Page 20 of Novel Problems

And damn, did it feel amazing.

CHAPTER TWELVE

GEORGE

I crouched in front of the mini fridges behind the counter, counting cartons of milk. It was nearly closing time, and I was taking advantage of the lull in customers to take an inventory of what I needed to order. After the movie night last night, I was looking forward to a quiet evening in.

“George.”

I looked up to find Romina standing next to me behind the counter, her sensible black leather handbag slung over her shoulder. Romina would have usually left by now, but a group of tourists had ordered a late lunch just before the kitchen was due to close, and it had thrown the entire afternoon off.

“The cornbread is in the oven. I’ve set an alarm for twenty minutes. The pulled pork has been in the slow cooker since morning, so it’s probably ready now, but I figured we might as well leave it in for a bit longer to let the flavors develop. You’re okay to get them both out?”

I nodded. “Yes. That sounds great, thank you. I’m sorry you had to stay so late. The pork smells incredible.” Therich smoky scent of Romina’s pulled pork had been making my stomach rumble all afternoon.It would be tomorrow’s lunchtime special.

“Well, I made a huge batch, so if you want some for dinner, there’s plenty.”Romina shifted on her feet, clearly eager to get home.

I grinned. “I will definitely take you up on that. See you tomorrow!”

I finished counting the milk and then stood, surveying the café. There were only two customers left, and they looked like they were finishing up.

I grabbed a cloth and a bottle of surface cleaner and started wiping down the tables.

Ten minutes later, both customers had paid and left. I flipped theOpensign on the front door toClosedand went to find Hannah, who’d leaped at my request to check that the bookstore section was in order. I peered down each aisle until I spotted her, head bent over a stack of books she was holding, studying one of the books intently. I smiled, warmth expanding across my chest. I loved how much she seemed to genuinely love books.

“Hannah?”

She jumped and turned to me, her eyes bright.

“Sorry. I was just going to clean Hugo and thought I’d check if you wanted anything to drink first?” I asked.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m fine.” Hannah smiled. “I’ve just been putting away books that were lying around, and this one caught my eye. Have you read this? It sounds fantastic.” She held up the book she’d been examining. It wasThe Glass Den,a literary fiction novel by a debut author that had received a lot of buzz lately.

I shook my head. “No. I’ve read some great things about it, but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet.” I hadn’t hadmuch time for reading lately, and I really missed it. “I was actually sent an advanced reader copy of that one. Let me take a look and see if I can find it for you.” Hannah sounded so excited about the book, and it seemed a shame for the advanced reader copy to go to waste.

“Oh, if it’s not too hard to find it, that would be great,” Hannah said.

“No, that’s fine. It’ll be a good opportunity for me to show you the storage shed anyway.”

Hannah put down the books and followed me past the kitchen to the back door, which opened onto a small yard with a quaint-looking wooden shed in one corner.

“Oh, cute!” Hannah exclaimed.

“Unfortunately, it’s not so cute inside,” I said as we walked over the grass toward it.

I twisted the key and, with some difficulty, opened the door. “Hmm, that must have shifted due to the hot weather.”

The door swung shut behind us. The small windows didn’t provide much natural light, so I flicked the light switch and winced as it illuminated the shed.

“Sorry, it’s a complete mess in here.” I hadn’t been in the shed for a few days, and seeing it fresh through Hannah’s eyes, it was even worse than I’d remembered. Boxes were stacked precariously high. There was just enough space for the two of us to fit. Standing so close to Hannah, the memory of last night’s unexpected hug came rushing back to me—Hannah’s body pressed warm against mine, me inhaling her slightly floral scent, my body humming from the contact.She’s an employee, remember.

“Wow,” Hannah said, looking around. “No wonder you didn’t have room for those H. M. Stuart boxes.”

To my disappointment, H. M. Stuart had not shown upat Novel Gossip today, but presumably he’d come tomorrow morning since the books were being picked up in the afternoon. My stomach fluttered with a mix of nerves and excitement at the thought.

I grimaced. “Yeah. I’ve been meaning to spend some time in here sorting things out. I just haven’t had a chance recently.” I looked around the stack of boxes and spotted the one markedARC, which was thankfully within reach. I pulled the box out and started searching through it.

“Aha!” I spottedThe Glass Denand extracted it from the box, handing it to Hannah. “Here we go! I’ll be really interested to hear what you think of it.”

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