Three

Three

Kezan

“You really think he’ll come again today?” I asked Micah as I leaned against the counter, eyes on the entrance.

“Yep. I’m sure he will,” Micah said as he grabbed a shopping bag and stuffed an outfit in it before placing it under the counter.

“What’s that?” I asked, and Micah ignored me as he gave me a stern look.

“First, promise me that if he comes by today, you’ll ask him out.”

“Ask him out?” I asked, puzzled, and Micah rolled his eyes.

“On a date, boss. Ezra is human, remember? Humans don’t feel mate bonds the way we do. They need to form an emotional connection with their mates before they can sense the bond. So, you need to get to know Ezra before you can reveal anything to him.”

I nodded as I processed his words. My previous keepers had always been in shock when they realized my bottle and I were truly magical, and I could imagine it would be the same for Ezra.

I ran my palm down my black silk shirt as I looked at Micah. “Do I look okay?”

“You look stunning, Kezan. Don’t worry, okay? Even though he can’t feel the bond, he will feel a connection to you. I bet he wants to know more about you too.”

I nodded, and then eyed the shopping bag again. “Wanna tell me what that is now?”

“That, my dear boss, is the reason your mate will be coming here. I told you, the Mistvale Clan is on the job.” Micah winked at me and without clarifying further, sauntered off toward the back of the store.

I slipped my hand into my pocket and ran my finger over the warm glass of my bottle. Since my bottle didn’t have a keeper at the moment, I had to keep it on me at all times so it wouldn’t be stolen, but soon, I’d have another keeper for it. My mate would be the final keeper of my bottle, the one I would dedicate the rest of my eternal life to.

If I could manage to ask him out without failing.

The jingle of bells made me look up, and there he was. Dressed in a navy-blue jacket, a red button-down, and dark blue dress pants, Ezra looked like he’d arrived straight from work.

I welcomed him with a smile as he walked toward the counter, and he paused for a moment, a bunch of emotions flickering over his face before he settled on something akin to confusion.

“Welcome to Wish For It. How can I help you today?” I asked as I tried to decide when and how I’d ask him out.

“Uh, I’m picking up a package for a friend. Aeron Helmer?” Aeron…Oh, wasn’t he the necromancer, the one Micah had called his older brother? Was that what Micah had meant earlier?

“Of course. I have it right here,” I answered as I pulled out the shopping bag Micah had stuffed under the counter. I took a peek inside to find a simple black shirt and ripped jeans.

Our fingers brushed as I handed the bag to Ezra, and static crawled up my arm as my magic called out to my mate, wanting him closer.

Ezra’s eyes widened in shock as he pulled his hand away, and I wondered what he’d felt. Should I ask him out now? Should I wait? Fuck.

“Okay, then. Thank you,” Ezra mumbled after a moment as he took a step back, and I realized he’d be gone if I didn’t hurry.

“Ezra, wait!” I said, and his eyes snapped to mine, reminding me he’d never told me his name himself. Fuck. “I…I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me?”

“Dinner?” Ezra repeated, reminding me of the way I’d acted yesterday with Micah. I nodded as I bit back a smile, and Ezra gave me a wide-eyed look. “Like a date?”

“Yes, a date. I would like to get to know you better,” I said, hoping I was doing this right. Ezra opened his mouth before closing it again.

“Uh…I’m very flattered, trust me, but the thing is…I’m straight,” he said before mumbling something I couldn’t quite catch.

He was straight? That couldn’t be right. Fate wouldn’t pair me with someone incompatible, right? Did that mean Ezra just hadn’t explored yet? How did I explain everything to him so he’d give me a chance without freaking him out?

An idea struck, and I blew out a breath, hoping this was the right thing to do. “How about dinner as friends?”

“Friends?” Ezra asked, and was it my imagination or did he sound disappointed?

“Yes, friends. I’d like to get to know you, even if you aren’t interested in me. How about tomorrow at six?” I didn’t want to give him time to back out.

Ezra nodded almost in a daze, and I smiled as I offered him my phone. “Can I have your number so I can contact you tomorrow?”

Nodding again, Ezra typed in his number, and I sent him a text so he’d have mine.

Before I could say anything else, Ezra gave me another nod, mumbled a goodbye, and rushed out of the shop.

I turned my eyes on Micah, who gave me a smile and a thumbs-up, making me roll my eyes. Tomorrow, I’d need to figure out a way to make Ezra realize we could be much, much more than friends.

Ezra

Did I just agree to go on a date with a man?

I mean, sure, he said he’d like to be friends, but we both knew what he actually wanted. And I’d said yes.

I hadn’t just said yes, but I’d felt disappointed when he’d backed off so quickly. Why? I should’ve been relieved, right?

As I walked through the shopping center—locally known as The One-Stop Shops—I snuck glances at the men around me and tried to see if my sudden interest in Kezan was a late blooming bi-awakening. None of the men appeared remotely attractive to me, though. What was it about Kezan that drew me in?

Was it his wide smile? The deep timbre of his voice? The blush that had graced his tan cheeks when I’d rejected his date request?

I didn’t know what was so special about the man, and as much as the fact I was attracted to him worried me, I realized I wanted to get to know him too.

As I drove home, I took a moment to admire the town I lived in, hoping it would stop my thoughts from circling around Kezan.

I’d moved to Mistvale ten years ago when Hawthorne Infotech had offered me a job I couldn’t refuse. My parents still lived in Seattle, and my original plan had been to work in this town for a few years, gain some experience, and then return to the big city.

Instead, I’d fallen in love with the small, touristy town with its boat rides, twice monthly farmers’ markets, and rain. It rained all the time, and I loved it.

There was something…magical about the town, something that made it feel like home more than any other place I’d ever been.

Driving through town, I smiled at the mismatched buildings, everything from stone bungalows to cute little one-bedroom houses dotted the sides of the street. Though most of the shops in the town were at The One-Stop Shops, a few stores showed up every few houses to break up the monotony, mostly shops that had existed before TOSS was ever built.

By the time I parked in the driveway of my two-bedroom home, my thoughts had turned back to Kezan. Fuck, I didn’t even know his last name, yet he was never far from my mind. I’d met him just yesterday. What could be so special about him that I couldn’t stop thinking about him?

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at the text he’d sent me earlier.

Unknown: This is Kezan. Thank you for agreeing to dinner.

I added his number to my contacts before shooting him a message.

Me: What’s your last name?

The moment I clicked Send, I realized it was a foolish question. Why would I ask him that?

Kezan: It’s Dominique :)

Kezan Dominique, the man who had consumed all my thoughts since yesterday.

I wasn’t sure how to reply, so I closed out of the chat and rested my head on the steering wheel. I needed to get myself together. This was nothing, just dinner with a potential friend. Nothing more.

I got out of the car and walked into my house, smiling as my dog, Russ, rushed up to me. He was a German shepherd I’d adopted four years ago and my best friend.

“Hey, buddy. Did you have a good day? Let me change, and then I’ll tell you all about what a shit pile today was.”

Russ woofed happily as he followed me into the bedroom, hopping up on the bed as I walked over to my closet.

As I changed into some lounge clothes, I wondered what tomorrow would be like. What dinner with Kezan would be like.

Excitement and unease washed through me, and I forced myself to stop thinking about the younger man. I was building this up to be way bigger than it actually was. It wasn’t like one dinner with him would change the whole course of my life, right?