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She sighed. “Your stepfather got fired this month, so we’ll need some money to help cover bills until he finds something else.”
I asked how much she needed, and the amount pissed me off. “This is foronemonth of bills? Where are y’all staying? In a high-rise condo in downtown Denver?” Last I knew, they lived in a trailer on the other side of the state.
A sniffle came through the line. “You know I wouldn’t be calling you if we had any other choice. It’s bad, Chris. We’ve been behind for a while, and Sam losing his job just…” She broke off the sentence with a sob.
I realized my office door was still open and anyone walking by could probably hear this conversation. I took the call off speakerphone and pressed it to my ear. “I can send enough to cover what you owe and a little extra, but I don’t want to hear from you for a while, okay? Sam should get his shit together and stop drinking long enough to keep a job.”
She cried harder. “Thank you. Thank you.”
We discussed the details involving sending them money. I was emotionally drained by the time the phone call was finished. She told me she loved me toward the end, and I didn’t have the emotional capacity to say it back. Why say it, when I wasn’t even sure I felt it?
---
After finishing work, I went to see Sav. I was determined to talk to her and smooth things over.
I wasn’t sure I could keep myself from taking things as far as Sav would let me, but I didn’t want it to happen when she was so vulnerable.
I didn’t want it to be something she might regret when she felt stronger.
I entered the bookstore and found Jackson right away. He was rearranging the displays at the front of the store. “You’re looking better.”
He beamed. “Yep. Sav finally let me come back to work.”
“She’s a tough one,” I joked. “Where is she by the way? I wanted to talk to her about the coffee bar.” I didn’t really, but I’d had the excuse ready.
“She’s in the office,” he said.
I thanked him and headed that way. Their office was located down a short hallway. There were large windows that usually allowed them to see customers approach the registers or for customers to see them if they needed to ask a question, but the curtain to the window was drawn.
I knocked on the door.
“Just a minute,” she said on the other end.
I waited a few seconds, and she opened the door. My eyes widened as my mouth instantly grew dry.
She was wearing makeup. Her dark hair was styled and curled, falling over her shoulders in thick waves. She wore a dark green dress that showed off every curve of her body and made my mouth water. Her black tights were made out of a shiny fabric that hugged the curves of her legs all the way down to her black heels.
“Damn, Sav,” I croaked before I could stop myself.
Her eyebrows rose. She was still wearing the glasses she used when reading or on the computer, and they made her look even hotter.
She had the sexy librarian look down.
I wanted her to shush me while I did sexy things to her.
She stepped back from the door and grabbed her purse from the desk.
“Where are you going?” I asked, wanting to follow her anywhere just to watch her sway in that dress.
“None of your business,” she said.
“Okay.” I licked my lips. I closed my eyes so I could try to recall the reason I’d stopped by. “I wanted to see if we could talk.”
“About what?”
I opened my eyes again so I could give her my full attention. I ignored how hot she looked. “About last weekend. I feel like you’ve been avoiding me since Saturday night—”
“Chris,” she interrupted, putting up her hand to stop me. “We don’t need to relive it. It was embarrassing enough that it happened in the first place. Let’s move on with our lives.”
