Total pages in book: 203
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
He runs his hand through his hair and blows out a breath. “I’m staying at Tyson’s cabin until you’re ready to move in with me. I’ll build you bookshelves. Already ordered that chair you want from the furniture store while I was in the tattoo parlor this morning. And with the amount of shelves I’m building, I figured you might like more books to fill ‘em.”
“That chair I want?”
“The one you were talking to Ivy about a few weeks ago. You showed her on your phone. Saw it while walking by.”
He retained that? This was before all this mating stuff.
The chair in question is the ideal reading chair. It’s soft, big enough to be a cuddle chair for two – not that I’m thinking about cuddling with Jase in that chair.
“Hey, Bay?” he asks.
“Huh?” I shake myself free of the daydream.
“There was gray, pink, or cream. I bought the pink one. Was that a good call or no?”
“Who even are you?” I ask.
He swallows, looking a little hurt.
And I stand awkwardly while he sits here looking like his feelings are hurt for too long before the store employee speaks again.
“Who are your favorite authors? I can make some recommendations.”
“Oh,” I shake my head. “My T.B.R is at least three hundred books long. I could spend a thousand bucks on books without breaking a sweat.”
Her expression drops a little before she shuffles nervously.
“T.B.R?” Jase asks.
“My to-be-read list.”
I wait for the bookstore employee to speak as she’s nervously fidgeting like she’s got something to say that she’s nervous about.
“Any chance I can follow you while you do that and then ring you up?” she asks, then lowers her voice even further. “I’m a single mom, I’m new here, and I could really use the commission.”
“Omigosh, of course you can!” I say, low, then ask, kind of loud, “Miss, could you please help me find books trending on BookTok and Bookstagram?”
She beams a happy smile at me. “I sure can. Right this way.”
“Have fun, baby,” Jase whispers as I follow her, and his words and the tone of voice he uses work in tandem to make my belly dip.
Not long later, I’ve got a full cart of beautiful books and a new friend named Marla with pretty much the same taste in books as me. She’s made some recommendations and so have I, meaning we’ve now both got a longer T.B.R than ever. We’re deep into the romantasy section and I’m thinking about buying a new copy of a book I’ve read five times already because I don’t have this edition when my new book friend Marla whispers, “Hope you don’t mind me saying this, but your man is book boyfriend material the likes I’ve never seen in the flesh. I mean, he looks like he materialized after someone fed their wish list into a prompt!”
I laugh.
She continues. “And I heard what he said about you moving in and him building you bookshelves. Girl…”
I sober. I guess I have let myself get carried away here. But I mean… how could I not? Marla needs the commission.
“Did I say the wrong thing?” she asks, looking worried.
My nostrils are filled with Jase’s scent. They have been this whole time, as if he’s right next to me. I realize, now that I’m no longer lost in bookstore gift card spending land, that it’s because he’s been following us, watching, though Marla is entirely unaware of it as she’s got her back to him. He’s two aisles back, at the end of the bookshelf, leafing through a hardcover edition of A Court of Frost and Starlight. His eyes are on me.
“Naw, but uh… I think I lost track again.”
“You’re at about eight twenty-five,” she advises.
“I saw fluffy blankets and mugs up there by the cash,” I say, rushing ahead. Jase doesn’t follow and the distance is helpful.
Marla grabs my cart and wheels it in that direction, looking embarrassed.
“You didn’t say the wrong thing,” I let her know once we’re near the cash registers. “He’s just… a lot.”
“Well, sign me up for all of that if it’s too much for you. I’d like to see how I handle it,” she mutters before she claps her hand over her mouth and mutters, “Sorry! Foot-in-mouth-itis. I swear it feels like I suddenly ovulated the minute that man of yours walked in here looking at you like you’re his sole reason for breathing. I don’t mean to embarrass you.” She fans herself. “So inappropriate of me, especially considering you’re doing me a favor here.”
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “He has that effect on women, unfortunately. Just lower your voice because he has superhero level hearing and his ego is already the size of Texas.”
“The way he looks at you, wow, sister. You’re a lucky girl.”
“He’s definitely out of my league,” I mutter. “Always has been. He’s acting different now and I’m having trouble getting my head around it.”