“See, you’re loaded.”
A man spoke into the microphone on the stage, announcing the upcoming group of performers.
“Do you want to go over and listen to them?” Adam asked. “Then we can be sure to give my dad a full report.”
“In that case, sounds good to me.”
After they got their plates, they sat at a table near those who were listening to the music. The sun broke through the clouds, and whatever had been damp from the earlier rain dried out.
“The ice cream is really good, too,” Adam said when they were finished with their meal.
Lucy met his gaze. “How many times have you been here?”
“A few times,” he said with a shrug. “It was sort of a family tradition until we all got too old to coordinate our schedules.”
They threw away their plates and headed toward the food truck that sold ice cream.
“Yeah, it’s hard to coordinate schedules,” she said. “The only time my whole family is together now is Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
Adam nodded. “My family’s a little different because of the bookstore. I guess it’s kept us close on some levels, but my sister has tried to separate herself from me and my dad as much as possible until she goes into crisis mode. Then she moves back home and takes over my dad’s life.”
“How old is she?” Lucy asked.
“Almost thirty,” Adam said. “Sometimes I feel bad for her, other times angry. And I can’t really blame my mom’s death for Darci’s actions because she was this way before my mom got sick.”
It was their turn to order ice cream. Adam motioned for Lucy to order first. She chose plain vanilla. He chose peppermint. They walked toward the crafts booths as they ate their cones.
“You know ...” Lucy paused to take another bite of her ice cream. “I’m looking for a roommate.”
Adam shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
Lucy looked nonplussed. “I won’t be home much, not with my new assistant manager job.”
“You’re an amazing woman, Lucy.”
She blinked up at him. “I’m serious.”
“I know you’re serious. That’s why you’re amazing.”
Lucy put a hand on her hip. “So you’re not going to take me up on my offer?”
Adam stared at her for a moment. They were standing in the shade of a tree, and she had a small dab of ice cream on her chin. He lifted his hand and wiped it away. She gazed at him, not moving.
Leaning close, he said, “No, I would never let my sister be your roommate.”
She arched a brow. “I need a roommate anyway. It could be a win-win.”
“I’d rather give you a raise.”
Lucy exhaled. “You don’t have to do that. I just thought I’d offer.”
“And I appreciate it,” he said. “I really do. But I’m not going to let my sister walk all over you like she does everyone else.”
Lucy bit her lip but didn’t argue.
“Come on,” He extended his hand. “Let’s go see if we can do some damage to my wallet.”
She looked down at his hand, doubt in her expression. Then she placed her hand in his.
It was a bold move to hold her hand, but he needed to get off the topic of his sister. He should never have said anything in the first place.
Lucy decided it was both strange and exhilarating to hold Adam’s hand. He’d offered, and she’d accepted. They walked through the craft booths, and Adam tried to talk her into getting some things, but she kept refusing. Mostly they talked and laughed, and when they arrived at the booth of a local author who was selling her young adult fantasy series, Lucy said, “We should buy a couple of sets for our store.”
Adam looked down at her with an arched brow. “Are you sure?”
“It will be great.” She turned to the beaming author. “Can you sign two sets?”
“Sure,” the woman said, identified only by her initials on the cover. She signed eight books with a flourish, and Adam paid for them.
Lucy loaded the books into his arms with a smirk. “Thanks, boss.”
“Lead the way, assistant manager,” Adam said.
They walked back to the truck, teasing each other. Lucy commented that Adam must lift weights to be able to carry so many books at a time.
“I lift a lot of boxes of books,” he said. “But now that will be the new assistant manager’s job.”
“Funny.” Lucy hopped in the truck, not waiting for Adam to open her door since his arms were full. When she waited for him to climb into the driver’s side, she realized that for a non-date, this was the best date she’d ever been on.
The drive back to Seattle was smooth with no traffic. Adam told her about a couple of his friends who’d gone to law school and about another friend who was a psychologist. “When we hang out together, our conversations get pretty wild.”
“I can imagine,” Lucy said. “Do you see your friends a lot?”
“Maybe once a month at the most.”
“What about girlfriends?” She had to ask. He’d held her hand, and she didn’t know what to make of it. Was it because their non-date had turned into a date? Was it because he liked her more than as a friend?
He glanced over at her. “I don’t have a girlfriend. The last woman I dated more than a couple of times was more than a year ago.”
“She couldn’t get over the storage room?” Lucy teased.
He exhaled. “Actually, my sister ran her off. At least that’s what I thought at first. Then I realized that if my girlfriend couldn’t stand up to my sister—as awful as she is—then maybe she wouldn’t make very good wife material.”
Lucy knew it wouldn’t be too hard to be offended by Darci. Lucy had been on the receiving end of the woman’s spite. “What happened?”
They were almost to her apartment. Adam pulled into a parking space and stopped.
“We had a neighborhood Fourth of July party, and Sheryl brought peanut butter brownies,” he said. “I’m allergic to peanuts, so my sister freaked out, claiming that Sheryl was trying to kill me.”
Lucy stared at him. “You’re allergic to peanuts?”
He nodded. “Instead of Sheryl telling Darci she hadn’t known about my allergy, which she hadn’t, she stormed off and left. Darci came to find me and told me what had happened—from her viewpoint, of course. I called Sheryl and almost wished I’d waited until she’d cooled off. I didn’t even know some of the words she called me.”
“So that was it? The peanut butter brownies were the end of something special?”
Adam scoffed. “I’m still not a hundred percent sure what happened in that kitchen. Darci tends to embellish or downplay as it suits her purposes. I thought I knew Sheryl better than I apparently did.” He flexed his shoulders. “So now I always confess my allergy on my first date.”
Lucy was silent for a moment. “That doesn’t sound like a deal-breaker to me. I mean, your sister was right to protect you, but it seems that after thinking about it, Sheryl would apologize to you and get back on track.”
“Normally that would have happened, but apparently Sheryl had some other major hang-ups about me and my family. It doesn’t matter now. Ancient history.”
“Right.” Lucy stifled a yawn. “Sorry, your story wasn’t boring. I’m just tired.”
Adam chuckled. “I’ve been talking your ear off.”
“Thanks for taking me. The food was great, and I’m still stuffed.”
“I’m glad you liked it.” Adam opened his door and climbed out.
It seemed he was going to walk her to her door. She waited as he walked around the truck and came to open her door. She felt like she knew a lot about him now—that they were friends at least. Her pulse hummed as he opened her door, and she extended her hand so he could help her down. She didn’t really need help, but they ended up standing close together as a result.
She was almost disappointed when he released her hand as he reached over to shut the passenger doo
r.
She folded her arms as they walked up the stairs to her apartment. “Well, I’m glad your sister found out there was peanut butter in the brownies before you ate them.”
“Yeah, me too, although I would have tasted it on the first bite.”
They’d reached her door, and she turned and looked into his green eyes. “What would have happened? How allergic are you?”
He shrugged those broad shoulders of his. “I’m not exactly sure. Throat closing? Hives? I’m tested every couple of years, and the test only gives me hives. So maybe Darci was overreacting.”
“We still shouldn’t sell any candy in the store that contains nuts.”
“I’m not that allergic,” he said. “I’ll have to restrain myself from sleepwalking and stealing a Snickers for a midnight snack.”
Lucy laughed. “That would be wise.” Adam’s eyes seemed to darken as he watched her, and she was suddenly aware that they were very alone. They weren’t surrounded by people or traffic. “Thanks again,” she said. “I had a great time.”
“Me too.”
He leaned toward her, and her mind screamed, he’s going to kiss me—and he did, sort of. He kissed her cheek then drew away. It was sweet. Endearing. And it only made Lucy want to grab him and press her mouth against his. But he was her boss. Adam liked her, that was for certain. Yet what did it mean? Would they date and work together at the same time? Would their relationship burn out almost before it got started? Would she be fired again?
“I’ll see you Tuesday,” Adam said.
Then he was gone, and Lucy was once again sitting on her couch, a book in her lap. But she couldn’t focus on the words with all the thoughts of Adam swirling through her mind.
On Monday, she used her official day off to return a couple of messages that had come in from potential roommates. Then she caught up on her laundry, went grocery shopping, and ran other errands in anticipation of her work schedule being so much fuller for the rest of the week.
Throughout the day, she thought of Adam, their conversations, their hand-holding, the kiss on the cheek ... well, mostly she thought of how easy and fun it was to be around him. How green his eyes were. How much he loved his dad. And how, despite what he said about his sister, how much he loved her.
By the time Lucy walked into work Tuesday morning, she’d created Adam into some kind of royal prince in her mind.
The back door was unlocked, so Lucy assumed that either Mr. Parks or Adam had already started on the morning routine. The store wouldn’t open for another thirty minutes.
“Hello, Lucy,” Mr. Parks said from his spot at the cash register where he was punching in numbers on a calculator.
“Good morning,” she said. Had Adam told his dad about her new position yet? Mr. Parks didn’t look surprised to see her. She took that as a good sign.
Mr. Parks peered at her above his reading glasses. “Looks like Adam has been holding out on me.”
Lucy’s steps froze. Was this going to be a confrontation?
“According to my calculations, Adam has been saving the profits of the store instead of paying himself a regular salary.” Mr. Parks tapped a sheet of paper in front of him that looked like it contained a long list of numbers. “So, in theory, we can afford your salary and allow me to retire. Adam has also built in a scenario of restructuring some things and increasing that profit margin to eventually put him on a regular draw.”
Lucy lifted her hands. “I don’t want to come between you and your son. I can go back to part-time if you’d like.” It hurt her to say it, but she had to offer.
Mr. Parks lifted his brows. “Don’t let Adam hear you say that.”
“Hear what?”
Adam had come into the store without Lucy hearing him.
She turned to face him, feeling mortified. Adam was wearing a fitted T-shirt and shorts. He carried a toolbox and looked as if he was perspiring from some sort of manual labor. His green eyes steady on her made her remember how it felt to hold his hand at the fair and what he smelled like when he’d leaned in and kissed her cheek last night.
“I was going over the numbers like you told me to,” Mr. Parks said, “when Lucy came in.”
Adam nodded and walked past Lucy, his eyes lingering on her face. He set the toolbox on the floor then leaned on the counter to look over his dad’s paper. “Looks right,” he said. “Now you can believe me that it’s all right for you to fully retire. You’re still welcome to spend time at the store—we’d never send you home for that.”
Mr. Parks chuckled. “We? Now you’re teaming up on me.”
Adam smiled.
His dad threw up his hands. “All right. All right. You have me convinced. You’ll just have to convince Darci.”
Adam immediately tensed. “She has nothing to do with this.”
“She has no legal right over the business decisions,” his dad said. “But she’s still family. She deserves the courtesy of feeling part of our plans.”
Adam’s jaw flexed but he nodded.
“Good, then,” Mr. Parks said. “I think I’ll go grab some coffee. Either of you want some?”
“No, thanks,” Lucy said in a quiet voice, and Adam shook his head as well.
She watched Mr. Parks leave through the front door, flipping the CLOSED sign to OPEN.
“Sorry about that,” Adam said. He bent and picked up the toolbox, then set it on the counter. “I was hoping to have those sorts of details straightened out before you showed up this morning. But he took his full day off yesterday.”
“It’s all right,” Lucy said. “I told your dad that I don’t want to cause—”
He was at her side in three steps. Grasping her hands, he said, “Don’t.”
She stared up at him. She could smell his clean scent mixed with spice. The scruff of whiskers on his face told her he hadn’t shaved today ... was he taking Tuesdays off? She looked down at his hands, still holding hers. They were standing so close together that she could see his pulse beating in his neck.
“Adam ...” she said. “When you touch me, I don’t know what to think. I mean, we practically went on a date on Sunday, and then you kissed my cheek.”
“I know,” he said in a low voice, but made no move to drop her hands.
He was studying her, quite intensely in fact, and Lucy wished she knew what was going through his mind.
“You’re my boss,” she said at last.
This seemed to get through to him. He released her hands and stepped back, then scrubbed a hand through his hair.
Lucy tried not to notice the way his arms flexed at the movement.
Then his gaze zeroed in on hers again. “I like you, Lucy. And if I wasn’t your boss, then I’d have no hesitation asking you out on a real date, and not one on which my dad would tag along. But I know you’re excited about this job, and I love that you’re excited. That’s one of the reasons that I wanted to hire you. That, and the other stuff I told you.”
Lucy could only stare at him, speechless.
“But,” he lowered his voice again, “I think you’re an amazing woman. You’re beautiful. Charming. Sweet. Kind to my father. Genuine.” His face took on a flush.
Lucy found it all rather endearing.
“It’s your decision, though,” he continued. “We could work together, period. Nothing else. Or ... we could date and work together.”
Lucy’s mind raced, and her heart thumped. He was asking her out ... he was asking her to date him. This beautiful, witty man wanted her. Finally, she found her voice. “What would each entail?”
A small bit of relief crossed Adam’s face. “Well, if we only worked together, then I’d have to stop finding opportunities to touch you. I wouldn’t kiss you on the cheek, and I wouldn’t hold your hand. I wouldn’t take you to fairs, or anywhere else that wasn’t strictly business.”
Lucy stepped closer to him and placed her hands on her hips. He watched her every movement. “Okay, and what would dating and working together be like?” she aske
d.
“Well ...” His mouth twitched as if he were trying to hold back a smile. “I would take you out on real dates—after the store closes, of course. And I’d hold your hand quite a bit. I’d also kiss you properly, and likely more than once a day. Especially if the store is empty.”
Heat spread across Lucy’s skin. “And what if we date but then decide to stop dating; what would happen to my job?”
He didn’t hesitate with his answer. “I’d be really sad, but I’d rather have you as an employee and friend than nothing at all.”
She took another step closer, and he kept watching her. Her heart was pounding like mad, but she knew what she wanted, and the man she wanted it with. “Okay,” she breathed. “Let’s date and work together.”
He didn’t move, but his eyes seemed to light on fire. “Are you sure?”
A jumble of feelings washed over her as she gazed at him. Was this really happening? She nodded. She was sure.
Then he stepped toward her and leaned down, his voice nothing more than a whisper in her ear. “Can I kiss you now?”
She smiled and whispered back, “Yes.”
His hands came up to cradle her face, and she felt suddenly light-headed. She knew that was exactly what he’d intended, because he smiled right before he kissed her.
Lucy’s eyelids floated shut as Adam’s warm mouth explored hers. She looped her arms around his neck and drew him closer as she kissed him back. His hands skimmed down her sides, settling at her hips. She pressed against him, enjoying the way their bodies fit together. And then he was walking her backward until they bumped into a bookcase. “Sorry,” he whispered. Then he kissed her again.
She was trapped between Adam and the bookcase, but she didn’t mind in the least.
His mouth was warm, and his fingers had found an exposed part of her stomach that was bared when her shirt had ridden up. She felt like she was on fire, that she might incinerate at his touch. But she could tell he was holding back, keeping things at a low simmer. And she liked him all the more for it.
He kissed her jawline and her neck. She protested that her neck was too ticklish against the scruff of whiskers on his face. He chuckled, his laugh vibrating against her chest. But then he drew away and gazed at her. “Did I tell you you’re beautiful?”
The Falling Series Box Set Page 6