Page 22 of Gold Rush
One of the workers from the night of the signing eases it open, looking in at us, her eyes flickering from Seth to me. “I’m really glad you’re okay.” She swallows, her eyes widening as her coworker appears over her shoulder.
He’s overwhelmingly alpha, and bounces on the balls of his feet as he looks into the room.
“Did you tell her about the call?”
The girl frowns, glancing back at him disapprovingly before her eyes dart back to Seth and I. “Someone called us and asked if you were rescheduling, but I told the guy you hadn’t set a date yet. Penelope will coordinate it with your agent, and I’ll make sure the few people who we had to...” She hesitates. “Well, who had toleave, I’ll make sure they get their copies.” She motions to the books in front of me as I mechanically sign them.
“I don’t think the guy was someone who even had a ticket.” The alpha behind her pipes up again and Seth’s shoulders tense an almost imperceptible amount. I probably shouldn’t be watching him close enough to evennoticethat.
The guy rambles on. “I was at the front of the store when Mary said you were sick or something because some guy walked in and wouldn’t show me his ticket for the event, he had a letter and was being weird — I had to kick him out, and I think it washim—”
“James.” His coworker cuts her eyes to him, hissing his name in warning.
I finish signing the last book, pulling my hand away as I try to smooth over the chaos. “I don’t mind rescheduling, I know it was inconvenient for everyone —”
“But it can wait.” Seth looks over at me. “You can talk to your agent about it.”
I glance at him, then pause. The memory of the alpha bookseller and the sound of the bell above the door makes my skin prickle as I whisper, “Yeah, I can wait.”
The girl in the doorway nods. “You should. There’s a lot of weirdos out there.” Her eyes linger on Seth before she flushes and looks back at me. “It’s probably safer if you’re settled in a pack — uh, not that all omegas need one but —”
“It’s safer though.” The alpha behind her nods rapidly. “I knew a guy who would chase down omegas, bite or no bite at uni. He only stopped when another alpha threatened to kill him for hitting on his omega.”
Seth scowls as my stomach sours. Pushing up from the table, I force a polite smile at the two workers. “I’ll have my agent contact Penelope when I know more about my schedule. She’s going to ship some bookmarks over to go in the leftover books.”
They thank me, shuffling to the side as Seth’s hand finds the small of my back, his head bent as he whispers into my ear. “I know it’s not my designationormy place, but I don’t like the idea of you being anywhere without…” He hesitates as we step out of the bookstore and I squint up at the cloudy sky.
“A bodyguard?” I look up at him, his nose nearly brushing mine as the line between his brows smooths out.
He smiles. “No.”
I glance back at him as he opens the car door, tilting my head, amused. “What, then?”
His lips twitch. “A me, honestly.”
The laugh bubbles up as I climb into the car, followed by him only a second later — Bennett was right, he says everything he thinks, but there’s something so open about it. There’s comfort in knowing Seth is utterly transparent in his affections.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
JUNE
I haveno idea how I ended up in a clothing store.
One second Seth and I were in the backseat of the town car where I finally found the courage to ask about the laundry room, and in the next, the car was stopping on a street row full of shops. Seth dragged me into one of them, and now I’mhereand there’s a very chipper beta associate fawning over me and showing me rack after rack of clothes in my size.
I didn’t even know Icouldbuy things off the rack in London.
I’ve always been above the standard size range in stores, but this one has a plethora of options, from jeans and trousers to shirts that actually encompass the expanse of my chest.
It helps that the other workers areeatingup Seth’s presence. He waltzed in with all the confidence in the world, and I don’t knowhowhe manages to command a room so well.
“What about something like this?” The associate helping me holds up two different options of pants, and I consider them. One is a tighter pair of jeans, while the other pair of trousers look similar to the loose fitting ones I brought from home.
I nod toward the trousers, reaching out to touch the fabric on instinct. They’reverysoft. “I like these.” Reaching for the tag tosee what the damage will be, I startle when the associate jerks them away.
“Sorry, your boyfriend said not to let you look.” She gives me a sheepish look. “I’ll just go put these in the fitting room.”
She scurries off as I turn my head slowly, eyeing Seth on one of the couches outside the fitting rooms.Boyfriend.
