Rasul spied the store apron and realized she was the employee he’d startled that first day. He tried to give her a winsome smile, but he must have still been rattled from Jacob’s cool refusal, because she gave him an inscrutable expression and ran off.
The crowd pressed in, and for the first time in his life, Rasul wanted nothing to do with the people pleading for his attention. He’d resented the attention before, but right now he absolutely hated it. He wanted the safe cocoon of Jacob’s kitchen again.
He wanted Jacob.
Before he had a chance to wallow in the depressing truth, Jacob captured his hand and held it loosely as he addressed the room. “Rasul has agreed to a small signing of his works I have in stock. Anyone interested should see Gina at the checkout desk.” Then he turned to Rasul, giving him a smile that made his heart stop. “I’ll go get the stock. You go get settled with Gina, all right?”
“Sure,” Rasul agreed, too dazzled to argue with anything the man said.
Then Jacob lifted his hand and kissed it, and Rasul knew then that no matter what else happened, this man was going to ruin him completely.
He absolutely couldn’t wait.
Chapter Five
JACOB WAS fully aware he’d signed on to a disaster, that he shouldn’t have agreed to a relationship of any kind with Rasul. This said, he knew if he could go back in time and do everything again, he wouldn’t change a thing.
By the time he’d returned to the sales floor with Rasul, his phone had started buzzing constantly with notifications, so he put it in a drawer. He busied himself with talking to people, patiently enduring their quizzing about his new relationship, not giving them many answers but a lot of professional smiles, and always redirecting them to a selection of books they might enjoy. More than young women were in the store now, as Copper Point loved nothing more than a spectacle. Included in that number was a reporter from the Copper Point Gazette who took several photos of Jacob, the crowd, and of course of Rasul.
“Is it true that you’re dating Mr. Youssef?” the reporter asked.
Imagining Clark’s lemon-sucking face, Jacob kept his demeanor cool. “He asked me out, yes, but I didn’t realize my private life was headline news in Copper Point.”
The reporter glanced over her shoulder at the crush of people hanging on Jacob’s every word.
Rasul stepped in then, putting on the bright, easy countenance Jacob recognized from his other interviews. “Don’t mess this up for me, guys. I haven’t had the date with him yet. I don’t want to scare him away.”
“That wasn’t a date last night?” someone called from the crowd.
“No, that was just flirting,” Rasul fired back. Everyone laughed.
After a few more back-and-forths, Jacob got people calmed down and organized for the impromptu book signing. Moore Books had hosted signings before, but they’d always been local authors who, even if they had some significant following and respectable sales, mostly sat alone in a corner, trying not to look dejected. Jacob did what he could to support them, but the truth was most people weren’t attracted to signings unless they were at a large event designed for that purpose. He’d known the situation wouldn’t be the same with Rasul, but he was taken a bit aback by how different it was, and how good Rasul was at his job. Gina had instituted a number policy for claiming books, and when his supply had been quickly depleted, she took down their contact information so they could order a copy and get their book signed on a different day. They still stood in line to see him, though, and even when his fans came up to him to do nothing more than giggle and gush and ask him to sign blank pieces of paper or various parts of their body, Rasul took it in stride and gave them as much attention as the people who’d been able to buy his book.
He was good at making people feel as if they were the only person on the planet, which was probably a lot of why he had such an intense fan base, whether or not they’d read his work. They approached him, desperate for a slice of him, and in a way, he delivered. Jacob noted, though, that Professional Rasul wasn’t the same as the Rasul who had sat on his kitchen floor, drinking tea and despairing, nor was he the man who had confessed his fears by the bay and then drawn Jacob into a dance so intimate he’d forgotten himself. Well, there was a little of that Rasul here today, but there was a shutter over him, welcoming people in, but only up to the fire door.
Perhaps it was hubris, but Jacob had the feeling he’d been admitted significantly further.
Rasul signed for three hours, and with the crowd showing no signs of stopping and Rasul exhibiting no indication he would turn a single soul away, Jacob called Gus.
“Can you send three lunches over here and three huge coffees?” He paused, realizing he didn’t know how Rasul took coffee or even if he drank it at all. Or if he was vegetarian or had any dietary restrictions. “I’ll text over more details, but do you have the staff to step out?”
Gus snorted. “Um, yeah, and I’ll bring it down myself. It’s pretty slow here, since everyone is down at your end of the street.”
Jacob winced. “Sorry. Though, hey—why don’t you bring some signage and coupons? I have the ones I usually pass out with purchases, but we could use more. We’ll send some of this traffic your way. They have to be hungry and ready for caffeine.”
“Will do.” A brief pause. “You gonna have some stories for me later?”
Jacob had already decided Gus and Matt were the two people he’d tell the truth to. “Can we have a Mini Main Street meeting for dinner?”
“Ooh. Absolutely. Text me what you need and I’ll be right down, but I’ll contact Matt in the meantime.”
Pocketing his phone—which still buzzed with notifications—Jacob wove his way through the crowd to Rasul.
Rasul gave him a bright smile as he approached. Astonishingly, he didn’t seem tired. “Everything okay?”
Jacob crouched to talk to him, aware of the many pairs of eyes watching him. “I have a friend bringing over lunch and some coffee. Do you have any requests? He runs Café Sól on University. They have soup and sandwiches and protein bowls.”
Rasul touched his stomach as if just remembering he had one. “I’m in the mood for a lot of meat with some fresh veg, especially tomatoes. Coffee sounds excellent.”
“You probably want the steak protein bowl, then. How do you take your coffee?”
“Strong, hot, and black.”
Jacob leaned in closer so his next question wouldn’t be overheard. “Do you want me to find a way to wrap this up?”
Rasul waved a hand. “Nah. Food and coffee and a little more water will get me through.” He grinned. “I get a contact high off of signings.”
Jacob put in the order and went back to managing the crowd. Before he knew it, Gus walked down an aisle toward him bearing a large bag, a tray of drinks, and a flask under his arm.
“Matt’s in for a seven o’clock meeting in the back room of my shop, and he’s bringing pizza.” Gus peered around the room, taking it in. “Wow, I’ve never seen it like this in here. You doing any sales, or are they all gawking?”
“Gina and I have nudged several of them into buying, and we sold out of Rasul’s books in the first hour, with over one hundred special orders of each title. He’s doing signings on paper now and posing for selfies. But they’re buying plenty of books.”