Page 18 of Gift of You
And while I couldn’t say I’d felt a lot of that since Ally’s passing, over the last couple of months, I’d thought perhaps I was finally finding peace, at least. And maybe over time, I’d find contentment too.
Then a half-naked man crashed into my life four days ago and shook everything up all over again. It wasn’t his fault ithappened to coincide with my reading of a gay romance novel, or the awakening that had followed. Were the two things exclusive of each other? Had the book stirred something inside me that had me looking at Louis in a different light? Or had I felt some sort of attraction for him without realizing it until I’d read that damn book? The two things seemed to be interconnected. Not that it really mattered which came first. The fact remained that the attraction was there, no matter which spark ignited it. The question was, was I going to do anything about it?
I finished my shower, pointedly ignoring my erection once again, and got dressed for work.
Businessat the shop was still slow. Over the years, I’d learned that the week between Christmas and New Year’s could be unpredictable for sales, largely depending on the weather and which day of the week the holidays fell. Four inches of snow wasn’t anything we weren’t used to in this part of the country, but perhaps folks had taken today to travel. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved to be able to continue to brood in peace or if I was going stir crazy by the lack of distraction.
I was interrupted by a burst of cold air and the jangle of bells as the door opened and Louis walked in. “Hi. Um... Sorry to interrupt. And I know you wanted space to think, so I won’t bother you. I just thought I’d look for a book or two to read for the rest of the week before I head back to the city. I feel like I’ve seen everything Netflix has to offer at this point, so, um... yeah, I’ll just browse around.”
His cheeks, already rosy from the cold air, flushed a little deeper as he barreled through his little speech. It was pretty obvious his curiosity had gotten the best of him, and I wonderedhow long he’d practiced what he was going to say before coming down here. I glanced at the clock, noting the time was just shy of eleven thirty, and was impressed he’d almost made it a day and a half before coming down.
I rose from my chair in the corner, sending Ernie scrambling. He gave a disgruntledmew, then jumped right back into the seat I’d just vacated. “What kinds of books are you looking for?” I asked, locking the screen on my iPad and moving over to set it on the shelf below the cash register.
“Oh.” He waved me off. “No need to help. I can poke around on my own.”
“Suit yourself,” I said, picking my iPad back up and settling onto the stool behind the counter. The iPad may have been in my hands, but that certainly didn’t mean I was looking at it. Instead, my eyes trailed Louis as he picked up a book in the biographies section, read the synopsis, then put it back. He moved a little way down, picked up something from the YA section, glanced at it, then put it back too. When he picked up a copy ofJunie B. Jones, I set my iPad down again, unable to resist crossing over to him and giving him a hard time.
“Graduated to chapter books, have you?”
“What...?” He looked down at the book in his hand, his face coloring adorably—adorably?—when he realized what he’d picked up.
“It’s . . . uh . . . f-for my niece.”
“Didn’t you tell me she was just a couple of weeks old?”
“It’s never too soon to start collecting books. Reading is critical for a child’s development, you know.”
“Yes, I do know.” I took the book from Louis’s hand and returned it to the shelf. “What are you really doing down here?”
He at least had the decency to look sheepish. “I just wanted to see if you were okay after... everything that happened the other day.”
“I’m . . . honestly, I’m still processing.”
“That’s fair.”
My lip twitched. “Glad you think so.”
“Oh, look at that. Youdohave a sense of humor.”
I glared at him.
He laughed. “That’s not gonna work on me, big guy.”
“Whatdoeswork on you?”
“I’m not sure you’re ready for the answer to that question.” The phrase was so heavily loaded with innuendo, it had blood rushing directly south. His eyes widened and he took a step back. “Shit. I’m sorry.”
I took a step forward. “I told you?—”
He took another step back. “Flirting is second nature.”
I stepped forward again. “Louis, stop.”
“I didn’t mean to?—”
I stepped right up into his space, my chest bumping against his as his back collided with the bookshelf. “I told you to stop apologizing.”
“I’m sor?—”
