Page 105 of Labor of Love

I smile, rubbing my nose under his jaw. “Okay.”

We live three doors down from my parents and a block away from Luken’s. I love our families. They’re so happy and supportive. They’re wonderful parents, and we have the best siblings. I’ve always thought that our family, the one Luken and I create, would be just like them.

“You’re quiet today,” Luken says, nuzzling my head. “What’s wrong, my love?”

I’m scared.Time is running out. How do I make time slow down?

I can’t think of a single thing to say outside of what I’m thinking, so I just sigh in response. “It was a good day,” I report. “My students are so smart and eager to learn. Theyallpassed their pop quiz, and we had a fantastic discussion afterward that truly illustrated just how much they’re retaining. I’m so proud of them.”

“You’re a wonderful teacher,” Luken says. “And I’m not just saying that to be the teacher’s pet for special privileges.”

I grin. “Thank you. I try to be. Everyone has that one teacher who makes them think, ‘I want to do that when I grow up.’ I know I did. I’m hoping to be that for students, and maybe in later years, when they meet the opposite kind of teacher, they’ll still be able to foster their love of learning when they think back on my class and what school should be about.”

“I had a teacher like that, too,” Luken says. “And when I watch your class, I think about how much more I’d have liked school if there were teachers like you around.”

“You’re such a suck up,” I tease.

He kisses my forehead and then sets my feet on the ground just outside the flower shop. Luken takes my bag from me and throws it over his shoulder before taking my hand as we step inside. My nose crinkles right away. Flowers have always been far too strong for me. They make me sneeze far too often.

I love flowers, but I definitely can’t be in the shop for long. Already, my nose is twitching. I tug on Luken’s arm. “I’m going next door. You pick out the flowers.”

He smiles and I know he was expecting it. He kisses my forehead. “I’ll meet you there in a minute.”

Nodding, I hurry out of the shop and take a deep breath. It’s quickly followed by a sneeze and then my sinuses are blissfully clear.

Beside the flower shop is an old-fashioned everything store. There’s literally a little bit of anything you could possibly look for. I often wander the aisles while Luken grabs flowers. It’s a nice way to pass the time. Every aisle, every shelf is different. Random items that come and go and there’s only ever a few of each. Sometimes, if you peek behind the first row of things, you’ll see that there are different items behind them.

There’s also no rhyme or reason to the store. I head down a random aisle and find I’m in what can loosely be described as anapothecary section. There are tonics and bandages and pillows and smelling salts and hair growth elixir.

I don’t look anywhere but at the row directly at eye level, reading all the labels on the containers, boxes, bags, or whatever the product is in. When I see a different package behind what’s in front, I carefully move things so I can see what’s in the back.

I’ve found some really fun things this way. I’m never looking for anything, but I find a lot. Today doesn’t appear to be a day that I find a hidden gem, though. Not until I reach the middle of the aisle and find something in a dark glass container.

The glass clinks as I move things around to reach it and turn the label to face me.Conception Juice.I raise a brow and read all the words on the label.

One pill and guaranteed increased chances of conception. Just one pill a day until breeding is successful. More than a single pill can be harmful.

Your stress is over. Conceive now.

My heart nearly stops. As a rule, I don’t put a lot of stock in these supposed remedies. There’s rarely any science behind them. Just some random ingredients claiming to be an all-natural solution to many of life’s problems.

But… if it’s all-natural, what harm can come of trying it, right? Any little thing can help. If it doesn’t work, we’re not any worse off. But if itdoeswork…

I try very hard not to hope. Hope is incredibly dangerous. After looking at the price—ouch—I stick the jar back on the shelf and shove it all the way to the back so no one can see it. I take a minute to arrange everything else to form a wall, hiding it as best I can so it doesn’t disappear while I find Luken for some money.

Hurrying out of the shop, I take a breath to hold in my lungs so I can enter the flower shop again. Luken is always easy for me to find. My eyes always land on him as soon as we’re in the same space. To me, it means that his life force is tied to mine. Notquite a bond because bonds are illegal unless you’ve conceived. But I still think it’s a bond.

Luken turns almost as soon as I step inside and smiles. I weave my way through the crowd until I’m at his side. With his hand between mine, I reach up on my toes to kiss him. “Can I have 80?”

An eyebrow raises. “Okay…”

I release his hands and take the array of flowers from him. Immediately, I sneeze, making Luken chuckle. He counts bills from his wallet and trades them for the flowers.

“Thank you,” I say.

Before I can move away, he grips my chin in his fingers. My eyes meet his, and everything inside of me turns to fire. His smile is… so sexy. Small and sensual, and reaches all the way down to my groin. He kisses my lips, wet and lingering, before letting me go.

I’m licking my lips on the way out. Then I sneeze again. Damn flowers.

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