Page 64 of Wrecked

When Erin walks out of the office with her head held high, I prop my boots on the coffee table in front of the sofa. “Well, you made her day. Good job, boss.”

Even though this fix is going to cost Beth the profit on those books, she doesn’t care. She just wants to make her friend happy.

“A depressed Erin O’Connor is a sad thing to behold,” I say.

Now that the book club crisis is averted, Beth and I go downstairs and make our rounds through the store.

I follow Beth, and as we turn the corner into the stationery and journals department, Beth stops dead in her tracks so fast I actually bump into her. I look to see what the problem is and spot that woman from the club the other night—that Morelli woman—standing ten feet from us, looking at freaking day planners. Give me a break.

I squeeze Beth’s shoulders. “Beth?”

She takes a few steps back. Just as we’re nearly out of sight, that Morelli woman turns and glares at Beth.

Damn!

If looks could kill, Beth would surely be a goner.

“I heard you work here,” the woman says as she walks toward us. She’s wearing another form-fitting dress—this one emerald green—and sharp stilettos. Her outfit looks like something you’d find at a swanky formal event, not a bookstore. “Frankly, I found it hard to believe, so I thought I’d come see for myself.”

“What are you doing here?” Beth asks. She’s clearly shaken, and that pisses me off.

“Excuse me,ma’am,” I say, letting my tone show my disdain for this female peacock. “Can I help you?”

She gives me the once-over. “I might be tempted to let you try,stud.”

Eww, gross.Even if I were into women, I wouldn’t touch this one with a ten-foot pole.

“He’ll tire of you soon enough, you know,” the woman says to Beth.

She’s talking aboutShane.

Poor Beth turns about ten shades paler than normal.

“It’s his pattern,” the woman continues. “When he tires of his current plaything, he moves on. Every. Single. Time.”

Beth straightens, not revealing any of the myriad emotions I’m sure she’s feeling. “If you’ll excuse me,” she says in a cool, professional voice, “I have to get back to work.”

Damn!My girl is no shrinking violet.

“What the fuck was that all about,” I ask Beth as I follow her. “Why would she come here?”

“To cause trouble, no doubt,” Beth says.

Beth is on edge the rest of the morning, nervously flitting about. Straightening shelves that don’t need to be straightened. She keeps glancing over her shoulder as if she feels she’s being watched.

Mack joins me. “Is there something wrong? Beth looks a bit anxious.”

I tell him about Luciana Morelli showing up here to talk shit to Beth.

When Beth looks my way, I give her the ‘are you okay?’face. She responds by giving me a thumbs-up sign.

When it’s close to lunch time, I follow Beth upstairs so she can grab her purse. On our way back to the stairs, she pauses at the wrought iron railing and looks over onto the first floor. Shane has arrived, looking like a million bucks in his charcoal gray suit and white dress shirt. For a moment, Beth gazes down at him with a smitten expression.

“Are you just going to stand here ogling him?” I nudge her gently with my elbow. “Prince Charming has arrived. What are you waiting for?”

When Shane spots Beth at the railing, he smiles at her—it’s clearly the smile of a lovesick fool. He’s devastatingly handsome, and for a moment I feel a pang of envy. Why can’t Cooper look at me like that in public? Just one time!

As we’re walking down the staircase, Beth says, “Don’t mention Luciana, okay?”