Page 28 of Forget Me Not (The Shifters of Timberfall #1)

Syve

Aimi settled onto the green couch next to Syve, handing over one of the two mugs she was holding. Syve took the proffered drink in both hands, bringing the steaming cup up to inhale the aroma deeply, eyes fluttering closed.

“I swear if you ever stop making coffee, I’ll cry,” Syve groaned.

Aimi shot her a smug look over the edge of her own mug.

“So…” Syve continued, “I went over to Bastien’s house on Saturday…”

With a shocked hum and a dramatic head tilt that almost landed her blonde pigtail in her coffee, Aimi demanded, “Excuse me? Why am I only hearing about this now? On Monday ?”

Her incredulous tone rose an octave with each question.

“Bitch, spill the beans! Ha, get it?” She raised her mug between them, grinning, “Beans?”

Syve playfully swatted her friend, rolling her eyes and complaining about her bad jokes, then launched into the recap of her weekend.

“He kissed you?!” Aimi shrieked, causing most of the patrons to glance in their direction.

“Shut up!” Syve scolded, using her eyes to gesture toward the rest of the mostly full cafe. “For real though, I just told you I managed to turn into an animal on purpose, and you can’t get past that one little detail?”

“Little?!” She was still squawking a solid thirty decibels higher than she needed to be.

Syve sighed deeply. “Yes, he kissed me. It was a mistake, and he apologized—can we move on please?”

“A mista-apologized?! Baby girl, with all due respect, what the fuck?”

“Aimi. I’m married.” She dragged out the last word, thinking her friend obviously forgot to pack her brain cell when she left for work, because that was not new information.

Pity instantly flooded Aimi’s features. “Oh, love. ”

“Don’t look at me like that. I know, okay? I just…can’t do that to him. It’s only barely been a year—I shouldn’t have let it happen.” Her voice cracked.

“Syve.” Aimi leaned across the couch to tightly hug her friend. “I understand.” She squeezed Syve once and then let her go, sitting back into the cushions. “So, is it super-weird now between you two?”

“That’s just the thing,” Syve replied, wiping the inner corner of her eyes to wick the tears she managed to prevent from falling.

“I freaked out, he changed the subject and then it was like it never happened.” She shrugged.

“We’ve even been texting all morning and I was planning to take him coffee after this… ”

“God you guys are so cute.” Aimi groaned. “Okay, I have to get inventory done. Let me get you a coffee for Butcher Boy and then you can get out of here—but you have to text me later! No more waiting days to fill me in on things! I’m too nosy, I’ll wilt away.” She swooned dramatically.

In no time, Syve was headed out the door, with an Americano in one hand and a deli bag in the other. Aimi insisted on sending the sandwich along, prattling about extra brownie points and how Bas never got coffee without one.

When Syve opened the door, hollering goodbye over her shoulder, she stepped right into a wall of a man. Unable to prevent it, a little of the espresso she was holding splashed onto the man’s crisp white shirt .

“I am so sorry!” She looked up and all the guilt she felt immediately faded. “Cyrus? What are you doing here?”

“What is it with you Timberfall girls and coffee?” he teased, wiping uselessly at his shirt. “I’m not here to cause any trouble, Doe Eyes—you can relax.”

She felt the blood drain from her body.

“What did you just call me?”

“Ah, so the pup didn’t tell you?” He stepped closer to whisper, “You and I have more in common than just a java addiction.” He pulled back, winked, and then slipped past her into the shop.

Bastien’s coffee would now be delivered with a side of interrogation.

Syve made her way across the street to Hal’s, carefully juggling the deli bag to push open the door.

The shop’s namesake was standing behind the counter with Bastien, the two men appearing to be in the middle of a serious debate.

Bastien was the first to look her way when the cowbell above the door rang out her entrance.

“Bambi.” His entire demeanor brightened as he made his way around the counter.

“Hi, Bas.” She smiled in return, adding over his shoulder, “Hey Hal!”

“Hey, pretty girl! What brings you here of all places?” the older man asked, leaning across the counter.

“I was leaving The Glass and thought I’d bring this one some coffee.” She shrugged as she handed over the coffee and sandwich to Bastien, who was now standing just to her side. “I saw Cyrus, by the way. You failed to mention that he knows,” she whisper-hissed. Bastien had the decency to grimace.

“Shit, sorry Bambi, I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to share that—it’s okay though, he’s one of us ,” he murmured back, booping Syve on the nose as he lifted the deli bag to inspect. “What’s this?”

“Oh, Aimi sent that. She said you usually get it with your coffee?”

Hal gasped and dashed from behind the counter to snatch the bag out of Bastien’s hand. “You tell Aimi she’s a real gem, will you?” he said enthusiastically, then leaned over and kissed Syve on the cheek. “You’ve just made my whole day!”

Bastien rolled his eyes.

“Not that you were having a rough day anyhow, I just agreed to close up so you could go home early.”

“You did, and Hattie will be very happy to have extra help with the ducks—but you still haven’t agreed to buy me out.” He looked pointedly at Bas.

“Buy you out?” Syve interjected, “Why would you need someone to buy you out, Hal?”

“I’m no spring chicken; I need someone to take over so I can retire—which I’d like to do by the end of the year. I’ve been trying to convince Bastien to be the one to do it. Maybe you can persuade him?” Hal raised an eyebrow at Syve, both of hers raising in return .

“I don’t know how I could do that.” She laughed.

“Hal, you really don’t have to tell everyone that you’re trying to bully me into buying.”

“Sure I do.” He winked, clapping Bas on the shoulder.

Then he said goodbye to Syve, who demanded he tell his wife hello for her, and started down the hall to the back door.

After jiggling the knob once to ensure the door was securely locked, Bas stuffed his hands in his hoodie pocket and turned toward Syve.

“Thanks for waiting around while I locked up. I feel like those tasks went faster having you there to keep me entertained.” He smirked, looking her right in the eye. “Can I walk you home?”

Syve nodded, unable to look away. He stepped closer and she thought for a second he might try to kiss her again, but before she could react one way or the other, he stepped past her. He took a few steps down the alley before stopping to wait for her.

There was no reason for her to be disappointed—she should not have been disappointed. So why was she?

“Can I ask a question?” she said when she caught up with him. Bas side-eyed her and hummed in acknowledgement .

“What’s stopping you from buying out Hal? Is it finances?” She badgered, gasped and then amended, “Sorry, that’s none of my business—Damn, Hal! I let curiosity get the better of me, forget I asked.”

Chuckling, Bas shook his head. “No, you’re fine. It’s complicated. I technically have the money…I just…” He sighed. “Dez left me everything. I have the money to buy out Hal; I just feel like trash for even thinking about spending a single dime.”

Syve nodded, knowing the feeling all too well. When she had finally needed to dip into Erhard’s life insurance to start paying the bills she promptly heaved the entire contents of her stomach into the kitchen sink.

“You should do it. You should use the money, and you should buy Hal’s.”

Bastien stopped walking and turned to blink at her.

“I have a feeling Desiderio would want you to. He left everything to you for a reason—he wanted you to use it. I think you know he would want you to do it. Especially if it makes you happy.”

Bas opened his mouth, likely to object, and she cut him off.

“Bas, I also know what it feels like to survive. It will be okay.” She reached out and grabbed his wrists.

It has to be . Maybe she was not just talking to him.

Slipping his hands out of his pocket, he twisted them to hold her hands and murmured, “How do you know? ”

“I guess, I’m just being optimistic.” She smiled sadly, squeezed his hands once and then let go. They still had two blocks to go, so she turned and started walking again.

Bastien sighed behind her. “You’re incredible, you know that?”

“Incredible?” She laughed, watching over her shoulder as his long legs quickly ate up the distance between them. “Why do you think that?”

“I have never met anyone with a heart as big as yours, that’s all. That reminds me, I have pictures, from Del, she literally won’t shut up about how you saved her life—you’re her hero.” He dug his phone out of his jeans and began swiping across the screen.

With a content hum, she replied, “I’m hardly a hero, but I’m glad I was able to help her.”

He held his phone out to her, nodding for her to take it when she hesitated.

“You can swipe through them; there’s at least fifty.”

Syve side eyed him, surprised he would just hand his phone over like that. Most men were weirdly protective of their phone, yet here Bas was—not even looking over her shoulder while she was about to scroll through his photos.

She flipped through a dozen of the pictures, all mostly identical with the same four girls in various poses—but Del undeniably stood out the most. Not because her dress was more extravagant than the others, no, it was the absolutely radiant smile on her face.

Syve shivered, hairs rising along her arms. That feeling, that was why she loved her job.

Knowing there were another few dozen pictures yet to see, she passed the phone back to its owner before she could do something as silly as get emotional.

“Thank you for showing me, will you tell Del thank you too?” She swallowed the lump in her throat.

“Of course. But I should be the one thanking you, again. You had no reason to drop everything to come over. Still, you did. Thank you for helping my baby sister.”

She met his gaze, those slate-gray eyes. There was no mistaking the admiration emanating from them. Syve could only nod dumbly. They were now standing at the base of the stairs leading to her loft.

“One last thing,” he said, reaching into his back pocket and retrieving a slightly creased, shimmery, gold envelope.

“Shit, sorry, I probably should have put it in a different pocket…Del wanted me to give you this. It’s an invite—she’s graduating the first of the month.

I—we would all love it if you came. If you’re not busy, or if you even want to go…

obviously…” he trailed off, scuffing the cracked concrete with his boot.

Syve flipped the envelope in her hands, her name scrawled across the front in blue ink, decorated with little hearts.

“I’ll be there.”