Page 135 of Will Bark for Pizza
“Just friends,” she said, though conviction was missing from her tone.
“Friends,” I half-heartedly agreed.
“Friends. No benefits.”
I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, purposely dragging my fingertips along her jaw.
“That’s too bad,” I said, my gaze zeroing in on her mouth. I took a big step back before I gave in and kissed her again. “Because I’m really enjoying these benefits. I think you are, too.”
FORTY
KIRA
“Dammit,”I cursed as I discoveredanotherbookshelf on its last leg. It was a miracle it hadn’t crumbled before I offloaded all the books. But it too, like eight others so far, would have to be completely replaced. Just another expense that would burn through the pool of money I collected from my savings and the investments of the book club members.
At least the sidewalk sale went well in my absence. Dylann apparently was pure magic when it came to sweet-talking strangers on the street. Of the twenty-two hundred and eighteen books we identified, almost twelve hundred sold.
It wouldn’t be enough to pay the balance of outstanding invoices, considering we were running a buy-two-get-one-free sale and not a single book was selling for double digits. But the money earned this week would make a dent.
Small wins.
I pulled another set of books from the shelf, stacking them on the table behind me. Since I gave everyone the night off, the stacks I was pulling off the shelves wouldn’t be sorted until tomorrow. But it only felt right that I work a couple of late nights to make up for my quick trip to Omaha.
This was the first time since I opened the bookstore for the book club meeting just shy of two weeks ago that I had the store all to myself.
It looked nothing like it had.
Books were piled everywhere, sorted into categories. Most shelves were empty; the rest would be by the end of the night. Some, like the one that held a variety of travel books in the back, were good for little more than tinder. So many of them would need to be replaced.
“What else could go wrong?” I mumbled.
A flicker of an image flashed in my mind. A feisty woman, emptying the shelves of a shop. What kind of shop? I couldn’t tell from the cloudy vision. Was it potions? I heard the woman mutter, “What the fuck else could go wrong today?” and knew she was the heroine I’d been waiting to meet—Mateo’s mate.
Holy hell.
Where did that come from?
I pulled my phone from my back pocket, opened my Notes app, and jotted it all down. As I typed the final line of dialogue, I heard the rattle of the lock.
I could count on one hand the number of people who had a key to the bookstore, and none of them were a threat. But I tensed nonetheless, unablenotto brace for the worst.Maybe someday, I wouldn’t be afraid of every goddamn thing.
It wasn’t until my gaze snagged on Beckett’s easygoing smile that I relaxed.
“Red, what are you still doing here?” he called back to me, closing the door behind him and flipping the deadbolt.
My pulse skipped and stuttered at the sound of his voice. My traitorous nipples pebbled at the very sight of him. Or maybe it was from the memory of me jumping him a couple of nights ago on that deserted country road. The way he kissed me so fucking thoroughly that I felt it in every single cell of my being. The way his hands roamed my body possessively.
I was so fucked when it came to Beckett Campbell.
So very fucked.
“I’m working,” I shot back, spinning away from him and continuing to empty the last couple of shelves. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to take some measurements.”
“For what?”
“For the new flooring.”
