for sure, but we are doing pretty good" I admit. "What about you? What kind of business are you in?" I ask curiously.
"You didn't do your homework?" he asks teasingly and I shake my head.
"As interesting as you seem, I had a book calling my name last night. And besides, I'd rather hear it from the horse's mouth" I gesture to him and he chuckles before licking his lips.
"I own a few investment firms, as well as a security company. I've been looking at expanding my business on the eastern side of the country, and this town caught my eye. We can work remotely or fly out for the bigger meetings, and my family plans to move with me. I want somewhere with a fresh start and good atmosphere. It's not too far from the city if that's where I need to put the main offices, and it seems like the best bet" he says as he sits back and crosses his ankle over his knee.
"How big is your family?" I ask, taking another sip of my drink.
"Couple hundred of us" he says and I nearly spit out my iced coffee. "I can afford the expense, as can they," he shrugs.
"A couple hundred?" I echoed in awe. He makes it sound so casual, but the only person I really talk to in my family is my mom. By all rights, I'm the black sheep of the family and they don't bother with me. My mom lives in one of the villages to the east of town, and I try to make a point to go see her at least once a month, until we can actually afford to take time off of work at one point and have enough staff. She's said she's going to come visit as well, and I welcome it with open arms.
"Give or take," he shrugs. "We just bought some land this morning, and hired a contractor to come in to build everyone's homes. You'll be seeing a lot of new faces," he smiles and I can't help but look at his perfect white teeth, hidden by his perfect lips. "Tell me about yourself" he leans in and its my turn to speak, but words are failing me. "Please" he adds quickly and I breathe in slowly through my nose, trying to weigh my words carefully.
"I work a lot, we just opened this store and coffee shop less than a year ago. I live upstairs" I have to pause for a moment because he reached out and touched my hand softly in a gentle caress and my words stumbled. "I have a cat named Melody, but if you did proper stalking you'll see that on my Instagram" I give a half smirk and he chuckles.
"She's beautiful" he grins a little, not hiding the fact that he's already done his research and I fully smile. His eyes go to my lips and he licks his own. "Okay, parents?" he asks softly. "Siblings?" he continues.
"It's just my mom and I" I flush. "My dad left when I was young, and it was a good thing" I stop myself from saying too much. He was an abusive man, and I still have nightmares about the nights he was hopped up on prescription drugs and drinking. My mom protected me as best as she could, and when she finally realized the abuse had trickled down to me as well she kicked him out. We just tell people he left, publicly at least. It's the easiest answer. James frowns as though he can detect the white lie, but doesn't say anything to the effect.
"And the two people that opened the store with you?" he asks.
"My two best friends," I nod. "There's Jacob who mainly does the stock and paperwork, and Jenny who's always in the coffee shop" I smile a little easier this time.
"It's not safe for you to be alone here at night" he frowns as though he's honestly worried.
"Jacob sometimes stays late to help me out, but we have alarms set up" I point out.
"I'd like to ask you out on a proper date" he leans forward and takes my free hands in his own. He's so warm, and his hands are calloused like he's used to doing hard work outside regardless of the suite. "When are you free?" he asks in a soft whisper.
"I'm only free on Sundays, but I have a meeting with Jenny and Jacob on Sunday morning" I freely offered. "I don't want to go to that bar across the street, but I'm open to maybe a walk or something public" I give a smile.
"How about you show me around town? What's the best place to eat?" he rubs his thumb up and down my hand and I shiver thinking he's way out of my league.
"Depends, what's your favorite meal of the day?" I ask with a smile, basking in his attention.
"I can always go for a cheeseburger" he chuckles and I want to swoon.
"That's my favorite. Come meet me at two, lose the suit" I take my hands back and I see him frown a little at the loss of contact but he nods.
"Can I have your phone number?" he asks hopefully and hands me his unlocked phone. I go to the list and add myself and hand him back his phone. He smiles widely and sends a quick message and my phone pings. "Just checking," he chuckles.
"I'll read it once it slows down. I need to go eat a quick sandwich before I get back to work" I announce, standing up.
"I'll be seeing you soon, baby doll" he purrs and licks his lips slowly. He takes my free hand and kisses my knuckles again and I feel my face go red again. Damn this pale complexion. I nod and grab my iced coffee before hurrying to the employee only entrance where my lunch is waiting for me.

James

After my mate disappears through the back employee door I finish my coffee and watch my brother going to the cash register with a large stack of books in his arms. My sharp eyes see they are books about the area with the same name "Springfield" as a common name on the spine of each. I take my time to finish my coffee, not wanting to leave but I know I have to. My little mate shouldn't be here alone at night. If it were up to me, she would be living with me already, but she's human and it works differently with humans as your mate. They don't give into the bond immediately the way another wolf will. From my understanding, they feel the tether, but sometimes depending on their past they can also reject you. I will not allow her to reject me, by the moon goddess, she will be mine. In my mind, I'm already imagining her in a white dress for our wedding and her Luna ceremony. I'll make her mine permanently, and if she will allow it, I'll change her as well.
Steve makes his way to me, his blue eyes lit up with a large smile on his face. He has four bags with a pink carnation sticking out of the top of one of them as he gets to me.
"How did it go?" he asks with a hint of excitement, keeping his voice hushed as he sits across from me, much like Nadia had not that long ago.
"It was too short," I say softly with a soft huff. "She went to go eat her lunch before she gets back to it" I grimace as my phone dings with a familiar ring tone. "You will be going back to get the pack to make the move. I cannot risk a rogue sniffing out my mate and attacking her before I've made my full claim" I tell him and he understands that this is an order. I can tell by the soft nod of his head.
"We have meetings soon," Steve reminds me.
"Don't remind me" I wince not wanting to leave the warmth of the bookstore, or my Nadia's presence. "I'll leave once she comes back out, I didn't get to find out if she finished the book," I say, keeping my eyes on the employee door. I see Jacob look at me and watch me curiously. I give him a quick smile, and look at the door again. Steve looks over his shoulder and chuckles.
"You're acting like an over possessive boyfriend. You've only spoken to her twice. Humans are different" Steve reminds me and I wince.
"I learned the same things about them that you did" my eyes cut to him.
"You're not acting like it" Steve holds my gaze and I sigh, knowing that he's right.
"Fine," I say, and get up to go get my fourth coffee of the day. Jenny gives me an appraising eye, and I hold her gaze. I can tell she has something to say, but she's holding back more than likely for her friends sake first. She hands me my coffee with a large smile on her face and I give a nod before looking back longingly at the door my mate went through. I finally check my phone for the missed call I ignored earlier, and it had been my Gamma, Sam Wise. It might be something to do with the pack, but if it was overly important he would have also reached out to Steve. I decide that I'll call him later, after my meetings. I see a text message come through and I go back to the screen where I sent Nadia a message earlier. A message pops up and I smile.

James: Did you finish your book, baby doll? What are we reading now?
Nadia: Finished it last night, thank you for the date :) I don't know about you, but I'm reading the new monster romance that came in today.
James: Looks like I'm making another purchase ;)

I put my phone in my back pocket and make my way to the front of the cash register and peek down and take a look at the cover of the book. I see another werewolf holding a woman in the dark woods at night in front of a full moon and Jacob raises his eyebrows at me.
"Can I help you?" he asks in a polite tone.
"Where can I find that book?" I ask, pointing at it with a smirk.
"You like that stuff too? Alright, well... it's right over there on display" he points behind me and I turn around. I quickly go and grab a copy and return to him, tapping my black card on the payment device. He hands me a small bag with my white carnation and I smirk.
"Thank you" I say honestly.
"Thank you for your business" Jacob gives a small smile. "Are you planning on coming back?" he asks, a hint of curiosity behind his eyes.
"I'm moving here, permanently. You'll be seeing a lot more of me, Jacob" I smirk and nod to Steve before turning away. I get to the front door and look back to see Nadia coming out and I smile softly to myself as my brother joins me. I'll just have to rush these meetings so I can rush back.