Page 44 of The Jorogumo

"She said she's willing to sell for less if it's me. I don't feel right about that. And what if I can't take care of it? What if I mess things up and the store goes into loss? What if I lose it? I don't know how to run a business."

I blinked, surprised at his statement. How could he even say that?

"Sweetheart, you've been running that business for almost a decade. You'll be just as good at it with your name on thedeed. If the money wasn't an issue, would you want to own the store?"

Liam was quiet for a long moment, but when he spoke, I could hear the sincerity in his voice. "Yeah, yeah, I would. I love this store. I don't want it going into the hands of some stranger."

"Okay, then. There's your answer."

"But the money is still an issue, Haruto. I don't want Mrs. Warner to take a hit. It's not fair to her."

You know what? Fuck the human pace.

"What if I paid for it?"

The silence on the other end was deafening.

"Liam?"

"You want to buy the store?" I couldn't quite read the tone of his voice, but I answered honestly nonetheless.

"No. I want to pay for it so you can buy it."

"But why?"

"Because you're my mate, and I feel things for you I'd much prefer to tell you in person. I want you to be happy, and I know this will make you happy. I have more money than I'll ever need, Liam. It's not a problem for me. Plus, it's a comic book store. It'swhere we met! We can't let some random human get their grubby hands on it."

Liam chuckled, and I relaxed for the first time since I'd answered the call.

"We should talk about this later," he said after a moment of quiet, and I hummed in agreement.

"Yours or mine?" And how soon could it beours?

"Yours. I'll come over after closing."

"Sounds good."

There was another pause, and then Liam spoke. "Haruto?"

"Yes?" I asked, a smile in my voice, and Liam exhaled shakily.

"I feel things for you I'd rather say in person too."

The call ended before I could reply, and I could just see the blush heating up his cheeks as he gripped the phone tightly. The thought made me grin, and when I returned to Silas, he waggled his eyebrows at me, clearly amused by my unusually high spirits.

I helped him finish up, then went off to see if anyone else needed my help. I'd already finished my assigned chores, but I was feeling remarkably social today.

While I didn't usually act like it, the people at the Sanctuary, my family, were very important to me. The way they'd accepted Liam just solidified it. I wanted to be around them more, so I was going to try to change some of my antisocial tendencies.

Hours later, Liam arrived just before dinner, so I took him straight to the Dining Room, where we helped the Lakes residents set up for dinner. The responsibility for cooking and doing dishes was passed on from area to area every day, but my favorite were the days Ocean—that was, Jacinta—got to cook.

People started filtering in just as we were getting done, and then Liam and I sat with our friends and shared a meal. I could tell that chatting and laughing with Keoni, Khush, and Silas helped Liam stop worrying about the store for a minute, and I was glad.

I knew he'd be wonderful at it, and I could tell why the store's owner wanted to sell her beloved shop to him.

Liam took care of that store like it was his already, and I just needed to get him to see that.

Luckily, I had a few tricks up my sleeve. One way or another, I was going to convince Liam.

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