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“Chris?” Jackson nudged me with his elbow. I guess I’d been zoned out, thinking about Sav. When I turned to him, he continued.
“It’s not just you that’s eating at Savannah,” Jackson said, staring out into the woods behind the house. “She’s been upset with how things have been going for a while. She wants to save the store, but the business isn’t the same. People usually shop online for books or they go to the big chain stores. Keeping extra inventory upstairs isn’t necessary.”
I nodded. Not only had the book business changed, but so had everything else. I was fortunate enough to work in an essential field. Constructions was a vital industry and would never stop. There was no convenient online way to get a house built to draw customers away.
“Do you think it’s a bad idea if I buy the space from you? I don’t want to make her life hell.”
Jackson smirked. “I don’t understand why it would. Years ago, it was almost impossible to pull you two apart. Neither of you have even hinted at what happened to cause all this animosity over the last several years, and I’m not going to pry, but I’m sure you’ll be fine. You were too close for too many years for this to go one much longer.”
I picked at the label on my beer, not sure he was right. A part of me also felt like a scumbag for possibly leading her on that night, letting her think that something was going to happen between us.
I got lost in the moment and didn’t shut it down quickly enough.
Now I had to live with that.
“Yeah, I hope so. I think we just grew apart.” My stomach soured at my lie.
“It happens,” he said. He turned to face me, and I could see he was skeptical that I’d told the whole truth. “But only when people let it. Do me a favor and go check on her.” He gestured toward the house. “See if she’s all right.”
I knew I was the last person she wanted to see, but I wasn’t going to argue with him. I nodded and went in through the back sliding door.
A steady stream of water was running in the kitchen, so I placed my beer on the table and rounded the corner, bracing myself to see her again.
It was stupid, but I always had to do it.
When my eyes landed on her, I felt that same pang in my chest I always did.
Sav stood at the sink, her dark hair falling into her face as she angrily washed dishes. Her full lips were twisted into a pout, and her breasts swayed with each movement.
I watched for a moment, enjoying the view before realizing I shouldn’t be checking her out. I should be solving the issue at hand.
“Hey,” I said, announcing myself.
She ignored me, continuing to wash dishes and place them in the dishwasher.
I stepped further into the kitchen, stopping beside the sink and leaning against the counter within her eyesight.
It had been a long time since I’d stared at her this close.
She’d always been cute in a tomboy way growing up. She wore baggy clothes, and her hair was usually wrapped in a messy bun, similar to how it was now. But the fitted top with the caption “Feminists Read Romance” across her chest had my eyes settling there.
My gaze trailed down, catching on to the tight high-waisted jeans that made her curvy hips and round ass look great.
At some point, she’d gone from the cute girl next door to the hot librarian, and I wasn’t sure when exactly that happened.
“Will you stop staring at me?” she snapped, shutting off the water and stepping away.
She kicked the dishwasher closed and wiped her hands on a kitchen towel hanging from the oven handle. She crossed her arms, leaned against the counter, and glared at me.
The fire in her eyes lit my veins. I wanted to get lost in those beautiful forest-green eyes, but I knew my place.
I put my hands up in surrender.
“Okay, sorry. I like your shirt.”
She glared harder, somehow.
Why is her glare turning me on?
