“Hush up. My limbs are barely working.” She wrapped her hands around her coffee and sighed. “I don’t know why I chose to live here.”
“Because JR is here, and you didn’t want to leave him,” I pointed out.
“It has been good for me. I haven’t dated a single man.”
I didn’t know her whole backstory, but I gleaned enough from the bruises on her face when she arrived in town over a year ago.
“You could always get a car.”
She snorted, walking over to the open box. “And go where? I can walk pretty much everywhere in town.”
“I did offer to pick you up.”
“I know, but I like walking.” She snatched the top book, her eyes bright. “Ooh, this looks good.”
Hovering over her shoulder, I stared at the sexy man on the cover. “Yeah, it has nothing to do with the lumberjack and everything to do with the words inside,” I retorted.
“So, what do you need me to do?”
I was just about to open another box when I froze. “You were serious about helping?”
“Of course. It’s not like I have anything else to do. Besides, you let me hang out and read anything I want all day long. The least I can do is help out when you get a new shipment in.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
“Positive. Just give me a minute to warm up my fingers and toes.”
Despite the warm atmosphere of the twinkling lights, there was no way to work efficiently in the dark. I flipped on theoverhead lights and got to work opening boxes, directing Alyssa where to put them.
As she carried them around the store, I scanned the barcodes into the system, easily updating the inventory. A year ago, I would have been manually entering each title, the ISBN, the inventory, and everything else that went with it. The upgrade was a lifesaver.
“Ooh, Jack the Ripper.” Alyssa’s eyes went wide as she read the back blurb.
“I had no idea you were so interested in murderers.”
“Fascinated,” she corrected. “And it’s not so much that I’m interested in him as who he was. There are so many theories, and I feel like if I don’t find out who he really is before I die, then I’m definitely missing out on something.”
“Well, maybe you’ll meet him in the afterlife,” I teased.
“I don’t plan on going to hell.”
As she gathered up the books and hauled them over to the non-fiction section, I snatched the next group of books. This particular cover caught my eye, and I found myself reading the blurb instead of getting to work.
I wasn’t usually a heavy romance reader, but lately, I found my vibrator getting more of a workout than it usually needed. It had been way too long since I’d had a man between my thighs.
And unfortunately, the last really good lay I’d had was back in high school when I was dating Jeff.
“That’s a good one,” Alyssa smirked, taking it from me. “I read it a week ago. Looking for something new to read?”
She shot me a knowing look that had me blushing all the way to my toes.
“I’m a bookstore owner. I take an interest in everything in my shop.”
“Including the baking section?”
“Especially the baking section. I may not be much of a cook, but I love to make pies and cupcakes.”
“Then where have all these fabulous treats been? You might attract more customers if you have them out.”