His eyes sparkled. “What’s the price?”
I set the box on the table and tugged him behind the curtain. “Follow me and find out.”
Once we were safely out of sight, I slipped my arms around his neck and braced my body against his. Rising to the tips of my toes, I kissed him. His arms wrapped around me when our lips met, a satisfied rumble rolling around in the back of his throat.
I pulled back, my lips tingling from his touch. “I’d say you’ve earned your cupcake, sir,” I teased.
“Was that all? I’m pretty sure that the going rate for cupcakes is at least a few more kisses. I’m ready to pay up.”That adorable twinkle sparked to life in his eyes again.
“I bet you are. But I’m willing to give you one on credit, but only if you promise to pay up later.”
“Cross my heart,” he said with flushed cheeks.
I’d put that blush there. Correction: Flirty Wren had put the color in his cheeks. There really was something to what Zane had said before. Maybe Flirty Wren really was as much a part of the real me as Bookstore Wren. All it had taken was meeting the man of my dreams to bring her out of me.
Percy bounded up to us, tail wagging like the fluffiest wrecking ball in the world. He greeted Zane dangerously close to the rickety frame holding up the backdrop and banner.
“Did you miss me, boy?”
Percy answered with a frantic tail wag that snagged the curtain and brought the PVC frame down around us. Our feet tangled inthe fabric, and we tumbled to the ground as well. We fought to find our way out from under the curtain until Zane finally found the edge. We popped our heads out just in time to see Percy at the table, standing on his hind legs and scarfing down the cupcakes.
“Now we know who the real cupcake thief is,” I teased. My smile faltered a little when my gaze fell on the clock.
“What’s wrong?”
“The author for this signing will be here in about fifteen minutes,” I said.
“Who? Doctor Love?”
I couldn’t help but giggle at the name again. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
Zane tapped his index finger on his chin, looking off into the distance as if he were in the middle of deep mental calculations. “Fifteen minutes? That’s perfect.”
I looked around me at the ruined backdrop, crumbs on the table, and the book promotional materials I’d arranged so carefully on the table now in disarray. “I don’t think I’d call this mess perfect.”
“I was talking about the timing. We’ve got plenty of time to fix your setup if we work together.”
Together.
I liked the sound of that word.
“Since she’s not going to be here for fifteen minutes,” he continued, “we have at least five more minutes to spend on this.” He pulled the fabric back over our heads and pressed his lips to mine before I had time to protest.
I closed my eyes, giddy shivers wracking my body as we hunkered down on the ground like two kids in a makeshift tent. I giggled against his lips as he chuckled, intertwining his fingers with mine as we explored the finer details of each other’s lips.
“Coming here was a long shot,” he whispered in my ear, “but I’m glad I took it.”
I had gotten so many things wrong over the past few weeks.As it turned out, I wasn’t the boring person I’d always believed myself to be. Zane wasn’t the player I’d thought he was. And the safe little life I’d built for myself wasn’t nearly big enough to satisfy me.
But here in Zane’s arms, everything became clear. It was my time to start getting things right. If there was one thing I was certain of, my life had just gotten a whole lot more exciting.
And that was just the way I liked it.
I echoed his words from before. “A long shot’s the best shot when it’s the only one you’ve got. I’m glad we get to take this next shot together.”
He nodded and said, “The next shot and all of the rest to follow.”
The End
