Chapter 1

Everett

I yawn loudly, scrubbing my hand down my face as I wipe down the counters and wait for the machines to warm up. The smell of coffee and baked bread wafts through the small coffee shop I work in. It's connected to a book store so it's always quiet this early in the morning, peaceful in a way that I rarely get anywhere else in my life.

I turn my head to the sound of the door that connects the shop to the store opening, little Mrs. Brainerd shuffling through. I smile at her fluffy white hair and cardigan as she makes her way over to me slowly.

"Good morning, sweetheart! How are you this morning?" She asks. Her voice is cheerful, but the smile doesn't meet her eyes. It hasn't since Mr. Brainerd died almost a year ago.

"I'm good Mrs. B. How are you?" I ask, letting her pinch my cheek before giving it a gentle pat.

"Well, I woke up this morning so that's something." She says, grabbing the same mug she uses every morning and pouring herself a cup of coffee. I slip some milk into it for her, just how she likes it, as she sits on the stool and watches me prepare the shop.

"Could you do me a favor today?" She asks before taking a sip.

"Sure thing. What's up?" I ask, another yawn slipping out despite my attempts to stifle it.

"We have a new book club starting. Could you put it up on the inter-web?" She asks and I grin at her terminology. I started the book store's social media when I took this job almost three years ago during my freshman year of college.

"Of course. What's the book about?" I ask.

"Ooh, brave men of another world fighting against monsters like dragons and vampires. The fella on the cover is fun to look at too." She says, waggling her eyebrows making me laugh.

"I'll put it up after the morning rush." I say and she stands, cleaning her mug before setting it back down.

"Thank you, sweetheart. Call if you need anything." She says, heading back to the bookstore just as the bell rings, signaling my first customer.

I turn towards the door and put on my best customer service smile when I catch a pair of bright green eyes and a little nose, pink from the cold. My heart starts to hammer in my chest, my hands shaking as I look at Harper. She's easily the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and I make a fool of myself nearly every time she steps foot in here, which is at least three days a week.

"Hey, Everett!" She says in a cheerful voice, her calling my name pulls me back into reality.

"Morning, Harper. The usual?" I ask and she nods with a little laugh.

"I love that you remember my coffee order." She says with a grin that makes my knees buckle. She tosses her long dark hair behind her shoulder and the soft smell of her shampoo hits me in the face and I have to force myself not to lean in closer towards it.

"I only remember the order of my favorite customers." I say, trying for a confident smile. She just nods and starts tapping on her phone and I sigh a little, wishing I had the balls to talk to her about something other than coffee.

"Do you have any of that lemon loaf this morning?" She asks and her voice causes me to start, hot coffee spilling down my shirt. I hiss in pain and grab a towel as she watches me with a concerned face.

"Uh, yeah. Just give me a sec." I say and she nods.

"You alright?" She asks and I nod, turning away so she can't see the blush on my face.

I hurry and place her order on the counter, ringing her up and watching as she places her change in the tip jar. She smiles warmly at me before turning to leave.

"See you next time, Ev!" She calls and I smile.

"Have a good day, Harper." I respond, watching as the door clicks shut behind her.

I let out a long sigh, looking down at my still wet clothing. At least I wore a black shirt and won't have a huge stain on it. The rest of the morning passes in a blur, a steady stream of customers come into the small shop, most of them regulars. But we get quite a few college students since we're so close to campus. I clean up and restock, before grabbing the laptop from the office and the book Mrs. B left out for the book club. I set up behind the counter in case any customers come in and pull up our social media accounts.

I turn the book over a few times in my hand, reading the description. The front cover has a bad ass looking guy on it with long dark hair, huge muscles wearing a shit ton of armor and carrying a huge sword. It looks pretty cool and I'm actually kind of interested in it. I pull out my phone and flip through my contacts until I get to my friend Jack.

"What do you want? It's still early." He says as soon as he answers. I huff at him, looking at the clock.

"Don't you need to be to the school by ten?" I ask.

"Ah, shit." He answers and I hear him rummaging through his drawers on the other end. "What do you want?" He asks.

"There's a new book club at the book store starting in a couple of days. You wanna go?" I ask and he grunts at me as I hear the rustling of him getting dressed over the phone.

"A book club? Isn't that for old ladies?" He asks and I chuckle.

"This book is about a war between dragons and shit. It's not like a cook book or a knitting class." I say, chewing on some ice as I type up the description online.

"Stop chewing on ice, you're gonna ruin your teeth." Jack barks through the phone, but I ignore him.

"Yes or no? I'm sure Mrs. B would just give us the books. You're the one who was bitching that we need to try new things." I say and he groans a little, obviously annoyed by me.

"It's about dragons?" He asks.

"Yeah. Kind of looks like that one video game you play." I say and he goes quiet as he thinks it over.

"Fine. But you better not bail on me the after the first night." He says.

"Deal." I answer and hang up before he changes his mind.

The next few days are so busy I nearly forget about the book club thing until Mrs. B hands me the two copies I requested. I offered to pay for them, but she refused. Furthering herself as my favorite human on this planet.

Jack shows up with barely a couple of minutes to spare until the book club is supposed to start.

"Cutting it a little short there aren't you?" I ask him with an annoyed scowl.

"Shut up and let's go." He says, pushing me through the door and into the store.

I lead him to the back room where Mrs. B put a bunch of comfortable couches and armchairs as well as lamps for gentle light. Bookshelves line every wall, stacked to capacity with beautiful leather bound books. There's even a bronze, gliding ladder that she doesn't use anymore, but she calls it her pride and joy.

I shove Jack into one of the love seats that's big enough for both of our tall frames. I pull my hat off my head and shove it into my backpack, pulling out our books and handing him one. He starts nudging me as I open the book, his frantic smacking of my leg becoming more annoying each passing second. I turn off the ringer on my phone, shoving it in my bag just as another painful smack lands on my thigh.

"Ow. What the hell?" I ask, looking up at him. But he's not looking at me. He's looking around the room. I follow his eyes and see people staring at me.

Well, not just people.

Women.

Eight of them.

And no other guys in sight.

"Finally! Some testosterone! These things were getting a little boring with you bunch of hens." Says a lady that looks old enough to have been born around the time the Titanic went down.

Jack looks over at me, his eyes wide and terrified before looking to the rest of the group, then back to me again.

"We're glad you could join us. Should we get started?" Another lady asks. There are murmurs of agreement through the group and Jack looks back over at me.

"What the hell?" He whispers.

"Don't be rude. We're already here. Let's just give it a chance." I say and Jack's eyes narrow into annoyed slits.

"How long until we get to the smut?" The old lady asks and Jack and I look at each other confused.

"Smut?" I ask and the women look at us, some laugh while others look at us apologetically.

"Do you know what kind of book this is, dear?" One of the other women asks. She looks about the same age as my mom, but she seems nice enough.

"Uh, yeah. Fantasy." I say and the old lady barks out a laugh before responding.

"Oh, it's a fantasy alright."