Read Online How Forever Feels by Laura Drewry - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Laura Drewry
Ads: Link
what might have been some kind of fern, two tipped-over brown plant pots, chunks of green foam, and a whole bunch of magazines and catalogs.
Half a dozen different-colored streams of ribbon dangled around her head, sticking to her hair when she moved. Swatting them away, her smile widened when she caught him looking at her, and for about the millionth time in the last two years, the same thought burned a streak through Jack’s brain: Will’s a fuckin’ idiot.
And as usual, that thought was immediately followed by a crashing wave of guilt. Just yesterday, he’d agreed to let it lie, so he needed to stop thinking things like that about Will. And while he was at it, he should probably stop thinking about how pretty Will’s wife was.
Ex-wife.
Like it made a difference.
Shit
.
“Sorry ‘bout that.” Dropping the phone back into its cradle, Maya finished scribbling on the order pad then turned to face him, her soft smile making him smile back at her. “It’s so weird that you’re here.”
“Bad weird?”
“No, not bad weird. Just…” Leaning back against the work table, she crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged as a pink flush crept over her cheeks. “I don’t know. I’d given up on ever hearing back from you, and now suddenly here you are!”
“Yeah, here I am.” Jack ran his finger over a crazy-looking orange-and-purple spiky flower as he glanced around the store again. “This place looks great, Snip. You’ve done a great job.”
“Thanks.” There was a lot of pride in that one word, that one smile. “So where do you want to take him?”
“Hmm?”
“Pete. There’s a great trail down by the river.”
“Sure, yeah.” As he spoke, she headed out the front door and started wheeling the cart inside. “Is there something I can do to help? Something that doesn’t involve anything breakable?”
“No.” She laughed. “I just need to clean off the back table and cash out. Shouldn’t take long.”
With the door locked and the CLOSED sign in the window, she reached for a little hand broom, but Jack tugged it away from her and nodded toward the register.
“You do the math, I’ll do the sweeping.”
A couple times she had to duck around him to get things out of the back room, and every time she did, he pulled himself back as far as he could to avoid touching her. Maybe having both of them working in such a small space wasn’t such a good idea, especially when she kept smiling at him like that.
Damn!
“Okay.” She pulled a small bouquet out of the cooler and gave the place a final once-over. “I have to run home and change first and then I have one stop to make. D’you want to come with me or—”
“Sure.”
Her long blue skirt swirled around her legs, and her flip-flops slapped her feet as she led him out the door and locked it behind them. “I rent the apartment above Jayne’s bookstore.”
He followed her past the barbershop, a papered-up building with a FOR LEASE sign in the window, and on toward Dandelion Books, where old copies of Frank Herbert and Mercedes Lackey novels stood in the window. Excellent choices.
“Hi, guys.”
“Jayne. Good to see you again.” Jack wasn’t even sure she heard him, because her eyes were trained on Maya, unblinking, as though silently asking something. A brief shake of Snip’s head dismissed it, and Jayne turned a huge smile Jack’s way.
“Good to see you, too. I hope we didn’t scare you too much the other night.”
“Nah,” he said, then laughed. “Not too much, anyway.”
Unlike other bookstores Jack frequented, Jayne’s didn’t stock picture frames, cooking utensils, or blankets. There were no wicker baskets, no stationery, and no toys. There were only books, lots and lots of books.
The shelves were too solid, too old, and just slightly too imperfect to be anything other than handmade. In fact, everything about the store screamed old, original, and quirky, from the weathered and knotted wood that made up the
Half a dozen different-colored streams of ribbon dangled around her head, sticking to her hair when she moved. Swatting them away, her smile widened when she caught him looking at her, and for about the millionth time in the last two years, the same thought burned a streak through Jack’s brain: Will’s a fuckin’ idiot.
And as usual, that thought was immediately followed by a crashing wave of guilt. Just yesterday, he’d agreed to let it lie, so he needed to stop thinking things like that about Will. And while he was at it, he should probably stop thinking about how pretty Will’s wife was.
Ex-wife.
Like it made a difference.
Shit
.
“Sorry ‘bout that.” Dropping the phone back into its cradle, Maya finished scribbling on the order pad then turned to face him, her soft smile making him smile back at her. “It’s so weird that you’re here.”
“Bad weird?”
“No, not bad weird. Just…” Leaning back against the work table, she crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged as a pink flush crept over her cheeks. “I don’t know. I’d given up on ever hearing back from you, and now suddenly here you are!”
“Yeah, here I am.” Jack ran his finger over a crazy-looking orange-and-purple spiky flower as he glanced around the store again. “This place looks great, Snip. You’ve done a great job.”
“Thanks.” There was a lot of pride in that one word, that one smile. “So where do you want to take him?”
“Hmm?”
“Pete. There’s a great trail down by the river.”
“Sure, yeah.” As he spoke, she headed out the front door and started wheeling the cart inside. “Is there something I can do to help? Something that doesn’t involve anything breakable?”
“No.” She laughed. “I just need to clean off the back table and cash out. Shouldn’t take long.”
With the door locked and the CLOSED sign in the window, she reached for a little hand broom, but Jack tugged it away from her and nodded toward the register.
“You do the math, I’ll do the sweeping.”
A couple times she had to duck around him to get things out of the back room, and every time she did, he pulled himself back as far as he could to avoid touching her. Maybe having both of them working in such a small space wasn’t such a good idea, especially when she kept smiling at him like that.
Damn!
“Okay.” She pulled a small bouquet out of the cooler and gave the place a final once-over. “I have to run home and change first and then I have one stop to make. D’you want to come with me or—”
“Sure.”
Her long blue skirt swirled around her legs, and her flip-flops slapped her feet as she led him out the door and locked it behind them. “I rent the apartment above Jayne’s bookstore.”
He followed her past the barbershop, a papered-up building with a FOR LEASE sign in the window, and on toward Dandelion Books, where old copies of Frank Herbert and Mercedes Lackey novels stood in the window. Excellent choices.
“Hi, guys.”
“Jayne. Good to see you again.” Jack wasn’t even sure she heard him, because her eyes were trained on Maya, unblinking, as though silently asking something. A brief shake of Snip’s head dismissed it, and Jayne turned a huge smile Jack’s way.
“Good to see you, too. I hope we didn’t scare you too much the other night.”
“Nah,” he said, then laughed. “Not too much, anyway.”
Unlike other bookstores Jack frequented, Jayne’s didn’t stock picture frames, cooking utensils, or blankets. There were no wicker baskets, no stationery, and no toys. There were only books, lots and lots of books.
The shelves were too solid, too old, and just slightly too imperfect to be anything other than handmade. In fact, everything about the store screamed old, original, and quirky, from the weathered and knotted wood that made up the
Similar Books
