Chapter 84: Her Plan Worked
Rosalie:
For one embarrassingly long moment, I simply stared at him.
Then I realized I was staring.
I quickly collected myself and nodded far too enthusiastically before immediately realizing how ridiculous I must have looked. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I silently scolded myself to act like a normal bookstore employee instead of someone whose brain completely short-circuited every time a certain silver-haired Alpha smiled at her.
Clearing my throat softly, I slipped into my professional voice.
"Of course." I smiled politely. "Since I currently manage the bookstore alone, I only have simple refreshments available. I can offer warm water, room-temperature water, or iced water. I also have several cold drinks, herbal teas prepared from tea bags, and instant coffee."
I mentally thanked myself for spending part of the previous day setting up the tiny refreshment station near the reception counter. It wasn’t much, but Grandma Maggie had happily agreed after I explained that making customers comfortable might encourage them to stay longer inside the bookstore.
Eiden appeared to genuinely consider the options before smiling again.
"I’ll have an iced lemon tea."
"Certainly."
I turned toward the small refreshment area, already planning the presentation in my head.
Before I could take a single step, however, movement beside me caught my attention.
Instead of browsing immediately, Eiden turned toward the enormous floor-to-ceiling glass wall overlooking the main street. Then, to my absolute disbelief, he raised one hand and waved.
My jaw nearly hit the floor.
The crowd outside reacted as though a celebrity had just acknowledged them personally. Several young women squealed loudly enough that I could hear them through the closed glass.
One girl actually grabbed her friend’s shoulders and began jumping in place. Another dramatically placed a hand over her heart before pretending she was about to faint, causing the people around her to burst into laughter.
More pedestrians stopped walking. And within seconds, the small gathering outside nearly doubled.
Moon Goddess...
I had expected attention. I had not expected... whatever this was.
Meanwhile, the person responsible for all the chaos behaved as though nothing unusual had happened. Eiden simply lowered his hand again before calmly walking deeper into the bookstore.
I watched him disappear between the bookshelves while still trying to process what I had just witnessed. Then my survival instincts finally returned.
Right.
Lemon tea.
I hurried toward the small refrigerator tucked neatly behind the reception desk and retrieved a chilled bottle of freshly made lemon tea. Since I wanted every customer - even if today’s customer happened to be one of the most admired person in Nightfang Territory - to receive the best service possible, I selected one of the larger crystal glasses from the cupboard above.
Several ice cubes clinked pleasantly against the glass before I slowly poured the golden tea over them, watching tiny droplets immediately form along the outside. After placing a reusable straw inside, I picked up a fresh lemon, carefully sliced it in half, and cut one thin wheel before gently placing it along the rim of the glass. Somehow, that tiny decorative touch made the drink look far more elegant than it had any right to. Satisfied, I placed the glass onto a small serving tray together with a neat stack of tissue papers.
Just as I finished arranging everything, I looked up.
Eiden was returning and in his hands rested two surprisingly thick books. He walked toward one of the four little reading tables arranged beside the glass wall before quietly taking a seat where everyone outside could clearly see him.
My eyes drifted toward the books. Both were about medicinal herbs. One discussed traditional herbal medicine commonly used throughout werewolf territories.
The other...
I frowned slightly.
The title wasn’t even written in English. It looked like an old foreign language I couldn’t immediately recognize.
Of course, if anyone genuinely read books like those for leisure, it would probably be Eiden.
Taking a quiet breath to steady my nerves, I carried the tray over to his table.
"Your iced lemon tea, Alpha Thorn."
He looked up from the books and offered me a small nod.
"Thank you."
Nothing more.
There was no usual teasing, no lingering conversation, and no unnecessary familiarity. He played his role as an ordinary customer so naturally that anyone watching from outside would simply assume he had stopped by because he happened to enjoy reading.
Relief quietly settled inside me.
That was exactly what I had wanted. The bookstore needed attention. Not gossip. The last thing I wanted was for people to start spreading rumors that I was trying to cozy up with Alpha Thorn.
I placed the tissues neatly beside the glass before returning to the reception desk. From there, I quietly observed him.
He took a slow sip of the tea before opening one of the books and beginning to read with complete concentration.
For several peaceful minutes, nothing happened.
Outside, however, the crowd continued growing. Some people entered. Others remained outside pretending to admire the window displays while stealing glances toward Eiden.
Several customers who hadn’t visited the bookstore in years wandered inside almost shyly, clearly surprised by how warm and inviting the interior looked now.
My heart quietly swelled.
This was exactly why I had asked Eiden for help.
Then another unexpected surprise arrived.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Eiden reaching into his pocket. He took out his phone. For a brief second I assumed he had received an important message. Instead, je carefully adjusted the position of the iced lemon tea. Moved one of the herb books slightly closer. Opened the foreign-language volume beside it. And then, he took several photographs.
I blinked.
What was he-
Barely a minute later, I noticed several people outside simultaneously pulling out their own phones and a wave of murmurs spread through the gathering.
Confused, I reached for my own phone beneath the reception desk. The answer appeared almost immediately.
Eiden had uploaded the photographs.
The post showed the elegant glass of iced lemon tea resting beside the two books on medicinal herbs, sunlight pouring gently across the wooden table. Above the pictures he had written only a single sentence -
Found a peaceful little place to read this afternoon. Excellent tea.
Beneath it, he had tagged the bookstore.
I stared at the screen in complete disbelief. Originally, my entire plan had been much simpler.
I had intended to politely ask Eiden whether I could take a photograph of him browsing the bookstore before posting it on the bookstore’s brand-new social media page I had created only two days earlier.
I had hoped maybe a few dozen people would notice. Perhaps a hundred if I got lucky. Instead, Eiden had completely reversed the roles. Within moments, hundreds of reactions flooded beneath his post.
Then thousands.
Comments appeared faster than I could read them. People were already asking where the bookstore was located. Others wanted to know which tea he had ordered. Several announced they were driving over immediately.
As I watched the notification numbers climb higher and higher, one realization settled unmistakably inside my heart.
My plan hadn’t merely worked.
Thanks to Eiden...
It had exceeded every expectation I had ever dared imagine.
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