The tall, muscular figure on the other side of the glass door made her catch her breath.
Not a delivery driver, then, unless Bryce Kendall was moonlighting.
He wore a snug T-shirt and jeans. With his hair slightly shaggy and that sexy beard, he looked delicious enough to eat with a spoon.
Maybe she didn’t need pizza, after all.
She sighed, half tempted to turn around and retreat into the bookstore interior, pretending she didn’t see him. She had thought about him entirely too much since she came to town nearly two weeks ago.
That would be the coward’s way out, though. She was better than that, right?
She disarmed the security system, which really wasn’t anything to write home about, and opened the door. “I’m sorry. We’re closed. Maybe you didn’t see the sign.”
“I did. And I’m fully aware of the bookstore’s hours. But I saw you in here when I was walking past and thought you might need a hand.”
He had a dog with him, a sleekly elegant silver lab. Emmacouldn’t resist kneeling down to the dog’s level, always a sucker for a gorgeous canine.
“Hi there. What’s your name?” She scratched the dog behind the ears and was rewarded with a happy sigh.
“This is Pearl. She’s my best girl. She comes along with me to jobsites.”
“Hi, Pearl. Nice to meet you.”
The dog gazed up at her with a probing look that left her feeling disconcerted.
Something in that wise expression reminded Emma of her childhood dog, though the two animals didn’t resemble each other in the slightest. Heidi had been a miniature dachshund and had been bad-tempered to everyone except Emma, whom she had adored.
“It’s kind of you to stop,” she said, straightening back to Bryce’s level. “But I’m sure you’ve already had a long day. You’re busy working on the Stormhaven project, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“How’s that going.”
“Slower than I would like but we’re trying to restore what we can, not simply rip everything out and start over.”
“You mean like I want to do here? If I had my way, I would burn the whole place down and start over from scratch.”
He smiled. “How about I help you stay out of the slammer on arson charges? I’m happy to help. I love The Rainy Day Bookshop and will do whatever necessary to keep the doors open.”
Did he truly love the bookstore or was he simply being loyal to Rosie?
She pushed down her instinctive annoyance. Emma knew she had no right to resent their close relationship or her mother’s trust in him. He had been here for Rosie when Emma had been off screwing up her life.
While she wanted to tell him she could handle this by herself, that would simply be stupid. He was here, offering to help her. She would have to be either foolish or pigheaded to refuse.
“Thanks.” She forced a smile. “I actually could use some muscle. Originally the husband of one of our staff members planned to be here tonight to move boxes for me but their granddaughter has been playing in a soccer tournament down in Coos Bay and made it to the finals.”
“Oh, that must be Jenny and Paul Cortez. Their granddaughter Annabel is a real star.”
Did he know everything about everyone? Of course he did. This was Wood Briar, where people thrived on gossip.
“I can pay you in pizza. I have one that should be here any minute. In fact, I thought you were the pizza delivery when you knocked. I’m afraid it will be vegetarian.”
“I like vegetables, only not mushrooms.”
“Too bad for you, I ordered extra mushroom. You’ll have to take them off.”
“I can do that. Now where can I start?” He looked around the chaos. “I’m sure you have a plan here, but do you want to explain it to me?”