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He tried to push me back into the passenger seat, but I was laughing so hard I doubled over at the waist, making it impossible.
“Are you playing me right now?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest to glare.
Stifling my laughter, I clung to his forearm and straightened. “You are so gullible.”
He scowled.
Leaning in, I pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “You didn’t like my joke?”
He made a harumphing sound.
I started to pull back, but he moved quick, sliding his hand around the back of my neck and leaning in to kiss me again.
“You should tell Jamie that story. Then I’ll ask him to come pick you up from work one night. I’ll stand in the back and play the flute. I bet he pisses his pants.”
I smacked him in the chest. “That’s mean. Besides, you can’t play the flute.”
“I can play it as good as some ghost.”
He was ridiculous. I really loved him.
He helped me inside (even though I told him I didn’t need it), said hello to the manager who was sitting behind the small counter, and then promised to be back later to pick me up.
Not long after, my manager’s shift was up, and she was looking at me with guilt in her eyes. “I’m really sorry to have called you in, Jessica,” she said, eyes going from my cast to my face. “Tom is down with the flu, and no one else was answering their phone. Even injured, you’re the most reliable employee this store has.”
“It’s okay,” I told her. “I don’t mind coming in. I need the hours, and I was starting to get bored.”
She hesitated, looking me over again. “Are you sure?”
Holding back a grimace and the urge to look at myself to see what she found so sorry-looking, I said, “Positive. I know I look a little banged up, but it appears worse than it is.”
“And you’ll be able to get around okay?” she asked.
I gestured to my crutches. “Yep, I’ve become an expert at using those.”
That might be an exaggeration, but I could manage for a few hours in a small music store.
“Well, Mrs. Vaughn will be here later to pick up that new clarinet that was on backorder. But other than that, you shouldn’t expect too much except the occasional drop-in and probably a few nosy teenagers.”
I glanced at the wall of guitars hanging on the wall and then to the one in the center of the room propped on a stand beside an amplifier. A musical instrument store was a niche business, and that meant it didn’t get very busy like other retailers. A lot of my shifts were quiet and uneventful except when teenagers who had dreams of becoming famous musicians came in to try out all the guitars.
We weren’t supposed to let them play around with the displays, but sometimes I let them have their fun.
“Sounds good,” I answered.
She gave me a few other instructions and the rundown of anything I missed while being off and then left out the staff break room at the back where there was a single, self-locking door.
From the stool behind the counter, I gazed toward the glass doors and the dim light filtering in from outside. It was overcast and gray today, and coupled with the fact the only windows in this place had a large portico shading them, the natural light in here pretty much sucked. It made it feel much later than it was, and I knew that by six o’clock, it would probably be pitch black outside.
Inside, the store boasted plenty of artificial light, so much so that it made the outside seem that much darker. Aside from the large overhead lights hanging from the pitched ceiling, sconces illuminated the walls and spotlights aimed at instrument displays.
There was even a vintage Tiffany lamp perched on top of the piano on the far side of the room. I hadn’t bothered to turn it on, though. I didn’t feel like walking over there. Since this place was the only music store in Westbrook and the neighboring town, Allegro sold a wide variety of instruments, parts, and everything in between.
The floor space in here was crammed and the walls basically cluttered. Instruments and accessories filled the entire place, and there was even a small vinyl collection in the back corner for people who collected records.
I did a few random tasks at the desk and then opened the case to organize the sheet music. By the way it looked, it probably hadn’t been done since I was here last. It was tedious and boring, but I could sit down while doing it, and considering my foot, I took that as a win.
I’d barely picked up the first stack when the landline on the counter rang. Rising to my knees, I felt around until my hand hit the cordless phone. Pulling it down, I answered the call.
