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Chris droppedme off Monday afternoon, and we talked on the phone again that evening. I’d almost suggested I spend the night with him again, but I actually was sore and pretty tired. And I knew if I was in his bed, I’d push that aside and want him to make love to me again.
It wouldn’t look great if I was helping customers at the bookstore while being barely able to walk, I thought, feeling a little wicked at thinking such a thing.
I’d had no reason to be nervous about my first time, not with him. He was gentle, touching me expertly and bringing me to orgasm so easily.
It had been perfect, and I felt like my feet hadn’t touched the ground since he’d carried me up the stairs to his bedroom.
We’d spent most evenings together since then, and several of the nights, usually over the weekends when he didn’t have to worry about being up early to oversee a job site.
The store was busier than usual for a Monday. Grampa came in, even though he worked Saturday, and I’d encouraged him to take the day off. We changed some of the displays, and I bought a few chalkboards to decorate. I used them to separate the new sections and lead people through the store.
Word had gotten around about the new coffee bar and espresso machine. People were coming in for a latte, buying a new book, and then sitting in one of the designated seating areas. The bar area wasn’t even completely finished, but it was close.
I’d always wanted the Sparks to be a cozy spot for book lovers, and it was slowly becoming known for that in the community.
As the school semester ended, there was a high chance parents would begin trickling into the store with their children’s summer reading lists. We had a thriving library community in town, but there were only so many copies of each book, so people still came in to purchase some.
Grampa and I organized an entire section dedicated to the reading list Sean supplied for us.
Thoughts of Sean made me feel guilty. I hadn’t seen him much since the dinner party at his house. I’d mostly talked to Nicole, who contacted me here or there about wedding plans. I thought Sean and Chris talked about as often about upcoming dates and deadlines, tux fittings, that sort of thing.
I’d missed Sunday dinner last night, claiming Penny needed someone to babysit at the last minute. I felt horrible lying like that, but Chris and I hadn’t discussed when we were telling my family.
He’d kissed me on my front porch multiple times in the last few days, so maybe he didn’t care if they noticed or knew. But I didn’t want to jump the gun and announce anything without talking to him about it first.
We didn’t need any more misunderstandings between us.
“How’s Chris doing?” Grampa asked as we stood near the registers. We were mostly caught up with work, so we were waiting for the wandering customers to check out or need assistance.
“Fine. Probably. How would I know? Why?” I’d sounded more panicked than I meant to.
He glanced at me with a quirked eyebrow. His lip twitched with an amused smile. “Not any real reason. Just been noticing his car in our driveway more often. Seems like he’s visiting my granddaughter at all hours of the morning and evening lately.”
I licked my lips, giving myself time to think of an excuse that wasn’t exactly a lie. “We’ve been hanging out.”
“Oh? Hanging out?”
I shrugged. “We made up.”
He hummed unhelpfully, and I wanted to bury my head in my hands. “So you’re friend again, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Just friends? Or are the two of you hardheaded people”— he leaned over to whisper—“finally getting your shit together?”
I gasped. Grampa rarely ever cursed, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or hide my face at the fact that he clearly thought he knew what we were up to. I wracked my brain for what to say in response to that, but I was saved by the bell. The front door opened, and Chris and a couple of his workers walked in. He winked at me as he waved. They stopped at the register to say hi and explain what they were doing.
“We’re working on your bar today,” he said. “But there are also some issues upstairs we’ve run into, so we’ll be back and forth.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
I glanced between him and Grampa, who had a cat-that’s-got-the-canary grin on his face.
I was going to have to catch Chris and tell him what Grampa said. Or try to convey it to him telepathically. I frowned and focused, but he didn’t catch on.
“What’s the matter with you?” he asked me. He leaned over the counter and spoke softly enough I guessed he didn’t think Grampa would hear. “Iknowyou didn’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Know that for a fact.” He winked, thinking he was being clever.
And itwasdamned adorable.
