Free Lucky Lion (Shifter Mail Order Bride Holiday Romance) (Holiday Mail Order Mates Book 2) by Lola Kidd Page A

competition and dinner. I couldn’t ruin his Valentine’s Day.”
    Blair always had a new boyfriend. She and Aaron had talked about going out when she had first started at the store, but they had quickly squashed that idea. He knew that she wasn’t his mate, and it wasn’t worth ruining their work environment for a fling.
    “You really are a sweetheart. Letting that guy take you out even though you don’t like him.”
    She laughed. “It sounds bad, but you would have done the same thing. Nobody wants to be a jerk.”
    There was a ding as the front door opened. Mr. James came in with a familiar-looking man. Aaron nodded at Blair and walked toward the back of the store.
    “Wait, Aaron,” Mr. James called out.
    Aaron turned. “Yeah?”
    “This man is going to need a desk delivered to his home.”
    “Is it in?” Aaron walked back to the pair.
    Mr. James nodded. “Aaron, this is Mr. Wagner. Mr. Wagner, this is Aaron, our deliveryman.”
    Aaron put out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
    Mr. Wagner looked at Aaron’s hand, disgusted. “Do you have any other delivery people?”
    Mr. James frowned. “No. We only need Aaron. He’s a fine deliveryman. He’ll get your desk upstairs, no problem. Aaron’s a lion shifter and very strong. Don’t worry.”
    Mr. Wagner sneered. “Can I think about it?”
    Mr. James looked perplexed. “Sure. Sure, no problem.”
    Mr. Wagner shook his hand and hurried out of the store.
    Blair stood up, eyebrows raised. “He sure left in a hurry.”
    “That was so strange. He was excited that we still had the desk.” Mr. James shrugged. “I was glad to finally be selling that old thing.”
    “The Edwardian desk?” Aaron guessed.
    “Of course. No matter. We’ll find another buyer.”
    “That guy looked very familiar.”
    “He was the AP English teacher at the high school,” Blair said.
    Mr. James and Aaron came to the desk. Of course he’d worked at the high school. Aaron should have known. From the way the guy had looked at him, he wasn’t going to be coming back.
    “Yes. He retired a few years ago,” Mr. James said. “He wanted a desk for writing. He’s finally getting around to finishing the novel he’s been writing. He really did seem excited. I wonder why he ran off so fast.”
    Blair and Aaron exchanged a look. Aaron had a good idea why Mr. Wagner had left. He’d told Mr. James the story before, but it had gone in one ear and out the other. Aaron took that as a compliment. His boss couldn’t believe that anyone had a bad opinion of him.
    “Mr. James, I think he didn’t want me at his house,” Aaron said.
    “You think he doesn’t like shifters?” Mr. James frowned. “I’m sure his son married a robin shifter.”
    Aaron shook his head. “No, because of that thing I did in high school. The teachers were the ones who took it the most seriously.”
    “What thing?”
    Aaron sighed. “The party. They think I’m a racist.”
    Blair cringed and gave him a sympathetic smile. “Everyone makes mistakes when they’re young.”
    Mr. James shrugged again. “That can’t be it. Who would hold something like that against a person? No, I’m sure he’ll be back. I need to get going. I’ll see you all next week.”
    “I’m going to clean up the dock,” Aaron said.
    The dock was spotless. He just didn’t feel like making small talk anymore. He always felt like shit whenever he had to talk about the party. It was another reminder of what a screwup he was. He hadn’t even known he was doing anything wrong at the time. Looking back, he wanted to shake his younger self. If he’d done a simple Google search, he would have seen what a bad idea it was.
    During his junior year, his parents had gone on a vacation for their anniversary. Being a young man alone, Aaron had decided to throw a party—but he wanted it to be memorable, not just everyone getting together and drinking, so he’d come up with a killer theme that would get everyone excited. Pimps and Hos. Needless