Parker
Ilike bad boys. At least, I like them in theory. Growing up the chunky, glasses wearing daughter of a pastor and a librarian, my experience with boys was limited to supervised dates with the closeted son of the assistant pastor. He was as much a bad boy as he was into me, which is to say, not at all.
But a girl can fantasize. And when I do, it’s about a tall, long haired, tattoo-covered, dark and handsome someone on a motorcycle. He steals me away on the back of his Hog, the engine rumbling between my thighs as we fly down the road, wind whipping through my hair—
“PARKER!”
I yelp and tumble backwards off my stool, landing hard on the wood floor.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Lilah exclaims as she rushes around the counter to help me.
“Ow,” I moan, rubbing the back of my head as I sit up.
“Jesus, you’re as clumsy as me,” Lilah holds out a hand to help me up.
I take it, pulling myself to my feet and brushing myself off. Not that the floors are dirty. I’m meticulous about keeping my little bookshop clean.
“You ok?” my friend asks with an apologetic grimace.
“Oh, I’m fine. Just a little bruise. You scared me!”
Lilah laughs, her green eyes full of mischief. “I called your name like three times! You were super spaced out.… What were you thinkin’ about?” She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I’m sure I blush.
She picks up the book I dropped on the counter, eyeing the cover. A shirtless man, all bulging muscles and long windswept hair graces the cover. A model-gorgeous woman sits behind him on a motorcycle, her arms draped all over him while he glowers into the distance. Le sigh.
“Didn’t you finish this already?” she asks. “Book club is in two and a half hours.”.
“I finished it! I’ve read it twice already. I was just flipping through it again before book club.”
“Well, that explains the thousand-yard stare,” Lilah laughs as she sets the book back on the counter. “God, this one was hot. You have good taste, and that’s coming from someone who isn’t even into the whole rugged-motorcycle-man thing.”
She sets a bag on the counter next to my vintage typewriter. It doesn’t work, but it looks so good in the shop that I can’t part with it. I peek inside the brown paper bag.
“Seltzer?” I ask her with a little frown.
“And wine. Don’t get your panties in a twist, Parker.” She winks as she unloads the party supplies for tonight. “I got carried away with the Cabernet last weekend. I need a booze free night tonight.”
Pfft. Yeah, right. More like she’s pregnant and not telling anyone yet. We’ve only been friends a couple of months, but there’s no way the Lilah I know is voluntarily giving up a glass of red wine.
“Okay,” I say noncommittally as I try to keep my eyebrow from creeping up my face. I snag the little brown box stamped with the Olive Branch Bakery logo and crack the top, taking a deep breath of chocolate infused air. A small moan escapes my lips.
Lilah laughs. “Don’t get too excited. We’re experimenting with new flavors and we need guinea pigs. There are some weird ones in there.”
“I volunteer as tribute,” I sigh, resisting the temptation to steal one of the shiny little truffles before the others arrive. I close the box and set it aside for later.
“You say that now but wait until you hit the rosemary caramel. It’s… different.” Lilah grins and hands me a salad in a takeout container with big toasty pieces of ciabatta on the side. “I know you don’t have time to eat dinner between closing and book club.”
“God, I love you,” I say, taking the salad and giving her a one-armed hug.
“Love you too, girl!” Lilah returns my hug and fixes my hair, pulling it over one shoulder. “Can I steal your hair? I just want to be a redhead for a day,” she sighs. I think she’s crazy. Her shiny dark hair and oversized emerald eyes make her look like a Disney princess. Ok, a very foul-mouthed version of a Disney princess.
“Sure, but good luck taming my curls,” I laugh as she kisses me on the cheek.
“Deal! I’ll see you tonight.” Lilah hugs me fiercely before heading back to the bakery. She practically floats out of the store.
I lean on the counter and look out on my quiet store, contemplating how much happier my life has been since I met Lilah and her sisters.
I moved to California on a whim four months ago. To date, it’s the single boldest, bravest thing I’ve ever done. Sometimes I look around and I still can’t believe I packed up my beat-up old Honda Civic and drove to California, all alone, with just enough savings to start my business and escape another miserable Minnesota winter.