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When she looked like a real grandma, I knew it was time to be afraid. I’d learned that lesson before and it wasn’t one I was going to forget. Her innocent air was giving me flashbacks to weird questions about dirty books. “It seems like you’ve been very busy, Payton.”
Oh, that wasn’t good.
I wasn’t sure why it was bad but I knew they were up to something.
“Work has been jumping this week.” That had to be what she meant, right? Had they come in before to interrogate me over something else inappropriate and missed out because I’d been busy? “Sometimes it seems like everyone wants to buy a book all on the same day.”
The hungry piranhas just kept smiling.
What kind of books could they be looking for?
Amanda carried a mix of romance and erotica but nothing really sketchy…and nothing I would be helpful in explaining. I was still working out the puppy play stuff.
“I’m sure you’ve been busy but we were thinking of something more personal that’s been keeping you occupied.” Mrs. Jenkins thought she was funny and the way the ladies all twittered said they agreed with her.
Fuck.
Personal?
“We’ve been worried about Ben. He’s been lonely and hasn’t been able to meet anyone who shares his unique interests, but it seems like you’ve become fast friends.” She paused and gave me another grandma smile, clearly eager for me to fill in the blanks, but my brain had skidded to a halt.
I probably looked like a goldfish or even a zombie because she gave me a smile that looked like she thought I was a cute idiot and kept pushing. “His father isn’t a pleasant person, you understand. That man’s got his head buried in the sand about so many things he’s going to suffocate one of these days. But we’ve been very diligently looking out for Ben and we’re glad you’ve been getting to know him.”
This was so much worse than Amanda’s knowing smirks.
Once I’d admitted we were dating, she’d at least been polite and pretended not to know anything was curious about my relationship with Bex. She’d even promised not to point out to anyone that she wasn’t actually dating him to help make things easier.
The ladies were not trying to make things easier no matter what they seemed to think.
“I…I like going to the bakery.” No, I really didn’t but I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I’d clearly gotten too complacent over the past few weeks since Bex and I had started dating. “It’s been nice getting to know Ben.”
Yes, not Bex to them…Ben was the baker who was pretending to be very normal.
Their smiles got mischievous as they glanced between themselves, and several of them had a knowing look like they thought my denial was cute.
I thought that was the point when I finally found where my pair had wandered off to. I’d clearly left them in the biography section.
“Amanda!” Yep, I’d found my pair and they’d told me to call in reinforcements. She wanted to be a Dom so bad, she could practice on me and save me from the crazy ladies. “Remember that conversation on limits?”
Now the entire store knew we’d reached mine but there was nothing I could do about that.
“Coming.” Her loud response made her sound closer than I’d expected and had the ladies frowning at one another. “Three seconds to incoming.”
That seemed to be a warning for the ladies more than a countdown for me because they scattered in a flock of frowns and questions. They were all talking over each other as they spread throughout the store like it was a planned heist, and the main question seemed to be wondering what they’d done to piss off the crazy lady.
Really?
Amanda actually did show up in three seconds but they were everywhere at that point. It was like watching roaches run for cover. I was still doing my best to keep my heart from trying to escape my chest, so it took me a second to decide if I wanted to glare at her or not.
I picked not but I wasn’t happy with it. “Thank you for your help.”
Somehow this had to be her fault.
She seemed to be trying to decide if she was going to laugh or actually behave like a real boss but she made a valiant attempt to keep a somewhat serious expression. “What were they doing to you? Ralph was even worried.”
“Ralph?” Was that one of the regulars?
Had she hired someone new?
“Weird fishing magazine guy.” I could feel my eyes widening as she explained who Ralph was. “He actually came to find me he was so worried.”
Was that sweet or disturbing?
Pushing that to the back of my mind, I took a deep breath. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to let him grab my ass again.”
“That’s okay. I’m glad I could help anyway.” The rough voice that called out from the other side of the bookshelf that held the biographies made me close my eyes and groan.
