Chapter 2

“Do me this favor, man,” Jordan said at last. “I’ll be forever grateful to you. I’ll even name my firstborn son after you.”

Darby scoffed. “You told me the same thing when you attempted to pursue a relationship with Angela, Julia, Christine, Lydia, Stephanie, Zoey, Vanessa, and Tess. I can also list the names of all the men you were attracted to, if you like. I still remember them all. How many firstborn sons can you have?”

Jordan had the decency to look embarrassed. “Right. I forgot. Uh, how about if I repay your favors by taking care of your bookshop for a week?”

Darby was instantly horrified. “I think I’ll pass. You’re an excellent accountant, but do you remember what happened the last time you were in my bookshop for two hours while I ran some urgent errands?”

Jordan’s cheeks reddened even further. “That was an accident!”

Darby arched his left eyebrow at Jordan. “A book falls on the floor. That is an accident. You somehow managed to knock down allthe bookshelves. Allof them! I had to spend hours fixing everything in the shop after I’d kicked you out.”

Jordan glared at Darby while covering his butt cheeks with both hands. “How can I forget? I think I still have your shoeprints on both of my butt cheeks even though that incident occurred like ten months ago.”

“Nine months, and you deserved so much more than a few well-aimed kicks in the ass. I had to repair three of my bookshelves because the metals were dented on certain parts.”

“I paid for them,” Jordan protested weakly.

“As you should,” Darby retorted.

Jordan nodded. “Fine. I’ll do your taxes for you. How about that?”

Darby rolled his eyes. “I’m already paying you to do that, but nice try.”

Jordan huffed. “Okay. How about if I do your laundry for you?”

“Last year, you mixed my whites with all of my colored clothes. I had to discard all of my white clothes because I couldn’t remove the stains from them.”

Jordan sighed. “Come on, man. What do you want from me? I’ll give it to you. Just help me out with Patsy.”

“Nothing.”

Jordan was obviously confused. “What?”

Darby inhaled deeply, as he pondered his sanity in doing yet another favor for Jordan, before exhaling slowly through his mouth and glancing in his cousin’s direction. “You don’t have to return the favors in any way, shape, or form.”

Jordan’s expression brightened up. “Really?”

“Yes!” Darby exclaimed in amusement while he slung an arm over Jordan’s shoulders. “Let’s get you a girlfriend. Maybe Patsy will turn out to be the woman of all your dreams. Then you can stop dicking around like a horny dog in heat.”

Jordan laughed. “It’s not my fault I’m so popular with the ladies and gentlemen.”

Darby snickered. “You’re a man-whore, but whatever. Let’s get this show on the road. The faster we’re done, the sooner I can return home.”

“Okay,” Jordan said before pointing to the left. “I know she has a stall near to the edge of the market, but I can’t recall the exact location.”

Darby shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m sure we can find it.”

“True.”

After that, the two of them made their way toward the area where Patsy’s stall might be at. All the stalls were essentially huge tents, and they all had tables at the front to display their goods on them. The closer they got to the edge of the market, the fragrance in the air grew sweeter. Darby wasn’t astonished when he noticed that the edge of the market had plenty of stalls that sold flowers. Some also had various kinds of herbs in the mix.

“Have you seen Patsy yet?”

Jordan darted his eyes all around the stalls at the edge of the market. Then he beamed widely at Darby before turning away and cocking his head at the last stall.

“That’s her!”

Darby followed Jordan’s gaze. Patsy was a pretty, petite woman. She was Jordan’s type for sure.

“She’s beautiful.”

“Yeah.”

Darby gave Jordan a gentle shove in the direction of Patsy’s stall. “Go get her, tiger.”

Jordan gulped. “I don’t know how to start a conversation with her.”

Darby was instantly bewildered by Jordan’s statement. “What do you mean? You flirted just fine with all the women and men before Pat—holy Luna! Patsy is your soul mate, isn’t she?”

Jordan had a terrified expression on his face now. “Yeah. Uh, surprise?”

“It definitely is,” Darby answered. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I wouldn’t have given you such a hard time if I knew about it. Finding a soul mate is rare and amazing. Congratulations, man!”

“I know, and thanks,” Jordan responded, but he remained rooted on the spot. “I still don’t know how to proceed, though.”

“Buy a bouquet of the flowers she’s selling. Tell her you’re buying it for your mother,” Darby suggested. “Remember to drop a compliment or two on how beautiful all of Patsy’s flowers are. That should be enough to get the conversation rolling.”

“You think?”

Darby snickered. “Yes, and don’t look like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re about to puke. Relax, man!”

“Easier said than done. I’m seconds away from peeing in my pants. Patsy is my soul mate. What if she hates me?”

“She won’t,” Darby consoled Jordan while sounding as confident as he could. “Just be your usual charming self, but don’t overdo it.”

“I guess I can try that. I hope it works.”

“It will. If she’s your soul mate, then you’re definitely hers.”

“Patsy isn’t a werewolf like us. She can’t smell me and know that I’m her soul mate.”

“But she’s a druid,” Darby pointed out while continuing to look in Patsy’s direction. “I can sniff out her brand of magic all the way from here.”

“Me, too, but—”

“Take the first step, man,” Darby interrupted. “Find a way to get her out on a date with you. Maybe a nice dinner at one of the restaurants downtown. You’re loaded. You can afford an expensive meal for two easily. Give her a good impression of you at least. Then you can take her out for a walk at the park before slipping the fact that you’re each other’s soul mates into the conversation. She’s not an ordinary human so I’m sure she won’t freak out over something like that.”

Jordan was quiet for a moment before he nodded at Darby. “Right. I can do this.”

Darby patted Jordan’s back once. “Yeah. I’ll wait for you right here. Go get your mate, man!”

Jordan straightened his back and walked toward Patsy’s stall with a determined expression on his face. Darby observed Jordan for a minute or so. Initially, Jordan seemed rather tense. However, he appeared to relax after a short moment. Darby was thrilled when Jordan and Patsy were gradually able to chat with each other at ease. After that, he averted his gaze. He didn’t want to keep on staring at Jordan and Patsy because that would be weird and creepy. Instead, he decided to walk around a little bit and visit some of the stalls. He was already at the market anyway. Moreover, judging by the elated expression on Jordan’s face as he chatted with Patsy, Darby had a strong feeling his cousin would want to stay for at least an hour. Maybe even longer than that.