Page 28 of Almost Home
At this, the man seemed genuinely pleased. “You can imagine there’s nothing a bookseller likes to hear more than exactly that. I’ll leave you to browse, but don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything. Help yourself to an espresso at the bar if you like—I’m just going to check her out.”
Jane’s head whipped to where Mr. Malcom had nodded. I followed and saw another woman standing at the small checkout desk. I hadn’t heard her come in or seen her. For as small as the shop was, it created such a nice feeling of intimacy and privacy that she might’ve been there all along.
Malcom chatted with the woman as he rang her up, and Jane’s eyes didn’t leave him for a second.
I couldn’t be certain I was reading her right, but I had a strong suspicion she had a thing for the new bookstore owner. “He’s a handsome man.”
“He is that,” she agreed.
“And he loves books.”
She clutched the historical she’d picked up to her chest. “He must.”
“Maybe you should ask him out?”
She raised a single brow at me. “I imagine the man has more than enough on his plate with moving to a new place and opening a business.”
“True. Though maybe he needs a friend to help him feel settled. Someone who, say, has lived here all her life and knows everyone? Who would help him drum up business and—”
“Sarah Elizabeth James, I’ll have you know I’m perfectly capable of managing my own social life.”
I didn’t smile at her use of my full name, knowing it might launch her into a lecture. “I have no doubt of that.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “You, however, might need some assistance.”
A thrill of fear slipped through me. “Absolutely not. I’m all set. And actually, I have to get going. Thank you so much for letting me come with you. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you soon, right?”
That suspicious look didn’t leave her face for another moment, but finally, her brow smoothed out and she nodded. “Yes, you will. We’ll do lunch sometime, and I’m sure I’ll be in to see Wilder again soon. I need to meet this Bruce, too.”
I had no doubt Bruce would be subject to Jane Saint in quick order. While I could still make my getaway without her delving into what she’d do to help my social life and all the ways I was scared she thought she could do that, I got out of there and didn’t look back.
We’d have it out about what happened years ago someday soon, I could tell. Maybe closure with her was what I needed to dissolve that little knot in my chest.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
Wilder
Bruce pulled me in for a hug and back slap, the usual greeting after time apart. We were brothers, in many ways closer than Wyatt and Warrick were to me. I hoped to change that, and I hoped they’d welcome Bruce when he came to live in Silverton permanently.
But for now, I needed to keep an eye on him as he shifted his focus to Sarah.
Sarah. Who’d shown up in a fitted black dress looking all kinds of professional with her hair twisted back into a... well, a twist, held up by a spikey weapon-like thing. The urge to pull it out and watch her hair tumble down around her face gripped me so relentlessly, I had to tuck my hand into my pocket.
“I’m so happy to be here and meet you, Sarah. I’ve heard wonderful things about you from Wilder, of course, and I’ve appreciated how quickly you’ve jumped into this. I know you weren’t exactly expecting this kind of work, but we’re very glad to have you.”
As always, Bruce demonstrated his abundance ofpeople ability.Not just skills, but all-around adeptness at managing and talking to andhandlingpeople. I’d always admired it—found it useful on missions. It’d already been essential to setting up Saint Securities. But I’d never envied it until this moment, when the disparity between his personable energy and my inherent broodiness sat in a spotlight in my mind.
“Thank you. I’m happy to be working here, and it’s great to meet you.”
She shook his hand, and I chose to ignore the slight brightness to her cheeks. She wasn’t embarrassed or excited by his attention. I didn’t need to readinterestinto that blush.
Plus, why shouldn’t she be interested in Bruce? He was one of the best men I knew. The more she got to know him, the more she’d see that. He would be a good boss, and since she was a great employee, they’d have a nice relationship.
Nice relationshiptwisted in my gut like a jagged-edged knife. Professional relationship was what I meant, and that’s what they’d have. And if I didn’t stop thinking about my employee Sarah’s future relationships, I was going to be in big freaking trouble.
I needed to own the fact that I was already in trouble. She’d put me in peril from the minute I saw her last December—the second I’d seen her blanching face and realized she’d come back. That we’d be here together again, back where everything fell apart.
“Wilder and I will do a quick debrief with you, then we’ve got some less interesting ground to cover in private. But I’d love to take you both to lunch somewhere tomorrow—maybe you could show me around Silverton a bit? I guess it’s never too early to house hunt, right?”
