He rubbed his chin. “I mean… are you hungry?”
I blinked, and before I could process what was coming out of my mouth, I asked, “If you remember me, why do you keep showing up? You invited Noah to exercise?”
Archer cleared his throat. “I didn’t want him driving you home drunk.”
“So you invited him to your house?” Lowering my voice, I said, “He can’t find out about us.”
“I know, I know,” Archer said, raising his hand. “Trust me, I know. It was just a onetime thing. We all make mistakes.”
I sucked in a breath.
Archer looked at the boxes. “So you’re opening a bookstore, huh?”
“I guess.”
He frowned. “You don’t seem excited about it.”
“They were my father’s books. I have to get rid of them.”
He nodded as if understanding. “One of my packmates is a book collector. I’ll send him over.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
Archer’s fingers stroked the wrapped suckers, and I couldn’t strip my eyes away. “Mind if I have one?”
“Take what you want,” I replied, thinking how that phrase had other connotations.
After choosing a flavor, he slid the candy into his back pocket. His downward glance made it seem like he wanted to say something more, but all he did was hold that position for a few seconds longer.
“Is that it?” Noah called out as he entered the room.
I raised the book to shield my face.
“Just these three,” Archer said. “Give me a hand. I can’t lift the big ones.”
Noah chuckled. “You could have fooled me.”
“Lift it, I can do. Carry it with one arm, I can’t.”
The two men laughed, and I wanted to crawl between the couch cushions and die. Then a voice in the back of my head chimed in:Why should you feel guilty? You’re not mated to Noah. He’s just your live-in boyfriend who won’t commit.
Shut up, I replied.It doesn’t make it right.
It sure felt right that night, she sang back.
“Areyou going to be good by yourself?” Noah asked. “Once I leave, I won’t be back unless there’s an emergency.”
“Is there any air in here?”
He heaved a sigh. “I can’t get the guy to look at the air conditioner until tomorrow. You’ll have to put up with the heat. There’s water,” he said, pointing at three bottles sitting on a box. “There’s also a bathroom in the back, so you’ll be fine. This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”
I gave him a tight hug. “Of course.”
“I’ll be back at eight. That’s seven hours, so get busy. You can’t sell books if they’re all in boxes. Once you have everything set up, you can open for business. Until then, the door stays locked.”
I drew back and collected the box cutter off the dusty counter. As soon as I sliced one box open, Noah walked out and then knocked on the glass. When he pointed down, I locked the door.
I turned around and soaked in the quietness of my soon-to-be bookshop. Noah had purchased cheap bookshelves for the outside walls and two standing shelves in the middle that ran tothe back. Since they were dirty, I wet a rag and meticulously cleaned each one. My father took great care of his books, and I wouldn’t dream of carelessly shelving them on an inch of dust and grime.
