In the Shadows (The Club)

“So, good news?” Vivian asked, perching on the edge of her desk and swinging her feet while Zeke closed the door behind them.

“Yeah. I hope so.”

If she didn’t know him better, she might think he was nervous. “Spill, Zeke.”

“I quit my job.”

The news stunned her to silence. He continued, words speeding up as he paced the tiny space.

“You were right. I need to do something else, be someone else. So I quit.”

“Mr. Mak was okay with that?”

A ghost of a grin flitted over his lips. “Yeah. He understood.”

“Wow. That’s...good,” she finished lamely. When he raised a brow and pinned her with that questioning look of his, she held up her hands. “I don’t know what else to say. I know you wanted to quit, so I’m happy you did.”

“But?”

“Now what will you do?”

“Remember when I told you I was going to do something else before I met you?”

Dread coiled in the pit of her gut. Oh, no. This was going to be the goodbye she’d convinced herself would never arrive. “Mhmm.” She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling.

“I’ve been planning on buying a book store. My realtor’s been looking for the right fit for a while and she’s found a few she thinks I would like.”

“A bookstore?” Images of his laden-shelves rose. She smiled despite her knowledge of what was about to come. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

He stopped pacing and his shoulders dropped. “I knew you’d understand.”

“I’m guessing there aren’t many places for sale around here.”

She’d tried to not sound pitiful or judgmental, but he must have heard the worry in her voice because he was at her side, hand gently cupping her neck as she peered up at him.

“No,” he agreed, thumb brushing her cheek. “There aren’t. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

She tried to protest, but he leaned down and kissed her. She moaned at the contact, nerves sizzling when his tongue flicked against her lower lip. He was tender, even as he slid a thigh between her knees, forcing her to widen her legs so he could stand between them. She pressed against him, eyes prickling at his gentleness.

The absence of his mouth pulled a soft noise of protest from her.

“Why does it feel like you’re kissing me goodbye?” he whispered.

“Because you’ll be leaving.”

He frowned at her. “I will?”

She tried to laugh, but it came out shorter, angrier than she wanted. “You’re going to buy a bookstore and move away. And we’ll try to make this work and it’ll fall apart and that’ll be the end.”

“You’ve got it all planned out, huh?”

“How else could it possibly go, Zeke?” A stray tear skittered its way down her cheek. Damn, she didn’t want to cry over this. She wanted to be happy for him. To be glad that he was finally getting the life he deserved after everything he’d been through. She shouldn’t be acting so selfish.

His lips brushed her chin, where the tear had halted its descent, kissing it away. “Well,” he rumbled, “I had something different in mind.”

She sniffled and he knelt, so she wasn’t looking up at him anymore. She lifted a hand and traced his jaw, at least until he captured her hand with his and kissed her fingertips. “What’s your idea?” she asked.

“We look at listings together. If we find one in a city we both like, we go take a look at it. If we don’t, or if you don’t want to leave Divine Twins, I’ll start looking at real estate here. It would take longer to start the store from scratch, but it’s not impossible.”