Sephie McKay never expected to fall in love, let alone with the likes of underground fighter, Dominic 'Demon' Hayes. That all changes when her mother gets on the bad side of a local motorcycle club. Forced under his protection, she grapples with her...
I wake up excited that I finally get to go to work again. This past week has been pretty boring. Mia and I always have to have Silas or Demon with us when we go out and since Silas is busy it's been Demon more often. The only time we really went out was when Mia took me to the mall to buy clothes, which I protested, but we all know there's no talking Mia out of anything. Mia and I spent most of our time reconnecting after finally seeing each other in person again.
Throwing on my coat, I walk outside into the crisp morning air, where Demon waits in his car.
"Goodmorning," I say to him with a bright smile. He simply lifts his chin at me. He doesn't seem to be a man of many words.
"So," I say after getting into the car, deciding to talk to him anyway. "What's your real name? Calling you Demon doesn't feel right to me."
"No one calls me by my real name."
"That's fine. I'll just give you a nickname. How about D-bug? It suits you. Bugs can be scary but they're pretty cool once you know more about them," Demon sends a look that way and I know he's annoyed.
"So, D-bug, what have you been up to."
"My names Dominic," He begrudgingly gives in.
The rest of the ride I try to make talk with him but his answers are rarely more than three words. After a while, I give up on making conversation and soon after that we arrive at Leah's bookshop. It's technically just called The Bookshop, but Leah's so well known around every refers to it with her name.
As soon as I open the door, Chris and Leah are hounding me.
"Are you okay! Do you need more time off! I didn't get to thank you for the Christmas tree," Leah takes me into her arms and squeezes the life out of me and I wheeze as all the air in my lungs rushes out. Like always, her blond pixie cut is disheveled.
"I'm fine. It was just a break-in," I say when she releases me. Silas said that I can't tell anyone what's going on but I feel bad lying to them.
"Who's this," Chris says, eyeing Demon in a not-so-friendly manner. This confuses me because he almost looks jealous. He's shown no sign of liking and he's had girlfriends in and out of his life since I've known him. Still, I can't help but feel flattered. I quickly scold myself for thinking that, there is no way Chris wants anything to do with a girl like me.
"This is Dominic. He's a friend of mine and he's going to be accompanying me to work until this whole thing blows over," I tell him, not wanting to give to much away. He still eyes him untrustingly and Dominic returns the look.
"Thank you for looking out for our girl! I'll get you a cupcake on the house. You look like a red velvet type of guy," She says, leaving before he can protest. One of the main appeals of Leah's Bookshop was that she brought in baked goods every week. Leah's wife, Kristy, baked them every night. Last week it was cinnamon rolls.
Leah brings Dominic his cupcake and we open up the shop. The customers start to pick up later in the day. Word got out that it's cupcake week and it seems like the whole town is here. Chris is on cupcake duty so I help people find and buy books. Dominic sits at the little coffee nook, looking bored out of his mind. I'm sure spending his day in baked goods/bookshop was never something he saw himself doing.
Chris keeps close by me the whole shift and puts his hand on my lower back whenever we pass each other. It's almost possessive the way he hovers over me. I even catch him sending a glare towards Dominic a couple of times. When my lunch break comes I decide to keep Dominic company while Chris takes over the shop.
"I know you're bored to death. As payment, everything's on the house for you," I say, sitting in front of him, vanilla raspberry cupcake in hand. "Sorry about Chris this morning. I have no idea what his deal was."
"He likes you," Dominic says simply.
"You think so? There's no way. I've known him for years and he's shown no signs of liking me," I try not to give away my crush on him by blushing.
"He feels threatened by me. He's probably been comfortable knowing he'll always have you as an option when he decides to give you the time of day. Now he thinks I've ruined that for him."
I'm pretty sure my eyebrows are touching my hairline. Firstly, this is the first time I've heard Dominic say more than one sentence. Secondly, I'm surprised he really believes that Chris likes me. Anyone with eyes can see the difference between us. Chris looks like he could be in a Calvin Klien ad. Meanwhile, I'm just chubby and average looking.
"You can't be serious. Chris could have any girl in the world if he wants to. Why would he get jealous over me?"
"Don't talk about yourself like that," He says it almost like an order and his jaw gets hard.
"You don't have to flatter me, Dominic. I have eyes."
"Well, they must not be working right. Since I've been here I've seen about ten guys flirt with you and I stopped counting after a while," I'm pretty sure my cheeks are on fire. I think back to all my interactions with male customers and none of them seem any more than friendly.
"We'll have to agree to disagree," Dominic looks like he wants to say more but he doesn't press the issue. By the time my break is over, I've finished my cupcake. The rest of the day flies by and soon Chris, Leah, and I close shop. Like always, Leah let's each of us take home the leftover goods. When I leave the shop, Dominic is already waiting by his car for me.
On the way home, I turn on the radio to fill the silence in the car. I know Dominic doesn't like the girly pop song station I put on, but he'll just have to deal. Dominic looks relieved when we reach the house. I wave at him from the front porch when he drives off but I do think he sees it.
"You brought snacks," Mia says excitedly as soon as she spots the pink box in my hand.
"Cupcakes. Leah always lets us take home the leftovers."
"Everyday? I can't deal with that kind of temptation! It would go straight to my ass," Mia pouts. Mia's slender frame isn't an accident, she goes to the gym most mornings. I wonder how she does it, mornings already kinda suck and adding exercise seems like a form of torture to me.
"Well, you need it. Your back is looking a little long," I joke. Mia sends a glare my way but she knows I'm kidding.
Like always, we spend the afternoon watching sitcoms on the couch. Mia gives in and has a coconut cupcake. Silas comes home later that evening and they both go in their room, to do god knows what.
That night I dream about red velvet cupcakes and Dominic's forest green eyes.
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