Page 50

“Is there anything I can do?” he asks.

“I don’t know—maybe ask Jayne?”

“Will do.” He walks over to her and I turn back to the shelf I’m adding books to. Bodi said this is the last box from the back, other than the ones specifically put aside for the people coming to the bedazzle party. That one required prepayment so we know there will be fifty-two attendees.

Guys from the team have started to show up, and now people are getting back in line so they have a chance to meet them. I watch as a pretty blonde walks up to Cash and starts chatting him up. She’s leaning a little too close and the shot of jealousy that tears through me is annoying. I gave Cash the lecture about trust and jealousy and now I’m about to be a hypocrite.

Nope.

That’s not who I am.

I turn and lead an elderly lady to the closed-door-sex section of books and she gets a mischievous look in her eyes.

“I have two collections,” she whispers conspiratorially. “One I’m okay with my teenage granddaughters reading and the other just for me.” She winks. “I really enjoy the MM books.”

MM, I learned today, stands for male-male, so basically gay romance. And it’s extremely popular.

“Do you have the special edition of ‘Going Everywhere’?” I ask her. “It’s brand new.”

“I don’t! Show me, please.”

I walk her over to the table, and she snatches the last copy and immediately heads for the cash register. “I have to buy them one at a time,” she calls over her shoulder. “My hockey crush is here, and I need a picture!”

“Who is it?” I ask, laughing.

“Cash Newman.” She fans herself. “That’s what I would call a tall drink of water in my day.”

I nod solemnly. “I have to agree with you there.”

I search for him in the room and the blonde is still talking to him, leaning too close, and being extremely obvious that she’s into him. To his credit, every time she moves in, he takes a step back. But he’s almost out of room and she’s not giving up, so I decide to let her know he’s not available.

“Hey, babe.” I walk over to him, lift to my toes, and press a soft kiss on his lips. He immediately snakes an arm around my middle and kisses me back. “Is it your turn to sign autographs?” I ask innocently.

“Not for thirty more minutes,” he replies, a look of gratitude in his expression.

The blonde gets the hint because she walks off in a huff and he sighs. “Thanks for that. I didn’t know how to get rid of her without being rude.”

“You looked like you needed rescuing.”

“I did.”

“Does that happen a lot, women throwing themselves at you?” I ask curiously.

“Not a lot, but it’s a lot more common at events like this. We’re stuck here, you know, and they know we have to be polite so they can be pretty forward.”

“My brother has had some issues with that too. He had someone follow him home from a bar. He had to get a restraining order.”

Cash grimaces. “Haven’t had that experience yet, thankfully.”

“I’ll protect you,” I deadpan.

He chuckles and kisses the top of my head. “I believe you.”

That’s the last opportunity we have to talk because a new wave of customers hits the store, and it’s a madhouse all over again. It’s nonstop until she closes, and the shelves are almost bare. That’s saying something because she ordered a ton of stock for the opening. All the special editions are gone, all the merchandise like T-shirts and bookmarks and magnets sold out, and I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

“Do we have a sales number yet?” Noelle Kingston, who’s married to Ashton’s older brother and invested in the store, asks quietly.

Jayne and Kelly are behind the counter running reports.