“For my personal safety, yes. Just trying to ascertain how far away I should be from you when you have a hardback book in your hands.” I glanced over at her and caught her smiling at me.
It was one that reached her blue eyes, making them shine.
Stupid fucking smile.
“Did you get in trouble?”
“Yep. I was hauled to the principal’s office, and when my mom showed up, she asked him what the hell he thought he was doing to a girl who was clearly defending herself against unwanted attention from a male student.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Woah.”
“Yeah. She basically talked him around in circles until he admitted he’d made a mistake, and as long as I knew that it wasn’t acceptable to hit people with books, he’d be calling Charlie’s father in immediately.”
“What did your mom say?”
“Nothing. I told him I understood it was unacceptable, but if he did it again, I’d hit him harder. He didn’t know what to say to it, so he sent me back to class with a sigh.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. That was such a Kinsley thing to do—behind her quiet, introverted exterior, there was a strong hardass who didn’t take any shit.
Which was probably why she struggled with dates so much.
“Is that why you hate dating?” I said as I pulled up outside her house.
“What? How is that even remotely related to this conversation?”
“You’re all soft and nice and quiet on the outside, but on the inside, you don’t take any crap from anyone.” I looked over at her, my hand still resting on the steering wheel.
She peered down at her hands in her lap. “I guess. Maybe people think I’m a pushover, and when they realize I’m not…”
“They realize you’re not the kind of woman they’re looking for.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know what goes on in people’s heads, and I’m definitely not going to change myself to fit someone’s idea of what makes their perfect partner. And that’s that.”
I stared at her. “I know. And when you find the person whose perfect partner is you, and he gets to have you, he’s going to be one lucky motherfucker.”
She jerked her head up. Her eyes met mine, and a mixture of uncertainty and shock danced in the blue of her irises. Her full lips parted just enough that she could draw in a sharp breath.
It felt like time had frozen. Here, in my truck, everything was completely still, and I was sure she could hear the way my heart was thundering against my chest.
“You mean that, don’t you?” she asked softly, her eyes never leaving mine. Her words didn’t cut the tension in the truck, either.
If anything, they heightened it.
I nodded. It was a tiny, jerky movement that I wasn’t even sure was noticeable.
Kinsley looked down once more, her throat bobbing as she swallowed hard.
Without another word, she left the truck, taking all the air with her. It rushed out into the darkness of the late evening, but not even the sound of the truck door slamming behind her cut through the tightness that had my stomach in knots.
I squeezed my eyes shut and hit the button to roll the window down. “Kinsley?”
I opened my eyes in time to see her peer over her shoulder, her features illuminated by the dim porch light over her head.
“What?”
“I’m not working for the next few days. Got some vacation days. If you do get a huge shipment, call me. I’ll come and help.”
“I can’t call you on your days off.”
“Yeah, you can, and please do. Otherwise, I’m just gonna have your brother riding my ass about the house five down from mine that he wants to buy.”
A smile slowly spread across her face. “Okay. If I need help, I’ll call you.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.” She tucked some hair behind her ear. “Night, Josh.”
I didn’t reply, but I did wait until she was inside and I’d heard the faint click of her lock being turned, followed by the flooding of darkness as her porch light went out.
What in God’s name was I doing?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – KINSLEY
rule thirteen: you wouldn’t stop reading mid-chapter. don’t stop talking mid-conversation.
The next time Holley told me there was a big shipment coming in, I was going to come down with a violent stomach big.
This shipment wasn’t big. It was freaking huge.
There were boxes upon boxes in the back doorway of the store. I wasn’t even sure I could move amongst them, and the one box I’d managed to lift had weighed at least three sumo wrestlers and a school bus.
Yes, those were valid units of measurements.
Pound and ounces weren’t going to cover this.
I hadn’t wanted to call Josh. I really, really hadn’t, but I was left with no choice. There was no way I could move these boxes, unpack them, and open the store at midday.
I looked up at the sound of four rattling knocks against the front store door.
“It’s me.” Josh’s muffled voice carried through to the storeroom door where I was standing and contemplating all my life choices thus far.
I crossed through the shop and grabbed the keys from the register so I could let him in. The key was large and clunky, and it took me a good thirty seconds to wrestle the old bolts loose before I could even unlock it properly.
Josh looked the door up and down when I opened it. “Is that door to keep people out, or keep bookworms in?”
“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you,” I answered breezily, stepping back to let him in. “But if the worldwide takeover by bookworms originates in Montana, you know the answer.”
He grinned, and it did stupid things to my stomach.
Stupid things I was going to steadfastly ignore today.
Trust me.
“I’ll keep it in mind,” he mused through his smile. “Where are all these boxes again?”
“Out the back. Hold on.” I turned and locked the door, then reached for the top bolt.
“Ah, must secure Fort Bookworm.”
“You’re awfully cocky for a man who knows how
