What would it feel like to have those hands on me?
The thought ambushed me, vivid and unwelcome, and suddenly I was back in last night’s dream. The one I’d woken from gasping with my sheets twisted around my legs.
In the dream, those rough hands had been sliding up my thighs, pushing my skirt higher while his mouth traced a path down my neck. He’d whispered something I couldn’t quite remember, his voice that low growl that made my knees weak, and then he’d—
Stop it.
I blinked hard, forcing myself back to the present. To the stack of resumes and the morning light, and the fact that this man wasexactlythe kind of man I’d sworn to stay away from.
Too old. Too hot. Too much of everything I craved.
Not that he’d even given me a second glance. Which stung more than it should have. I was used to being overlooked by men. Why would this mountain hottie be any different?
The bell over the front door jingled, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
A young woman stepped through, early twenties, younger than me, with bright red hair and a chipper smile.
“Hi,” she said brightly. “I’m here for the interview. I’m Madison Morley.”
The first applicant.
I smoothed my hands down my skirt and forced a welcoming smile onto my face.
“Welcome to Bookish, where worlds await.”
Chapter 4
Flint
By noon, we’d checked out twenty customers and interviewed four applicants. My stomach was growling loud enough that Avery had started shooting glances at my belly during the last interview.
“I’m grabbing lunch,” I announced after they left, pushing back from the folding table we’d set up in the back room for the interviews. “I’ll be back in fifteen.”
I didn’t wait for her response before heading out into the cold mountain air.
The Hungry Rooster was two blocks down, and I ordered two of their signature burgers with fries. Avery needed to eat too, and I doubted she’d take a break on her own. She hadn’t yesterday.
When I got back, she was sitting exactly where I’d left her, reviewing her notes on the applicants we’d seen so far. Her blonde hair had slipped loose from behind her ear, and she tucked it back absently as I set the paper bag on the table.
Her eyes went wide when I pulled out her burger and fries and slid them across the table toward her. “I didn’t ask you to get me anything.”
“You didn’t have to.” I dropped into my chair and unwrapped my own food. “Eat.”
She hesitated for a moment, her lips pressing together in that way I was starting to recognize. This particular lip twitch meant she was fighting some internal battle.
Then she reached for the burger and unwrapped it carefully, like she was afraid it might bite her back.
We ate in silence for a few minutes, and I found myself watching her more than I should have. She took small, deliberate bites and wiped her fingers on her napkin after every few fries.
And she kept her eyes down, avoiding my gaze like she had all day.
She was so damn careful about everything.
“Bailey’s the best fit so far,” I said between bites.
Avery’s face crumpled, and I watched her try to smooth it back into something neutral.
“She’s energetic,” I said, ticking off the points on my fingers. “Cheerful. Outgoing. Charismatic. And she’s got previous retail experience, which none of the others had.”
