Page 69 of One Last Thing Before You Go

He’s been to her loft? He’s seen her bedroom? Suddenly, I look the man over once more, no longer appraising him as the contractor to our business endeavor with the problem with authority, but as a potential opponent in the battle that is obtaining Lottie’s affection. I know she says they dated a long time ago, but I don’t like the way he stares at her sometimes. Like the last time they were together wasn’t over a decade ago.

She’s mine, asshole.

And I have the scratches on my back and she has the love marks on her chest to prove it.

“So, are you going to deliver what we talked about by the date we agreed upon?” She asks, voice sweet but laced with lethal venom. He pauses before licking his lips and surrendering with a nod. “Good. Remember, as per our contract, we get a ten percent discount every week you delay the project further.”

He sighs in defeat and removes his backwards hat to run his fingers through his blonde hair. Luke clutches his Red Sox cap to his chest and says, “Fine. Walk me through what you want for the build again, then.”

Lottie shoots a victorious grin over her shoulder at me with a wink, making it impossible not to smile back. My chest tightens when I think how amazing she is, how commanding and intelligent. She knows exactly what she’s doing and has no idea how sexy she looks doing it.

I’m an absolute goner for this woman.

After an hour of torturing Luke, she finally makes her way back to the front of the store, where Jenn and I have been going over our remaining inventory.

“I’ve spoken to a few bookstores in nearby towns, and many have agreed to buy some of our books at cost, but not all. Unfortunately, since Walter didn’t like to purchase best sellers for the store, it’s not a lot.” Jenn frowns, looking down at her printed inventory sheets.

“What percentage of our inventory is it, though?” Lottie’s brow, pull together, she crosses her arms in front of her chest—all business.

“Roughly forty percent?” Jenn winces, but Lottie nods in encouragement.

“That’s not bad, Jenn. I’m actually surprised you managed to sell so much of it, considering.” Jenn’s grin is wide and splitting, her chest filling with pride. “As for the balance, we can donate to local libraries, which could give us a tax break—we’ll have to double-check with an accountant or something—or include it as part of the sale of the store itself.”

Jenn nods seriously, reviewing the charts again. “Sweet. I’m gonna go back into the office and keep calling stores, though. Just in case. If I can’t sell more inventory by the end of the day, then I’m gonna call it.”

“Great. Knox, you should go over the balance of rare books that Walter has upstairs. We still need to pay off the rest of Luke’s fees eventually, plus the electrician. Once you’re done with your coffee, of course.” She shoots me one of her smiles, the ones she saves just for me. “I have some paperwork to go through today, so I’ll see you guys around.” She walks away, leaving me a nice view of her ass on the way out.

“Oh, man, you are so far gone it’s hilarious.” Jenn shuffles her paperwork, gathering it up in her arms before starting for the office. She chuckles and starts to head for the office, but I follow.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you being a total smitten kitten. A love bug. A complete⁠—”

“Alright already. I get it. You think I’m into Lottie. And I am. It’s not like it’s a secret or anything. We all know I’ve been dying to go out with her again. And we’ve been… kinda seeing each other. Casually,” I add nervously. “It’s… It’s casual.”

“Oh no, my friend.” She laughs, dropping the stack of papers onto the desk and taking a seat. “You are way past being ‘into’ her and ‘casual’,” she air-quotes. “I’m not sure that I’d use the L-word yet, but I think you’re for sure on your way there.”

I could try to deny it, tell her she’s insane. But something inside me repels the idea of saying so. So instead of trying to deny her claims, I laugh, a bit bashful. “In all honesty, what’s not to like? She’s incredible.”

Jenn grins smugly, eyes shining. After a few seconds, though, her expression shifts. “Just be careful with Lottie. Because she may act all tough, but she’s been hurt a lot, and I will mess you up if you hurt her.”

I frown, disappointed in Jenn for even thinking for one second I’d ever do that to the only woman who’s ever had this hold on me. Though of course, she doesn’t know that, does she?

“I have no intentions of hurting Lottie. I really, really like her.”

“No one starts a relationship off intending to hurt the other person—unless you’re like a villain, or something. But it happens. People end up hurt by love more often than not. Happily Ever Afters aren’t as common as we’d love to believe. And, despite her addiction to reading romance novels, unfortunately Lottie has been at the forefront of the deepest of heartbreaks.”

“I’m not divorced or anything, but we’ve all had our hearts broken. I’m not naive enough to think⁠—”

“I can assure you, you haven’t been hurt in the same way she has.” She presses her lips together, eyes narrowed at me in warning.

I pause and watch Jenn turn the computer on, typing away as I stand there like an idiot just staring at her.

I know Lottie is amazing and beloved, but the protective instincts she seems to inspire in everyone around her gnaw at me, making the hunger and curiosity to find out more even stronger. She said her ex-husband didn’t hurt her that way—meaning he didn’t get violent with her—but I’m sure there’s so much more to the story. I want to pry, to ask what really happened because I feel like I’m just getting small pieces from everyone around us. Lottie’s told me what happened in her divorce, but I’ve always known there was more she was hiding the night she barely opened up. But after our argument that night, I haven’t wanted to push. And though some might make the assumption that I could probably ask her now seeing as the nature of our relationship has changed, I’d gather it’s the exact opposite. I’d stake my life that if I were to press her now on her past relationship, she’d end things with me in an instant.

By closing time, Jenn, Lottie, and I have discussed next steps for the upcoming weeks.

Between shipping out sold inventory, helping out the construction crew, restoring and reselling Walter’s books, and then repainting the store, we definitely have our work cut out for us. But I’m not worried about it—Lottie’s at the helm of this boat. She knows what she’s doing and this whole project seems to have breathed a new life in her.