Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
I was too happy to correct him on the tease. Instead I led him to the sizable bucket of books that needed to be returned to their rightful homes. “Here you go. The section name is below the bar code and then they go alphabetically within the section.”
“Excellent. I’ll have this done in no time.”
And he did, finishing a few minutes before we finally locked up. He’d even managed to hand sell a few books for us with his easy charm, leading customers to the gardening section and the mystery aisles without asking for help.
“I should hire you to do book recs for us.” I stacked the empty bin beside the register. Our clerks were busily wiping the counters down, and the store was blissfully quiet, the din of voices that had echoed all day gone. Able to relax at last, I rolled my shoulders.
“Eh. I give those for free.” Finn came up behind me and started massaging my neck with his strong fingers. “As much as I listen to audio while working, it’s fun to get to talk books for a while.”
“Well, I still appreciate all the help. Buy you dinner?” I tried to stay coherent and not melt into a grateful puddle from his touch.
Finn growled low. “It’s not food I’m starving for—”
“We’re clear of customers.” Mom bustled over from the rear of the store, ideal timing as usual. She shook her skirt out with a big yawn. “What a long, exciting day.”
“Too much for you?” I’d been concerned all day that working open to close might be a bit much for her, but she’d been so excited, that I wasn’t about to fight her on it. “Did you eat?”
“I believe that’s my usual question for you.” Giving me a pointed look, she laughed then yawned again.
“How about I show you both another restaurant that uses our eggs?” Affable as ever, Finn easily switched direction from seducer to tour guide. “It’s nearby, with plenty of vegetarian options.”
“And then we can drop you off at home,” I added, trying to convey to Finn that I wasn’t giving up on those plans for later.
“That sounds lovely, but I don’t want to horn in on your date—”
“It’s not a date,” we both said in unison, and then chuckled. We were rather ridiculous. For two people who weren’t dating, we certainly had seen a lot of each other the past few weeks.
My mom giggled along with us. “Well, it is one now.”
I didn’t have the heart to discourage her matchmaking, and I hurried to finish up the last of the evening’s tasks. Finn helped sweep, and even straightened shelves, before the three of us were able to head out into a most pleasant evening. The sun was fading, but the air wasn’t at all chilly as we made our way down Church to another small eatery where the staff knew Finn by name.
“Should we have asked some of the new employees to join us?” Finn asked after we were seated on the spacious patio with a nice view of the foot traffic. The interior of the place had a wide atrium and murals that complemented the upscale bistro feel.
“I’m sure Oz couldn’t wait to get to the more exciting part of his Saturday night. And Rainn, the new front clerk, still seems slightly scared of me. Which is funny because I’m still getting used to all of them, to having employees and needing to manage schedules and such. That’s where your friend Tanner should be able to help.”
“Yeah, I think he will.” Finn sat next to me at the relatively small table with my mom across from us, and his big shoulder rubbing against mine was most distracting. “He’s always been organized. And he’s been through a lot, but he’s generally good with people.”
“What’s his story, anyway?” Mom asked, eyes big and sympathetic when she looked up from her menu.
“It’s not really mine to tell.” Finn’s mouth twisted, a rare frown from him. He drummed his fingers against his menu. “He was a wilderness guide for a while, then some things happened, and now he needs a fresh start. We’re not exceptionally close, but the whole friend group from high school was worried about him.”
“Understood.” I wasn’t going to press Finn to share details that might make him even more uncomfortable. “Mother will have all the details inside a week anyway. I swear I should just add a question on the application as to whether someone has a tragic past. Sad and lonely? You’re hired.”
“I’m not that bad.” Mom made an indignant noise before dissolving into laughter.
“You are, and we love you for it.” I reached across to pat her hand.
“Admit it. You have a soft heart too,” Finn teased me, lightly knocking his boot against my ankle. “Believe that was you asking me twice how the ducklings are doing at the rice farm.”