I flushed. So much for balancing the shelf. I’d just made a mess of everything and embarrassed myself. And what was I doing smelling the guy who’d saved me?
“Thank y—” I turned around and glanced up, meeting a pair of intense brown eyes.
For a moment, it was like the shop slipped away, like the snap of the fire and the rustling of pages were trapped in the man’s dark gaze as easily as I was. He tilted his head, studying me as if trying to memorize me.
“You okay?” he murmured, his voice warm and low against my ear.
“Y-yeah.” I winced at how breathless I sounded. “Are you?”
“I’ve been worse.” The man stepped back and rubbed his head, though he still stood close enough for me to feel the heat emanating from him. He bent and retrieved one of the fallen books—The Priory of the Orange Tree. He studied the tower and dragon on the cover, one corner of his mouth tilting up in an uneven smile before handing it to me. “Somehow I have a feeling that’s not what people mean when they mention heavy reading.”
“Probably not.” I held it to my chest, unsure what to do with it since I didn’t dare try to straighten the shelf again after my last disastrous attempt. Besides, the magic in theshop was already at work again, and the books rose into the air.
The man raised an eyebrow. “Nifty magic.”
I nodded, unsure what to say, then turned to go. “Well, thanks again.”
“Wait.” He put a hand on my shoulder, and a shock went through me at his soft touch. “You’re Lizzy’s sister, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Of course people knew me as Lizzy’s sister. I was alwayssomebody’ssister, never able to stand out on my own. Lizzy was witty and independent. Jane was sweet and beautiful. Mary was smart and religious, and Lydia was popular and determined. Mary said she struggled with fitting in, but I fit in so well I was practically unnoticed. All I wanted to do was stand out for once and not just be “one of the five Bennet girls.”
“I’m Riley.” The man stuck out his hand, his rolled-up sleeves revealing his toned forearms.
“Oh, you’re Lizzy’s friend from the newspaper.” Riley was the only one from the Sanditon Chronicle that she ever mentioned by name, and I was pretty sure he’d givenher a few leads for stories before, like when Charles Bingley and his group had come to town a while back.
“So she’s mentioned me?” He raised an eyebrow, and the corner of his mouth pulled up as if the two were attached. “Brilliant.”
His immediate smile at the mention of my sister and the way his eyes lit up proved a theory I’d had the last few months after hearing Jane tease Lizzy about him—he probably had a thing for Lizzy.
Belatedly, I shook his hand, which was warm and large. I pulled mine back and dropped it to my side. “I’m Katherine, but my friends call me Kitty.”
“I’ve heard of you too. You’re the second youngest, right?”
“Right.”
“But you’re not the one who played those terrible love songs on the piano at the Bingley’s party a few weeks ago?” He gave me a teasing grin.
I flushed with secondhand embarrassment. Even though Mary had later explained the reason behind her performance and I admired her for protecting Frank, itdidn’t change the fact that she wasn’t any better of a singer than I was. “No, that was another sister.”
Riley’s grin grew into a smirk. “You Bennets like to keep the town on its toes, don’t you?”
“I guess so.”
“So what do I get to call you?”
“What?”
“You said that friends call you Kitty, so I was wondering what I should call you.”
My flush deepened, though I wasn’t sure why. “You can call me Kitty too. It’s no big deal.”
Riley looked around the shop. Was he waiting for someone? Although he’d come to a bookshop, he seemed more interested in the people than the books. Was he here for work?
“Kitty?” a new voice interjected.
Graham.
I stepped away from Riley and glanced at Graham, taking in his dark gray T-shirt, faded blue jeans, and messenger bag. All the old butterflies from seeing him were gone, swept up in my determination—or maybe swept up in Riley’s proximity.
