“Ready?” I ask brightly, ignoring the ache between my thighs and the heated look that he’s giving me.
“Are you ready?” he counters with a wide grin.
“Let’s do this.” I reach for my handle and climb out of the truck. I hear Sterling grumble about not waiting for him to open my door, but I’m too damn excited to wait. Sterling meets me on the sidewalk, holding his hand out for me. I take it without hesitation and let him lead me into the bookstore.
“Hi, welcome to the Story Keeper. What can we help you with today?” a young girl greets us.
“We’re just browsing,” Sterling tells her.
“Welcome. Upstairs is our romance section. We have couches spread throughout to relax, and there is a coffee bar on both levels. Look for the Story Keeper logo”—she points at the logo on her polo shirt—“if you need assistance.” She turns to walk away but stops. “Oh, and we have these cool carts.” She takes a few steps, and there are carts that look like crates that you pull behind you. “There’s an elevator you can use to take this upstairs with you. Happy shopping.”
I wait until she’s walked away before I turn to look at Sterling. “This is the best bookstore I’ve ever been in.”
“You’ve barely stepped through the door.” He grins.
“I don’t care. They’re set up perfectly. It’s so difficult to juggle all the books you want to buy and still shop. These crates are perfect for not bending the pages.”
“Well, what are we waiting for.” Sterling grabs a crate thingy and points to the elevators. “To the second floor, we go.”
I clap because I’m that fucking excited and lead us to the elevators. As soon as the doors open on the second floor, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I don’t know where to look first.
“Pick a side, Tink. We’ll work our way through them all.”
“That’s going to take forever,” I tell him.
“Good thing we’ve got all day then.” He winks, and I want to kiss him again. Instead, I settle for a tight hug before skipping off to the right side to do just as he said. I’m barely down the first aisle, books on both sides, and I have three books in my crate.
“I really need to redo my spare bedroom,” I tell Sterling. “My poor bookcase is going to be screaming from these new additions.”
“Let me know when you’re ready, and we’ll make it happen.”
I stop to look at him. “Soon. I need to start looking for the shelves. I want them open. I saw some online. Oh, let me show you.” I pull out my phone and pull up the screenshots of the shelves I want. “Something like this.”
“Nice.” He nods. “I remember you showing me these.”
I slide my phone back into my purse and keep shopping. I stop and point out books I’ve loved, ones I already have signed copies of from my favorite authors, and those that have been on my list to read forever. I’m selective about what I buy because I don’t want to break the bank, and I want this library idea to become a reality. Once it’s done, I can go wild, filling the shelves with my favorites.
We stop midway to grab coffee from the coffee bar, and by the time I make it to the last aisle, there’s a pretty significant stack in my crate. “Yikes,” I say, looking down at it. “I went a little overboard. I’m going to have to find some temporary places to keep these until my library in the spare bedroom’s ready.”
“Keep a few at my place if you need to. You have a shelf in your room there that’s pretty much empty except for a few you keep there for a just-in-case read.”
“Yeah, I usually have my Kindle, but I do love a good paperback read.” We check out, and almost two hundred dollars later, Sterling is toting two large bags of books and placing them in the back seat of his truck.
Once he’s behind the wheel, he turns to look at me. “I love that smile,” he says softly.
“It’s all you,” I admit. “Thank you so much for this. I’m sorry we were in there for—” I look at the clock on the dash. “—over three hours. Yikes!”
He chuckles. “This was the extent of our plans other than dinner, what sounds good? This is your day, so you get to pick.”
“Mexican.” My answer is automatic. He loves the Mexican restaurant here in Harris.
“Pick for you, Tink, not for me.”
“I’m craving a burrito California and some chips and queso.”
“You sure?” he asks.
“Positive.”