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The bitter heat off the coffee worked through her stuffy head and once the painkillers kicked in, she felt almost human. Maddie took the time to put on a little concealer and mascara to cover up the worst of the damage the cold had done. She grinned at her reflection. It was silly to think so, but she couldn’t help wondering if Sawyer’s attentions had made her feel better.
Though the skies were blue and fairly cloudless, Maddie threw on a thick jumper. Trust her to get sick in the middle of summer. A distinct chill still wracked her. Of course, if she was pressed against Sawyer’s side again she’d be more than warm enough. She sighed at her reflection. How was she meant to make a sensible decision when her brain turned to mush every time she was around him?
By the time she’d stepped outside and was fumbling with the keys to open the front door of the shop, Nikki had arrived. Maddie had to glance at her twice. Her usual purple hair was gone and replaced with a bright blonde colour. She couldn’t remember ever seeing Nikki with an almost normal hair colour.
Nikki grinned. “Like it? I’m going for hot but respectable.”
Maddie wasn’t sure the almost platinum colour passed for respectable but it was certainly hot. “Let’s hope we’re busy today because I guarantee you’ll sell a ton of books looking like that.”
“Are you sure you’re up to working today?” she asked as Maddie opened the door and they stepped in.
“I can’t spend another day sitting around. I’ll go mad.”
Nikki dumped her bag behind the counter and powered up the computer while Maddie flicked on the lights and shifted the books ready to be put out in front of the shop.
“I heard you had a visitor last night.”
Maddie peered incredulously at her friend. “Seriously? Where did you hear that?”
“Mrs White said Raj saw him when he answered your door.” Nikki lifted a brow. “Did he stay the night? You do look like you might have got some.”
That was probably because her cheeks were beetroot red. Now the entire town was gossiping about her? She should have known talk would follow Sawyer. She’d caught a few whispers since his return. Unfortunately many of the locals still didn’t like him. She wished she understood why. It was not like he’d really vandalised the war memorial. Even his bad boy antics had been harmless. Dumb sometimes, but definitely harmless.
“No, he didn’t stay the night.”
“You should have jumped him. He’s hot.”
“When have you met him?”
Nikki propped her elbows on the counter. “Saw him running the other day. Hot, hot, hot.” She fanned herself.
Maddie slipped an errant paperback onto the right shelf and put her hands on her hips. “Do I look like the sort to jump someone?”
Her friend glanced her over. “No but then it’s hard to imagine you dating a guy like that in the first place. It’s hard to believe he was nearly your husband. And I can’t believe you’re being nice to him.”
“Even if he’s hot?”
She laughed. “Yeah. It’s not like you to be easily bowled over by a guy.”
She had her there. It was a very un-Maddie like thing to do. She thrived on common-sense and logic, thinking everything through first. Even as a teenager, she’d been like that. But once her friendship with Sawyer had moved into a relationship, she’d let go of that side a little.
And what a mistake it had been. She should have kept him at a distance and avoided a broken heart.
So why wasn’t she doing that now? And did he really want her that badly? A guy like him could have anyone in the world.
“Nikki, am I hot?”
Nikki’s lips compressed to hide a smile.
“It’s okay, I know I’m not.”
“You are hot, Maddie. In a kind of unobvious way. Like a sexy librarian.”
She lifted one brow. In other words, she wasn’t.
“If you weren’t, Sawyer wouldn’t be hanging around.” Nikki slumped into the chair behind the counter. “Besides, your kind of hot is better than my kind of hot. All I attract is jerks.”
“Sawyer was a jerk. He left me at the altar.”
