Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
His lips tip up on one side, and he shrugs a shoulder. “The best part about being the boss is I can make my own hours.”
“Well, that’s true. I’ll be at the shop all day, if you and Jake want to pop in for a while. I’d really appreciate it.”
Ryan nods and walks with me to the door. “I’ll go kick the kid out of bed. Since school let out for the summer, all he wants to do is sleep after he does his morning chores.”
“That sounds pretty normal to me. I’ll see you later.”
With a wave, I head back to the shop. Is it a bad idea to have Ryan around to help out today? Probably. But I could use the extra hands, and I’m an adult. I can curb my lustful thoughts when it comes to the sexy billionaire cowboy.
Probably.
While Mac loads boxes of new product onto a dolly to bring into the newly cleaned showroom, I’m shifting older stock to clearance racks in the back of the store. Loaded down with about fifty pounds of clothes, I try to lift the hangers onto the tall rack, but I’m just not tall enough.
“It sucks when you’re a tiny leprechaun,” I mutter to myself.
“Prettiest leprechaun I’ve ever seen,” Ryan says from behind me, startling me. He reaches around me to take the hangers out of my hands and easily lifts them onto the rack. His body presses against mine, and the spicy, woodsy scent of him surrounds me.
I could eat him with a spoon.
“Thanks.” I smile up at him as he steps back. “I was too impatient to grab the step stool.”
“Now you don’t have to.” He gestures over to Jake with his head. “The kid and I are here to help. Are you filling these racks with clearance?”
“Yes.” I turn to Jake with a smile. “Thanks for this. I know it’s probably not how you planned to spend summer vacation.”
“It’s one day,” the handsome teenager says. “And I hear I get a sandwich out of the deal, so it’s all good.”
With a laugh, I turn back to Ryan. “Mac’s in the back, loading up new product to be unboxed. I’ll have Jake help me with the rest of the clearance.”
“I have my marching orders,” Ryan says with a wink, and off he goes to help out my brother.
“I’m so glad you’re tall,” I say to Jake as I lead him to the racks of clothes that I have sorted by size. “In fact, I think you’ve grown about six inches in the past year.”
“About that…” he confirms. “Ry says it’s because of all the food I eat and claims I’m eating him out of house and home, but he can afford it.” His grin is a happy one, and that makes me happy. It was just last year that I found the boys he was hanging out with shoplifting from my store. I’m so glad that he’s turned his life around.
“Things at Ryan’s are good, then?”
“The best.” He sighs, props his hands on his hips, and looks out the window. “Sometimes I don’t know if I deserve everything that he’s done for me, you know? It’s a lot. Just letting me live with him is enough, but I have the horses, and he bought me a truck for Christmas. Shit, he adopted me. Oops, sorry for the shit.”
“No problem. I’ve said it myself.” I pass him some more clothes to move. “These can go right behind the others up there. You know, I don’t think that a man like Ryan does much of anything that he doesn’t want to do. And he absolutely wouldn’t do it for someone who doesn’t deserve it. Powerful men like that are successful for a reason.”
Jake turns back to me after placing the clothes on the rack, and we walk back to gather more. “I know. It’s so weird to think about how much money he has. Especially because he’s just a regular guy. Mostly normal.”
I laugh and pass him more clothes and then follow him, loaded down with more of my own, and before long, we’ve transferred everything to where they need to go.
I’m pleased to realize that there’s less left over from last season than I planned for, so I can use more racks for the new stuff.
Ryan and Mac come strolling in, pushing dollies loaded with big boxes of clothes that I can’t wait to get my hands on.
“Jesus, clothes are heavy,” Mac says with a scowl. “I thought summer clothes were supposed to weigh less.”
“I can just get more in the boxes,” I reply. “I have hangers set up over there, with my steamer. I’ll get going on that if the three of you want to start putting my new shelves together.”
“Power tools,” Jake says with a grin. “Manly stuff.”