Page 46 of Heat & Deceit
I get to the coffee shop right as Randal does, right as the first traces of sunlight trickle across the sky. He does a double take when he spots me, eyes skating down my body. I pretend not to notice and nod.
“Morning.”
“Rome.” His voice is a little strained. The last time he saw me, Tabitha had caught him making out with his boyfriend in the back room, and I drove down to address the situation.
I unlock the front door and hold the door open. “How’s Ryan?”
Tabitha wanted me to fire him. I didn’t think it was necessary, especially not after I talked to him. Sometimes employees make mistakes, and it hasn’t happened again, which is a good thing too. Randal has been here a long time, and he’s a great employee.
“Oh, um.” He chuckles nervously as he scoots by me and into the shop. “We broke up.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“No worries.” His eyes catch on something over my shoulder.
I turn to look.
Carmine is standing on the sidewalk, the light above the shop door illuminating her very exasperated expression. I’m confused for a second but spot the familiar purple apron in her hand.
Well, this is awkward.
“You?” she whispers. “You’re the third owner?”
“You know each other?” Randal asks.
“Um,” she begins, face scrunching in discomfort.
Javier and Ly decide to make their grand appearance as the two of us struggle to explain. Ly is busy on his phone, but Javi notices me holding the door open for Carmine and grins.
“Good, everyone is here. I see you two have met,” he says to Carmine.
“Um,” she says again.
Ly lifts his gaze from his phone, a devious smirk tugging at his lips. “Good morning, Carm.”
“Carmine,” she says quietly. “My name is Carmine.”
Somehow, it doesn’t seem quite right.
Looking at each of us in turn, she presses her lips together and stalks through the door I’m still holding open.
“Nice to meet you, Carmine. I’m Rome,” I say as she passes, pretending like I haven’t met her before. Part of me is skeptical about the pills being for her sister; I wouldn’t put it past an omega to lie about buying their own suppressants. Even if she were an omega, all I really care about is taking business from my parents’ pharmaceutical company. They price gouge people, and if I can offer inhalers or other types of medicine—like heat suppressants—at a deep discount, I will.
Carmine stiffens at my greeting but doesn’t turn around. Randal is at her side in a second, and the two of them head to the back. As soon as that door swings shut, Ly releases a manic laugh.
“Well, hell, I think she might hate you more than she does me.”
“What did I miss?” Javi asks.
I shake my head. “Not here.”
The three of us head to the back as well. Ly and I cut toward the office, while Javi goes to check in with Randal and Carmine. The two stop whispering as he approaches, and Carmine’s gaze flicks to mine for a millisecond before she focuses on Javi.
I duck into the office and grimace. She was pretty mad at me last night at the pottery studio. I hadn’t intended to come across like a know-it-all-alpha, but in hindsight, I can understand that I was, in fact, being a bit of a dick. Pottery is something I’m really good at, and I saw her struggling and...I didn’t listen to her.
I should apologize again, though I’m not sure she’d want to hear it. Still, my advice worked. I left the studio before I saw the final product, but after she lectured me on boundaries and prepped her next round of clay, she sat her cute little butt behind her pottery wheel and slowed down.
“So.” Ly takes the seat behind the desk and kicks his feet up, linking his hands behind his head. “What was that about?”
