Page 63 of Galen

“I also told them I would put on a leather Speedo and spank them too. Free of charge.”

“Cool.” I blinked and turned to him. “Wait. What?”

Kyo laughed, exposing a dimple in his cheek. “Where is your head today? Still on vacation?”

“Seems like it. Sorry.”

The bell above the entrance dinged as Galen walked inside, ducking his head to get through the door. I was mid-sip as he strolled toward me, a cocky little grin curving the edge of his mouth.

“Hey, babe,” he said.

I choked on my coffee.

“Babe?” Kyo asked, glancing between the two of us.

I was still trying not to die and coughed, wiping at my mouth. Galen smiled as he reached forward and placed his hand on my forearm.

“You okay?” he asked. “I can give you mouth to mouth if I need to.”

I cut my eyes at him. “That won’t be necessary.”

Galen turned his attention to Kyo and held out a hand. “I’m Galen. Simon’s boyfriend.”

“Hey.” Kyo shook his hand, still taken aback. I didn’t blame him. Yeah, he probably would’ve believed the angels and demons thing way easier. “Wait. You’re that guy who showed up last weekend.”

“Funny how fate works, right?” Galen casually rested against the counter. “I came in looking for something and found him instead.”

Kyo’s gaze moved to me. “Why didn’t you tell me you started dating someone?”

“It’s recent,” I answered, doing my best to smile. It felt super strained. “Very recent.”

An older man entered the store and walked over to check out the wall of clocks. Kyo slapped on his best customer service smile and approached him.

“Ah, you’re a collector,” Kyo said after speaking to the man a moment. “Well, I can tell you right now that some of these clocks are one of a kind. This one here belonged to…”

I looked at Galen. “Quite the show you put on.”

He leaned toward me, a sexy gleam in his eyes. “Who said it was a show? Ididcome in here to find something. The ring. I just didn’t know I’d also find you.”

“Stop.” I looked down at the counter and traced a crack in the wood. “This is why I didn’t want to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Pretend that you’re my boyfriend.” The tips of my ears heated, and my throat got a little tight. “It puts stupid thoughts in my head. Makes me want things I can’t actually have.”

His smile finally slipped. “You want more with me?”

I nodded. My voice would crack if I tried to talk.

“I can’t give that to you,” he softly said.

“Yeah.” My voice cracked like I thought it would. “Which is why this hurts so much.”

“Hurting you is not my intention.”

“I know.” I pushed away from the counter as tears started to sting my eyes. “It is what it is. If Kyo asks, tell him I’m in the storage room.”

Maybe I was being overly dramatic and sensitive, but I really liked Galen. I felt different around him. My heart fluttered, my breaths quickened, and warmth filled my chest. My palms sweat. And when he touched me, it was like something inside me awoke.