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ELOISE
I could’ve lockedthe door hours ago and it wouldn’t have made a difference.
But today is different. Instead of stressing, today, I read. I sipped tea. I watched the sun descend behind the buildings and posted a beautiful picture on the shop’s social media accounts.
When the bell jingles, fifteen minutes before closing time, I look up, ready to make the third sale of the day.
Until I see the green eyes, staring back at me.
This is what I get for fucking a stranger.
For thinking about him far longer than I should’ve.
I’m paying for the treacherous behavior that society—except my mother, who’d be delighted—warned me not to engage in.
Like women aren’t allowed to fuck and forget.
Well, it looks like the man I’m trying to forget isn’t letting me.
Ezra stands in front of me, the epitome of power, even in his relaxed stance. He stands here like he has arightto be here. Like he owns the place.
He will never own this place.
“I know I’m the last person you want to see…” His words are soft, his hands are up.
It’s a direct contradiction to how I see him: a villain, ready to do whatever it takes to win big.
To take more than just my body. To take my family’s life’s work, and my own.
“I’m glad you at least know that.” My words are brazen, filled with fire. “I guess that’s where the astuteness stops because here you are.”
I keep my legs folded into each other as I appraise him from my stool behind the counter. He isn’t in his suit today, and I’m not sure which look I prefer.
This was the way he’d been when I met him. When I fell for his charm.
Stupid bitch.
“I’d like to help you,” he says, his words slow and measured as I look into his eyes. I refuse to cower, not whenhecame looking forme.
“You want to lie to me and use me,” I correct him, lifting a leg to press my foot against the stool’s stretcher. I warm at the sight of his eyes following the movement.
I hate him, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten what that night felt like. It makes me dislike my hippocampus, wishing my brain would stop working overtime, remembering hands and sighs and mouths on skin when he comes around.
“Eloise—”
“You are wasting your time.” I run my fingers through my thick hair, tucking all of it behind my shoulders. “God, I don’t even know your last name.”
There’s a chuckle that bubbles in my throat, releasing as I mentally flip through the moments I let this stranger take hold of my thoughts.
How sad I’ve become.
Ezra watches me as I set my feet down on the ground and nearly double over with laughter, tipping the stool, unable to keep myself from indulging in the moment’s insanity. Tears track down my face, and I straighten, attempting to wipe them away.
“Just go home,” I tell him, shaking my head, my nonsensical smile still on my face. “None of your tactics will work here. You got what you wanted. No need to stick around.”
“Is that what you think? You think I want this place that badly?” He steps toward me and stops when I tilt my head to the right.
His eyes meet the ground for a moment before lifting back to my face, challenge glittering in his gaze. He takes another step toward me, then another.
