Page 151 of Safe With You

He pointed at me. “See? This is exactly what I’m talking about.”

Before I could answer, the bell over the front door chimed again.

“I’ll be right back.”

The next hour passed in pieces. A woman looking for a birthday gift couldn’t decide between two novels, a regular stopped in just to tell me she’d finally finished the book I’d recommended last month, and someone managed to spill half a cup of coffee near the magazine rack. Naomi disappeared into the office to place an order with one of our distributors, leaving me bouncing between the register and the sales floor until the rush finally started to thin.

When I made it back behind the counter, the stack of new releases near the front was still exactly where the delivery driver left it.

I sighed. “So much for getting those shelved before lunch.”

Ellis looked over from the children’s section, where he was sitting in one of the chairs while Mila sorted through her growing pile of books.

“Need a hand?”

“I’ll get to it.”

His gaze shifted to the four boxes beside the counter.

“Eventually.”

“I said I’ll get to it.”

“I know.”

He got up anyway.

Before I could say anything else, he’d crossed the store and lifted the top box from the stack.

“Where do these go?”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know.”

He adjusted the box against his chest and waited.

I looked at him for another second before pointing toward the back of the store.

“Fiction first. The cart’s back there.”

He nodded and started in that direction.

“You sure?” I called after him.

Without turning around, he lifted the box a little higher. “I’ve carried camera equipment heavier than this.”

“Show-off.”

“I heard that.”

“I wanted you to.”

His laugh followed him toward the back, and I turned toward the customer approaching the register.

By the time I finished ringing her up, Ellis had already emptied the first box and stacked the flattened cardboard neatly against the wall. Naomi stopped beside me.

“You know, I really like him.”