Page 55 of Secret Sins

"Chris had a bad weekend, and he took it out on me. I felt like I couldn't do anything right. He made Liam go directly through him, when normally I get a minute to talk to him." With a big sigh, he said, "Seeing Liam is usually my only chance to speak with another human and let the fish guts rest for a minute."

"I don't think you slept well, either." Squeezing him tightly, I stepped back and framed his face in my palms. "That's my fault, I guess."

"I wouldn't trade it for anything."

As his gaze flickered from my eyes to my lips and back, I responded, "Neither would I."

"Do you care?" he whispered, slanting his mouth over mine.

"About what?" I mumbled into his mouth.

Instead of answering, he hiked one of my legs around his waist and held on for dear life. With his tongue in my mouth and his breath on my lips, I couldn't think straight.

Eventually, Van pulled back. "That we're in your store."

"Um, I probably should care." Shoveling escaping strands of hair behind my ears, I laughed. "But I don't give a damn."

"I had an idea while I was trying so hard not to quit my job. I’d first thought about it when you offered to buy my books back, but then it fell to the wayside when we had more important things to think about."

"What's that?" Since we were apparently done kissing for now, I went back to cleaning up the crumbs.

"We could install a Little Free Library at the docks."

Pausing, I lifted my head to grin at him. "That's a wonderful idea."

Dipping his head, Van appeared bashful for the first time in a long time—at least with me. "Yeah?"

"Of course."

"I have some books I could donate, the ones I've bought and already read. And we could ask for more donations from the townsfolk."

"I can picture it. Maybe we can do more than one." After dumping the crumbs in the trash, I worked on brewing a fresh pot of coffee.

"Why does it look like a tornado blew through here?"

His voice was amused, and I watched him frown at the empty plate. "Busload of tourists. They cleaned me out, which suits me just fine. I made a tidy profit off them."

"Nice."

"I don't suppose you'd like to go next door for me and beg for cookies?" Widening my eyes, I blinked several times.

Van chuckled. "I suppose I could."

"Thanks."

While he was gone, I rinsed the plate in the tiny sink I'd installed for that very purpose. The bell over the door clanged, and I called out, "Welcome back."

"From what?"

Spinning at the stranger's voice, I replied, "Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else."

A man stood near the door, hat pulled low over the top portion of his face. Something about his expression made my palms sweat and my heart pick up its pace.

"How can I help you today?"

"Just want to browse, thanks." His tone was gruff, and he moved down one of the aisles to thumb through the books on the shelves.

My instincts screamed at me to do something, but what? If it was nothing, I'd scare off a customer. But what if it wasn't nothing? Van was right next door, due back at any minute. The scent of coffee filled my shop as the water gurgled through the pot.