Luka
I hadn't seen Ed for a whole week.
A week.
Seriously. A whole damn week.
While he was in the hospital, we were together nearly every day.
Well... together, if you could even call it that.
There was always someone hanging around.
Michael.
James.
Even Kazuo.
It was as though they'd all made some secret agreement to take turns keeping watch, making sure nobody got anywhere near us.
And there were the days they practically dragged me out of the hospital so I could "take a break."
Then the second Ed got discharged, work swallowed him whole.
According to James and Michael, he'd been so busy he barely had time to sleep or eat.
What pissed me off was that I never managed to ask for his phone number.
What pissed me off even more was that he never asked for mine.
So throwing himself in front of a bullet for me was fine, but asking for my number?
Yeah, apparently that was too much.
What's the point of thinking about it now? I was only making myself spiral.
Still... maybe I should ask Michael to pass my number along?
No.
Get it together.
I wasn't going to force my way into his life.
Definitely not.
And the fact that I missed him...
Damn.
I really missed him.
Stupid businessman.
"To hell with him," I muttered under my breath as I kicked the box sitting in front of me.
"Hey!" Kazuo shouted, and I flinched, thinking I'd kicked something important.
I turned toward him.
Nope.
He was glaring at a delivery guy who seemed half his size, hands on his hips, looking ready to blow.
"What the hell is this?" he snapped.
"But... but I brought exactly what was on the order," the delivery guy mumbled.
"The hell you did?" Kazuo shot back. "This isn't even close to what I asked for. I wanted a regular sign. A regular one. What the hell is this?"
He pointed toward the door.
"I'm not paying for this fancy crap. Take it and get out."
"Hey!" Michael yelled from somewhere in the back of the bar. "That was me. I changed the order. So quit yelling at the poor guy. He's just doing his job."
Michael had been spending a lot of time here lately.
According to him, he was looking out for me while also helping get his new property into shape.
Which, of course, drove Kazuo absolutely insane.
The look Kazuo shot him now made it seem as if he was about to smash his head in.
"What did you say?"
"Oh, stop growling already, big angry wolf. I'm not scared of you."
Michael walked right past Kazuo, headed over to the delivery guy, and cheerfully signed the paperwork.
"I'm not spending my money on a bar with that ugly sign you picked." He pointed at the new one with a grin. "This one's going to look amazing."
Then he turned to me.
"Luka, come on. Back me up here. Tell him this one's much better."
I let out a sigh, having absolutely no interest in getting dragged into any of this.
Their endless arguments could be hilarious sometimes, but most of the time they just got on my nerves.
It didn't help that they were constantly trying to drag either James or me into them.
Mostly James.
Something told me that him being buried in work with Ed, trying to sort through one disaster after another, was only part of the reason he never came by.
The other part was probably that he wanted nothing to do with this chaos.
Especially with Michael around.
The guy seemed to take genuine pleasure in teasing the poor James every chance he got.
Sometimes I wondered if Michael had anything better to do, and I was seriously tempted to ask what the hell he was doing here all day. Didn't he have a job, unlike Ed?
Then again...
None of my business.
"What's with all the yelling? I could hear you from the street, Mike."
A familiar voice cut through the argument, and everyone turned toward the entrance.
Ed was standing in the doorway.
It was him.
And somehow, it wasn't.
He looked completely different.
Instead of one of his expensive tailored suits, perfect hair, and that boss aura, he was wearing jeans and a button-up shirt over a T-shirt. His sleeves were rolled up, as though he'd come ready to work.
His hair was down, and he looked younger.
Softer.
Kinder, even.
The second he noticed me staring, I could've sworn he blushed.
Then again...
Maybe I'd imagined it.
Why would Edward Montclair suddenly get a faint pink blush?
That was ridiculous.
Besides, the moment I blinked, it was gone.
Yeah.
I was probably seeing things.
He gave me an awkward little nod.
I smiled and silently mouthed, "Hi."
"Oh, Ed. What are you doing here?" Michael asked. "I thought you were buried in work."
"I was," Ed replied. "But I needed a break. Kazuo mentioned I should come help out here for a bit, so... here I am." He looked over at Kazuo. "Well, boss? What can I do?"
Before he could answer, Michael stepped between them.
"What do you mean, help? You're not even fully recovered. Go home."
Kazuo shoved him aside with his big, fur-covered arm.
"Move," he growled, then looked at Ed. "I'll find something for you to do."
He smirked, though something was approving in it.
"You sure you're not worried about getting those clothes dirty?"
Ed glanced down at himself a little awkwardly.
"It's fine," he said with an uneasy smile.
It didn't take much to convince Kazuo. He was always happy to find work for anyone, so he made sure Ed stayed busy for the rest of the day.
The hours disappeared into hauling boxes, cleaning, moving furniture, and a dozen other jobs.
I saw Ed the entire day, but I never got a real chance to talk to him.
Watching him, it was obvious he still wasn't feeling great.
Now and then he'd grit his teeth, clearly fighting through the pain, yet he'd still do every new task Kazuo handed him.
As for Kazuo, that big wolf wasn't about to go easy on him. If anything, it felt like he was punishing Ed.
And Ed never complained.
It was as if he'd do anything to earn Kazuo's approval.
Like he was trying to work for it.
Honestly, it was a little hilarious to watch.
"Hey, you guys!"
Michael leaned out the front door and waved us over.
"Come on. I've got something to show you."