Lucas’s hands braced on my back and his chest rumbled with a laugh. ‘Do you greet every customer like this?’
I turned my face into the juncture between his neck and shoulder and breathed deep. ‘Thank you,’ I whispered.
Lucas seemed to understand I wasn’t just grateful for him visiting the shop. His arms tightened around me and his face pressed into my scarf.
‘You smell incredible,’ he murmured.
I felt his face heat, even through the fabric between us.
‘You do too,’ I said, before Lucas could sink too far into embarrassment.
That wasn’t strictly true. After a morning visit to the island’s farm and a day in the surgery, a distinctly animalistic musk hung around him. But under that was fresh cut grass and healthy sweat.
Despite the furry overtones, there was nowhere I wanted to be right now other than in Lucas’s arms.
Until Hamish roused himself from examining his display and said, ‘Who the fuck are you?’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LUCAS
Ididn’t think there was anyone else in the shop. If I was being totally honest with myself, which I avoided on a number of subjects because it would be too depressing, I hadn’t looked. My eyes found Kit, and it was like he was the only person in the room. The only person who existed.
Kit stepped back and glared at the young guy standing beside a weird metal dinosaur. ‘That’s not how we treat customers.’
My eyebrows rose of their own volition. I tried not to judge people by their appearance, but this dude did not look like the type to work in a bookshop. Didn’t sound like it either. He would be more at home in a quarry or mine, his broad frame perfect for breaking apart stone with an axe.
He continued to glower at me, his bright orange eyebrows overshadowing his narrowed eyes. After a tense few seconds, I realised he was impatiently waiting for me to answer his question.
‘I’m Lucas,’ I said slowly, keeping my distance like he was one of the few wild creatures who didn’t fall for my charm. ‘I’m Kit’s housemate.’
His eyes reduced to slits. ‘Are you his friend?’
I glanced at Kit, but he seemed content to let his youthful co-worker terrorise me. Or maybe he was as interested in the answer as this ginger menace.
‘Yeah.’ I nodded decisively. ‘We’re friends.’
Faint blush coloured Kit’s cheeks as he tucked the books he’d picked up from the floor into his arms and hurried off towards the counter at the back of the shop. He was in a brown jumper today, his orange scarf a bright contrast.
The young person who apparently worked in a bookshop instead of interrogating murder suspects grunted. ‘Look after him, yeah?’
I was left to frown at his back when he spun around and began tending to the weird sculpture in the window. Kit might look delicate, like a precious figurine, but he was hardy. And brave. And kind. I wasn’t sure he needed looking after, like his co-worker believed.
‘I like the dinosaur.’ Maybe if I established a rapport with him, he would tell me why he thought Kit needed special care.
My words had the opposite effect. The young man turned to glare at me, then stormed out of the shop.
‘That was Hamish,’ Kit said, his arms free of books. ‘Guess he’s done for the day, then.’
‘He’s your star employee, right?’
Kit grinned, dimples digging into his rounded cheeks. ‘I guess he takes that honour, since he’s my only employee.’
I looked around the shop. It was tidy and bright; an impressive feat considering Kit’s only help was a young man who swore at potential customers and left whenever he chose.
‘Show me around?’ Island Books wasn’t big so I could have investigated the shelves on my own, but the way Kit’s face tipped up into a beaming smile told me I’d asked the right question.
‘This is Hamish’s window display.’ Kit gestured at the misshapen dinosaur. ‘According to a schedule only he knows, hearrives with a new creation and basically earns his own wages with the money we make from his recommendations. As you can see, at the moment dragons are the in thing.’
