Page 28 of Dragon’s Golden Mate (Shifter Nation: Enchanted Over Forty #2)

“Excuse me!”

“How may I help you?” Tina Wright smiled pleasantly at the customer who’d just marched up to the cash register and demanded her attention.

Or at least, she hoped she smiled pleasantly.

The Crystal Cauldron was full to the brim with customers, and some just didn’t know how to wait in line.

Tina left the cash register in Nia’s hands.

“Yeah, hi. I was wondering if you carry any of those light-up witch hats. You know, the ones with the LEDs on them? My friends and I all want to match!” The woman wore a black t-shirt with ‘Basic Witch’ emblazoned across the front and was munching on a bag of chocolate balls labeled Eye of Newt.

Tina held back her sigh. The Crystal Cauldron was a serious shop.

She carried a wide range of supplies, and throughout the year, her fellow witches often came to her for their stones, palo santo, candles, and incense.

It was tourist season, though, when everyone in America descended on Salem and decided they were witches.

“I’m sorry,” Tina said, still holding that smile. “I don’t have any of those here. You might want to try Ye Olde Broom Shoppe. I believe they carry them.”

“Jenny! Hey, Jen!” The woman leaned back and called across the shop to her friend, drawing the attention of several other customers. “We’ll have to go somewhere else!”

Tina cleared her throat. Did this woman have a clue how rude she was being?

Did she not understand that most of the shops in Salem were run by small business owners, all looking to make a living?

Still, she kept smiling. “Is there something else I can interest you in? We have some great books about beginning your journey into witchcraft, as well as some kits that include everything you need to get started.” She gestured toward the neatly wrapped packages on a nearby display rack.

Every Halloween season, Tina tried to come up with something new for The Crystal Cauldron.

She was proud of her inventory, but she had to cater to a different crowd during the month of October.

The beginner witch kits seemed like they would perfectly toe the line between those who were just there to have fun and those who genuinely wanted to explore their innate magical gifts.

“Hmmm…” The woman stuffed another handful of chocolate balls into her mouth as she picked up one of the kits and examined it. “Jenny! Jen! You want one of these?” She waved the kit over her head.

Jenny finally came over to see. “Yeah, that could be fun! We can go back home and show everyone all the spells we learned while we were here!”

Two kits were plopped down on the counter.

Tina rang them up quickly on the second register, which sat under a plastic cover for most of the year.

“As that book will tell you, you need to be very careful when you’re first starting out on your magical journey.

Your energy and intention have a big impact on what you’re doing.

” She slipped the kits into a purple gift bag.

Basic Witch laughed, waving her hand dismissively. “Oh, I’m not worried about it. It’s not like it’s real, anyway. This is all just for fun. Thanks, though!” She grabbed the bag and headed out the door, undoubtedly on her way to Ye Olde Broom Shoppe for a light-up hat or some cheesy décor.

“Tina?”

Nia still had the cash register well in hand, so Tina turned to Colette. “What’s up?”

“Uh, I’m really sorry.” Colette held her phone in her hands and chewed her bottom lip. “I completely forgot that I’ve got band practice tonight. They changed the schedule around. I’ve got to head out, or I’m going to be late.”

“Oh.” The shop was packed with tourists. She needed at least three people to run the place when it was like this. “I’m really, really sorry,” Colette insisted. “I can message my band director and…”

“Absolutely not.” Tina shook her head firmly.

“When you started here in high school, I told you I’d work around your school and band schedules.

It’s even more important now that you’re on that scholarship.

I don’t want you to lose that. Just make sure you go over your schedule for the next few weeks and make sure we’re on the same page, okay? ”

Colette’s shoulders sagged with relief. “Thanks. And again, I’m really sorry.”

“We’ll hold the fort down.” Tina gave her a wink.

“How are we going to do dinner?” Nia asked, turning to Tina as she finished ringing up a large order of soaps, sage bundles, essential oils, and stones.

“Well…” This was always the problem with running a small business. The balance between having enough staff and being able to afford them was a delicate one. “We’ll order in. My treat.”

“Sweet!” Nia returned to the next customer, smiling brightly. “Hi, there. Did you find everything you needed today?”

The line was long at the counter, extending too close to the door. If new customers came in and saw that, they were likely to turn around and leave. Tina grabbed the next person and led her over to her register. Between the two of them, she managed to reduce the line to just a couple of people.

She was just about to go work the floor, restocking and straightening, when she noticed a customer eyeing the jewelry in the locked glass case adjacent to the cash register.

She never wanted anyone to linger too long without being offered assistance.

Many people would give up if they couldn’t just grab what they needed off the rack.

“Is there anything you’d like to see?” She pulled the key off her wrist and unlocked the sliding back door of the case, opening it to let her customer know she was more than willing to help.

“Well, maybe.” His muscular arms were leaning on the glass as he looked down inside.

Though she could only see him from this odd angle, Tina noticed the way the display lights highlighted his cheekbones and the long, straight line of his nose.

His dark hair was combed carefully back.

The scent of his cologne, only reaching her now that she stood right there in front of him, was a tantalizing mix of pine and vetiver.

Her wolf reacted with a start, furiously intrigued.

She clenched her hand in the folds of her skirt, telling her wolf to calm the hell down.

The guy was probably handsome, but there was no need to go crazy over a customer.

Granted, it’d been a while since she’d been on a date.

Her work and her coven filled most of her time, and that was a much more satisfying way to live than chasing men on dating apps.

“I’d like to get a necklace for a special someone’s birthday. I’m just not sure which one. They’re all pretty. What do you think?” He lifted his head to look at her.

Her wolf punched her in the gut as the man’s sparkling eyes met hers, and his smile revealed his dimples.

This wasn’t just a handsome face. It was a familiar one that she’d watched from the sidelines through most of her high school years at Fern Hollow Academy.

It was older now, with a few lines and creases that hadn’t been there before, but they only added character.

“Dex?” she asked breathlessly. “Dex Heywood?”

“Oh! Tina! It’s nice to see you.” His smile widened, and he reached across the counter to shake her hand.

She returned the gesture with her left hand, realized it was the wrong one, and quickly switched.

Her face burned, and she was vibrating all the way down to her bones.

She felt as though everyone in the shop must be staring at them, wondering just what this interaction was all about.

Her whole heart and past felt like they were on display. “Nice to see you, too.”

“I didn’t know you worked here,” he said.

“It’s worse than that. I own the place.” She managed a smile, and this one was far more genuine than the one she reserved for obnoxious customers who didn’t take witchcraft seriously.

“Nice. What better place to buy a birthday present from than a shop owned by an old friend?”

Friend. Right. That was all they’d ever managed to be, and even that was tenuous.

Dex wasn’t there because he realized how long it’d been since he’d seen her and wanted to drop by for a visit. He was there because he needed to make a purchase. At least he was going for the quality stuff.

“I’m just a typical helpless guy when it comes to these things,” he explained sheepishly.

“Well, let’s see.” She didn’t want to ask who he was buying for and what she liked. She didn’t want to see how happy he was when he discussed his mate's or girlfriend’s favorite color or what kind of style she had.

Instead, Tina gravitated toward the necklace she liked quite a bit herself. The sterling silver setting was minimal, allowing the stone's beauty to shine through. It flashed under the lights as she removed it from the case and set it on the counter. “This one is pink moonstone.”

“Yeah.” Dex picked it up, turning it from side to side as he examined it. “That’s perfect. I’ll take it.”

“Would you like it gift wrapped?” She was already pulling a sheet of purple wrapping paper off the roll she kept nearby.

“That’d be great. Thanks.”

Tina was grateful that she’d done this so many times. Even with shaking fingers and the feeling that Dex was watching her every move, she perfectly creased all the corners and tied a sparkly bow on top.

She was just slipping it into a gift bag when a little girl ran up to the counter and tackled Dex from behind, wrapping her arms around his leg and hugging him tight.

“Oof!” Dex pretended to fall against the counter before he turned around. “Are you training for the football team again?”

The girl giggled up at him, showing off the big gap where her two front teeth used to be. “No, Daddy! I play soccer!” There was a slight lisp on the last word.

“And she’s a star player,” Dex said to Tina. He winked and put his finger to his lips before taking the bag off the counter and holding it against his other side, where the little girl wouldn’t see it. “This is my daughter, Sage. Sage, this is Tina. She and I went to the Academy together.”

Sage gave Tina a shy wave.

“Hi, Sage. You have a very pretty name.”

“Thank you.” She giggled again.

Tina’s heart swelled at the way Dex’s strong hand stroked Sage’s hair away from her face, an automatic gesture of love and kindness.

The love between them was palpable, and it made her forget that the store was full enough to make the fire marshal uncomfortable.

The gift must’ve been for Sage, but that meant Dex must have a mate.

He was a missed opportunity, the one that got away, the one she never really had in the first place.

“Speaking of the Academy, did you get your invitation for the reunion?” As soon as Tina asked him, she wished she hadn’t.

She wasn’t entirely sure if she was going to go, and a guy like Dex probably wouldn’t do anything so ridiculous.

It was just her damn wolf, trying to come up with a reason to keep him there a few minutes longer.

“Oh, I have to,” Dex replied. “Debbie told me there was no way she’d let me skip out on it.”

Ah, yes. His twin sister, the president of their class. That made sense. “I’m sure it’s going to be great. I guess I’ll see you there.”

“Sounds good. We’ll get out of your way and let you get back to your customers.”

“Bye!” Sage waggled her fingers again before taking her daddy’s hand and walking out of the shop.

Tina watched them go. Her wolf was pounding and kicking inside her, telling her to go after him. It’d been twenty-five years since she’d seen him, and he still affected her just as much as he had before.

Nia’s elbow punched into her side and her memories. “Who was that?”

“Oh.” Tina blinked. The crowd, the tourists, and the fact that they were short a staff member all came rushing back to her. “Just someone I hadn’t seen in a long time.”

“So, you had to make up for lost time?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on!” Nia laughed. “You two had your eyes glued to each other.”

“No. It was nothing like that.”

Because it couldn’t be, even though her wolf desperately thought otherwise.