One

One

Kezan

When I was a little kid, I used to dream of growing up to be a high-level djinn like my parents. I wanted to fulfill wishes and reward people for being good.

Instead, I became the only low-level djinn in my family. My parents hadn’t cared, but I had because even though I was a djinn who had the power to fulfill other people’s wishes, my own wish had been ignored. I couldn’t grant most wishes, just simple things that wouldn’t bring more than a small speck of joy to people’s lives.

I didn’t mind so much now. I had a good life. The last keeper of my bottle had died four years ago, and I hadn’t found someone new to care for it, though I knew I needed to. I couldn’t be unattached for long without my magic losing its potency, and the last thing I wanted was for my wishes to start failing. My last keeper’s last wish had been that I’d be happy without a keeper—something only a selfless person like her would’ve wished for as she’d lain on her deathbed—and while I was satisfied with life, I knew my bottle needed a keeper to maintain its stability.

“Hey, boss-man!”

I smiled as my sole employee walked in, dressed in a sparkly top with a purple dragon on the front and a dark purple skirt that fell to his knees. Micah had an impeccable sense of fashion, and he was a sweet child to boot. He was a supernatural as well, a mage, though I wasn’t quite certain what his affinity was. In the five months since I’d hired him, I’d never regretted it. He was good at his job, had a great understanding of fashion, and could figure out exactly what a client was looking for even quicker than my magic allowed.

“Hey, Micah. How are you today?”

Micah grinned widely at me as he walked behind the counter to stuff his purse under it. “Oh, I’m great. What about you? You looked lost in thought there.”

I shook my head, hoping to shake off my thoughts. We had work to do, and I needed to stop focusing on the past. “Just thinking about the store. I think we’ll see a burst of customers in the next week or so. Valentine’s Day is approaching, isn’t it?”

“Yep, three weeks to go. Do you think I should plan something for Cam? Or do you think it’s too cliché?”

Camillo Hawthorne was Micah’s mate, and as always, a slight pang of jealousy washed through me at the mention of him. Micah was so lucky to have found his mate so early. I’d been waiting for two centuries already, and I didn’t know how much longer Fate would make me wait before bringing them to me. The person who’d own me heart, soul, and bottle.

“I think he’d like it,” I answered as I pushed my silly jealousy away. Micah was a sweet boy, and he deserved to be happy. It wasn’t like I wanted his mate. No, I just wanted mine, wherever they were.

“Yeah, I think I’ll go ahead with it. For now, I’m gonna get to work. You don’t pay me to talk about my life,” Micah said with a laugh before skipping off to one of the display units to rearrange things. Micah worked a few hours every evening since he was only fifteen and couldn’t work full-time, and I liked having him around.

Wish For It, the clothing boutique my old owner had set up for me before she died, was my baby. It was infused with my magic, and every customer was guaranteed to find their dream outfit if they just wished for it. Most customers thought it was just a quirk of the store that they were required to start their inquiry with the words I wish, but those words were actually a trigger to get my magic working.

The bell above the door jingled, and I looked up as the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen walked into the shop. Blond, well-styled hair glinted in the overhead light, and rectangular glasses framed his chestnut brown eyes. He was thick, well-built with some padding around his middle. He looked around the shop with an air of confidence that immediately drew me in.

Micah hurried over to him with a wide smile. It wasn’t a fake customer-service smile either because Micah loved working at the boutique, just like me. “Welcome to Wish For It! My name is Micah. What do you wish to buy today?”

The man smiled slightly as if he found the prompt amusing. “I wish to find an outfit for a Valentine’s Day work party. There’s someone I want to impress.”

My breath caught in my chest as my magic absorbed his wish and started working on it. The only way a djinn could find their mate was when the mate made a wish to the djinn. And I’d just found mine. Could it really be true? Had Fate finally heard my wish?

The second sentence of my mate’s wish filtered through my brain, though, and my heart stuttered in my chest. There was someone else my mate was attracted to.

I looked up as Micah led my mate toward the formal section, my magic directing him toward the correct outfit. No one but me was able to see the way my magic worked—at least that was what I’d believed until I met Micah and learned he could follow the faint blue glow of my magic just as easily.

My eyes trailed back to my mate as my mind tried to figure out a way to make him mine. He was human, which was another obstacle in my path.

No matter how many obstacles I faced, I’d figure out a way. Fate had finally granted my wish, and I had no intention of letting this chance slip past me.

Ezra

The attendant was way too interested in me, and I had no idea why. He was almost twenty years younger than me, and I didn’t think I was all that interesting to begin with, so I had no idea what had caught his attention.

In the time it took me to find a perfect outfit—a deep red suit jacket, matching pants, and a white dress shirt—the kid had asked me everything from my name to who I wanted to impress to where I worked.

“I’m a data analyst at Hawthorne Infotech,” I said as I donned the jacket and examined it in a mirror nearby. It did look good on me, and it fit perfectly. I’d expected I’d need some time to get things altered, but somehow this kid had found the clothes in my exact size.

“You’re kidding,” Micah said, and I stared at him with a raised brow. He gave me a sheepish grin and ran his fingers through his hair. “Sorry, I was just surprised. That’s my boyfriend’s dad’s company.”

I’d met Camillo Hawthorne a few times now—the boy dropped by the office every once in a while to pull his father away from work—and he was a sweet kid. I’d worked at the company for ten years, so I’d watched him grow from the sidelines for quite a while. William had done a great job raising him as a single father until he met his husband, especially when the kid had gotten sick.

“Pleasant coincidence,” I said, and Micah smiled wide like he knew something I didn’t, his eyes glittering with mischief.

“Yes, a very pleasant coincidence. Would you like to check out the ties? A blue tie would go really well with this outfit, I think.”

“Uh, no. No tie, thanks,” I answered, not really a fan of ties. Plus, it would just give my dog something to tug at.

I shook off the random thought and focused on Micah. “This is all I need, thank you. You’ve been a great help.” I’d heard of this store from a colleague, and figured it was a good chance to give it a try, but I really hadn’t expected such great service and an outfit so perfect. I’d assumed Jason was overexaggerating how good the boutique was.

“Come on, then. Kezan will get you checked out.” Micah led me to the counter, and I found the man behind it watching me with wide brown eyes. His brown hair was curled over his forehead, and a wide smile graced his lips as I stepped up to the counter. I found myself smiling without conscious thought, and the reaction puzzled me. I didn’t usually smile at strangers. Hell, I hadn’t even smiled at the kid, and he was the definition of cheerful. Yet, this man with warm eyes and a wide smile had made me smile in return. What was that about?

“I hope you found everything you were looking for,” the man—Kezan—said, and I nodded.

“I did. Thank you. Micah was a great help,” I said, and Kezan smiled again.

“Aww, you’re so sweet, Mr. Owens. Thank you, and I hope I’ll see you around,” Micah said with a grin before rushing off to welcome another customer who had just stepped into the shop.

I turned back to Kezan as he handed me my credit card and bagged my purchases. “Um, thank you for shopping with us,” Kezan said, and it looked like he wanted to say more, but then he shook his head and handed me a cloth shopping bag with a smile, though something shone in his eyes I couldn’t place. Longing? I rolled my eyes at myself as I nodded goodbye to him and turned toward the exit. I needed to stop reading into people’s looks. First the kid, and now the pretty man.

Wait, pretty? I shook my head as I walked out of the shop, focusing my thoughts on Brittany instead. I wondered if I’d finally be able to ask her out on Valentine’s Day. After my last relationship had sizzled out, it had taken me a while to get to the stage where I was ready to jump back into the dating pool. It hadn’t been heartbreak so much as feeling like I’d never find the perfect match for me, and it had taken a while before I felt ready to put my heart on the line again.

I wanted to give it a shot with Brittany because she was sweet and kind and there was definitely something between us. I just needed to ask her out. It shouldn’t be that difficult, right?