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I did what I came to do, but every few minutes, I found excuses to stop by the registers. I talked to her between customers, asking questions about the sale and anything else I could think might be relevant.
Each time I approached, her cheeks turned pink, and I grew hungry, wondering what other parts of her could blush pink for me.
I felt guilty for thinking it, not just because of our past but because she was Sean’s younger sister. It didn’t matter. I couldn’t stop myself.
“I’m thinking about getting more into reading,” I said, leaning against the counter, scrambling for things to say just to have more of her attention. “What would you recommend?”
She quirked a brow suspiciously. “Not sure. What type of books do you like?”
“I don’t know. Let’s start with your favorite books and go from there.”
She drew invisible circles on the countertop with her finger. “There’s a fantasy serious I really love.”
“Fantasy sounds cool,” I said, hoping to keep her talking.
She caught my eye. “Don’t laugh, but it’s calledThe Deadly Dragon Sins Series. Each book features a different dragon that the protagonist must find and either destroy or make an alliance with. Each book's perspective changes as new characters are introduced, including their reasons for searching for dragons.”
“That’s interesting,” I admitted. “How many books are there in the series so far?”
“Eight. You could start with the first one and see how you like it. Each book can be read as a standalone, so you don’t have to worry about cliffhangers at the end.”
I nodded. “Okay, yeah. I’ll check it out.”
She beamed, and I felt weird sort of pride for making her smile that way. She pulled her phone out of her cardigan pocket and swiped it open. “I actually have some mood boards I created based on the series. I know it’s dorky, but I want to give you a sense of the vibe.”
“Lay them on me,” I encouraged.
This felt like old times, so I was going to read every one of those dragon books to have something to talk to her about even if I hated them.
She went to her Instagram and showed me posts on her profile. They were dark and mysterious looking. They had a distinct vibe and about fifty likes each.
“Wow,” I said. “They look great. Kinda dark and sexy.”
“Dragons are kind of sexy. Don’t you think?”
I couldn’t stop my chuckle. “Never really thought about that before. They seem scary and . . . firey. Burning people up and eating them. Knocking down buildings in Tokyo. Not super sexy to me.”
“Tokyo?” She laughed, tossing her head back, giving me a great view of her soft, supple throat. “Godzilla isn’t a dragon, dumbass, it’s a kaiju.”
I laughed, my mouth dropping open. “Hey, no need to name-call because I don’t know as much aboutthings that don’t existas you do, you big nerd.”
“I work in a bookstore. Nerd is a compliment. Dork.”
“Geek.”
“Again, not an insult.”
“Do you insult customers when they don’t know the difference between big lizards too, or is that kind of disdain reserved for me?”
“I scream at them and tell them to go to Barnes & Noble with all the other riff-raff, of course. And Godzilla isn’t a lizard. It’s a giant amphibious reptile, most likely. Did you forget that it came out of the sea, brainiac?”
She was having a hard time controlling her laughter at that point.
“Sorry, I flunked ‘distinguishing lizards from sea monsters and dragons’ in college.”
“Clearly.”
“A smart-assanda know-it-all. How the hell are you still single?” I meant it to be a joke, not a genuine question. Her smile slowly faded as she shook her head. I wanted to take the stupid question back, but it was too late.
