Page 9 of Jaeda

I rolled my eyes. “I’m the good child, remember?”

“The good ones are always good and sneaky. Don’t get you and that young man fucked up.”

I laughed and shook my head. I knew if I ever got a man, he would be all up in my business. My brothers would be too. They already thought they were an extension of my father when it came to Mia and me. Maceo, Smoke, and Steel were worse because they all had sisters younger than us. We didn’t stand a chance, and neither did any man who called themselves dating us.

My father pulled into the parking lot of my favorite electronic store. The kid’s super toy store was right next door. My eyes lit up as I turned to my father.

“Daddy, do you know what you’re doing?”

He chuckled. “About to put a hurting on my wallet. Come on in here and run up a check so we can go get you a new Lego set.”

I was giddy with excitement as we got out of the car and headed inside. Most people thought my Lego hobby was childish, but it gave me peace. I put a lot of energy into the family business. Even when we didn’t have an active mission, I was still working. My wind down after a long day included a nice hot bubble bath while listening to music and sipping wine. Once I got out, I did my skin routine and dressed in comfy pajamas before pulling out a Lego set of my choice to complete.

My house had four bedrooms, my office space, and a finished basement. The basement was a special request when my father had my home built. It was filled with shelves that displayed my completed Lego collection. There were also mannequins for my vintage anime costume collection. The whole room was basically an ode to my childhood. I had vintage arcade games and collectibles from classic movies and television series. I kept everything in pristine condition, and nobody was allowed in my space.

My father and I spent about an hour in the tech store. I ran up a seven-thousand-dollar tab, and he swiped his card without complaints. After loading everything up, we drove next door to the toy store. I immediately grabbed a cart because I had my eyes on a few Lego sets that had six thousand pieces.

My father went off by himself in search of a few things for Darlyn. I made my way through the aisles until I found what I was looking for. The smile on my face grew as I came upon the Mario collection. I grabbed a Peach, Mario, and Luigi. As I went to grab the last Toad, my hand touched someone else’s, causing me to look up.

Oh my . . .

I looked up into the face of one of the most beautiful men I’d ever seen. He stood about one of my brother’s heights, so he was over six feet, with low cut waves. His milk chocolate skin was smooth and free of blemishes. Black-framed glasses sat perched on his handsome face. A beard and mustache combo encased a set of thick lips that looked so very kissable.

My eyes traveled from his face to the toned, muscular biceps of his tattooed arms. His body . . . My God, his body looked amazing, even in clothes. I could tell he was pretty fit and could probably lift me easily. I swore something about him seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on what.

“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling back.

That voice was . . . panty wetting.

When his eyes finally met mine, they widened in what looked like surprise. He swallowed hard.

“It’s the last one,” he said, quickly looking back at the Lego set.

“Oh . . . Well, I guess you can have it.”

“No, no. You were here first. You take it.” He looked around me at my cart. “Looks like you’re starting quite the collection.”

“I actually have a collection already. I just figured these would be more of a challenge.”

He nodded, still avoiding my eyes. “It’s time consuming. I actually just finished Yoshi. It took me about a week.”

“A week for six thousand pieces? That’s impressive.”

He smiled but still didn’t look at me. “I had some free time.”

Just as I went to open my mouth, my father appeared. He frowned at the guy standing next to me.

“You good, baby girl?” he asked, coming to my side.

“Yeah. We were just talking, Daddy. This is the last set like this, and we both kind of want it. He was kind enough to let me have it.”

“Mmm hmm. Well, grab it so we can head back. We have business.”

I picked up the set and placed it in my cart. “I’m sorry. I didn’t get your name.”

“It’s Qu?—”

“Jae, we have to go,” my father said, pulling me away.

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