I raced downstairs in time to see Heathcliff yank the monitor off his desk and hoist it over his shoulder, as though he intended to dash its brains out on the ground. “No!” I leapt across the room and flung myself in front of him, catching the corner of the monitor. Heathcliff stumbled back in surprise. I grabbed the monitor from his hands before he could protest and set it back on the desk.
“What did you do now?” I plugged the screen back in and rescued the computer mouse from under the armadillo’s tail.
“I did nothing!”
“Then why were you about to smash the computer on the floor?”
“The-Store-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named informed me that our customer rating has been downgraded from good to poor,” Heathcliff yelled. “All because some roving cumberworld complained that the six-hundred-year-old bible he purchased waswritten in bloody Latin. In addition to being nice to customers, I’ve now got to hold their hands and wipe their snotty noses and burp them, too?”
“Yes, yes, The-Store-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named is evil, and customers are dumb. I get it. Can’t you wait for me before you throw expensive equipment across the room?”
“I hate computers! The world was better when we didn’t have computers andapps.” Heathcliff said that last part like it was a curse word.
“No, it wasn’t. The world sucked back then, too – it just sucked without Uber Eats.” I switched the monitor back on. Our online book catalog flashed in front of the screen, and the message from The-Store-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named flickered across the top. Scanning the text, I found that all we needed to do to get the rating back up was obtain two more positive reviews, which would happen naturally as we sent out our next batch of online orders. Heathcliff always saw the negative side. “Besides, if we didn’t have apps, I might never have seen your job ad. Think of how dull your life would be without me.”
“Your shirt is on inside out,” he muttered without looking up from his book.
“Shite!” I darted into the World History room, tore off my shirt, and put it back on the right way around. Heathcliff glanced up when I walked back in. His eyes met mine and my breath hitched. I remembered the fierce kiss we shared the day he found me inside the occult room, the way he’d grabbed me as though he couldn’t control himself. The way he devoured me with all the fierce passion that had fueled the torrid romance ofWuthering Heightsand made him such a beloved antihero.
My heart pattered faster. Morrie’s insane challenge played over in my mind. One way or the other, I had to get this Heathcliff thing out of my system.I need to find out if what I’m feeling is for this Heathcliff, here and now, or if I’m lusting after the character I fell in love with as a teenager.
I squared my shoulders and sucked in a breath.Here goes nothing.
“Heathcliff, um…”
“What?” His head snapped up again, his black eyes staring straight into my soul.
“Can we… can I… take you out for dinner on Friday night?”
“Why?”
Why? What kind of answer is why?“Because… you never leave the shop. I’m worried you don’t have enough fun. Or enough nutrients.”
“I have fun.” Heathcliff thumped the stack of books on his desk. “I’m pricing stock, aren’t I?”
“That’s not exactly what I had in mind. I was thinking more the kind of fun where you hang out with a person you like and get to know them a bit better. It wouldn’t even have to be crazy. I’m not talking about going skydiving or getting matching tattoos. Just dinner. Maybe a drink. Do you want to go or not?”
Heathcliff’s black eyes studied me. After a long time, he said. “As long as I don’t have to wear anything fancy.”
I glanced down at his wrinkled white shirt, waistcoat, and old-fashioned trousers. With his heavy boots and long, messy hair, he already looked like he was the lead singer of the world’s hottest rock band. “I think you’re good.”
I was just about to say something else, but the bell tinkled. I poked my head into the hall. “Welcome to Nevermore Books—”
My words were lost in screams of delight. The front door banged open and a deluge of screaming, laughing, childish voices poured into the shop. I glanced up just in time to see a wave of young faces run in all directions and disappear into the shelves. Their delighted squeals bounced off the high ceilings and echoed around the darkened corners.
“What the fuck?” Heathcliff growled. “It’s like the Mongols are invading.”
“Careful, children, behave yourselves,” a matronly voice called after them. Being children, they completely ignored it.
I whipped my head back just as two boys crashed past me, arms swinging as they kicked a soccer ball between them. Heathcliff stood up, scooping books into his arms. “You deal with this mess. I’m going upstairs to get some peace.”
“But—”
“The whole reason I hired an assistant was so I don’t have to deal with customers.Especiallynot the ones with snotty noses and jammy hands.” Heathcliff picked up his book and ducked into the storeroom behind the desk. “Have fun.”
“Wait—”
He slammed the door behind him. I heard a bolt slide into the lock.
