My Darling Bride(33)

“Okay, well, he didn’t really say, ‘Tell her to serve my tea,’ maybe I sort of added that part because it sounded exciting, but Emmy! He’s interested in you. I’m telling you: there’s a gleam in his gorgeous gray eyes, and—”

“Wait. Gray? Like storm clouds?”

“More like the polished silver of a spoon. The man is dripping in sex pheromones and money. Not that you’re a gold digger, but, well, you are in a precarious sitch right now,” she says, then winces. “I may have mentioned some things about you to him, so forgive me in advance, but you’re my bestie and I knew your gran, and the truth is she’d want what I want, which is something wonderful in your life and someone—”

“Stop. What did you tell him?”

Her eyes flare, and her nose twitches like a rabbit’s. She takes a bite of the scone in her hands. “I just told him how sweet you are, which isn’t true today. I also told him you’re looking for love.”

“Babs! I am not! I have other things to worry about.”

Her shoulders slump. “I know. Everything is falling apart. The store is closing. Anyway. He’s waiting for you. Fix yourself and leave the mop bucket in the corner.”

Magic twines between my legs and gives me an Are you okay? look. Yes, sweet cat, something is indeed brewing in the air, and it’s not tea but an arrogant jerk who thinks I’d marry him because I took his car to the airport, and then it got stolen. And yes, I feel enormous guilt and remorse for taking his Lambo, but marriage? Never.

Holding the pastry in one hand, Babs scoops Magic up with the other and snuggles him. He seems to adore her and Terry and the rest of the staff.

“I’ll feed the Prince of Darkness. You go see him—oh, and there’s a woman with him, which I can’t quite figure out, so there’s that.”

I’m muttering as I straighten my dress and head to the front area of the bookstore. I glance in a mirror on the wall, and sure enough, my nose looks like Rudolph. Merry Christmas.

There he is, looking like he just stepped out of a magazine, wearing a fitted long-sleeved pale-blue shirt and slim navy slacks. Dark hair is swept off his face, and his inviting lips are currently smiling at his companion. Combined with his broad shoulders and a chest that tapers to a trim waist, he’s gorgeous.

He sits at a table with a petite brunette in a yellow dress with her hair swept up on each side with gold barrettes.

Pretty snazzy for a weekday.

Babs slides in next to me, vibrating with excitement. She must have fed Magic in record time. “Act nonchalant,” she tells me. “Don’t run him off with your ‘romance only works in books’ spiel.”

I inhale a deep breath, steeling myself. “Guess that’s his other possible fake wife . . .”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“So you know him? He isn’t a stranger?”

“Graham Harlan, football star, mega wealthy, possible mafia or international art thief on the side.”

“What?”

“Kidding. That’s just my imagination.”

Graham must feel the heat of my stare. He glances over at me and quirks one of his eyebrows. Well, it seems to say. Fancy seeing you here. Come meet your competition.

I feel a blush rising up my cheeks. At least I put on makeup today: total skin coverage, plus winged eyeliner and crimson lips. And my dress is hot. A little too short. A little too tight. Just perfect.

Maybe a tiny part of me hoped he’d stop by the bookstore. Pfft. I don’t need a love interest, not that that even matters, since he’s only proposing a marriage of convenience.

I approach the table, intent on keeping a smile plastered on my face.

He watches me with lowered lids, as if trying to make sense of my movements, my expressions, my feelings. His eyes brush over my hair, taking in the messy bun, the wisps that linger around my cheeks, and when he ends on my lips, my smile falters.

His gaze is so heavy and intimate that I almost forget to breathe.

His stare needs to be outlawed.

When he sees the coffee stain on my chest, everything inside me itches to grab a napkin off a table and wipe at it, but I hold back the urge, my heart thumping a little too fast for my taste.

Why is the air more alive around him? Crisper?

“This isn’t Marcelle’s,” I say lightly when I reach them. “I don’t wait tables here; in fact, no one does. Hello, Graham.”

He merely nods, but the woman lights up with a beautiful smile, eagerness on her face. Her eyes are midnight blue, her teeth like little pearls. Dang, she’s pretty.

“Of course not,” she says, then sticks out her hand. “Hi, I’m Mina. Babs mentioned how hard you work on the displays. It’s so . . . cute.”

“Cute” is a word for kittens. Our windows are freaking divine. “Thank you,” I murmur as I release her hand. “We’ll have a new one up for the summer. The Times comes by for the reveal.” I stop, a heaviness sinking in as I realize I forgot for a moment that we’re closing permanently. I shake my head. “Sorry. That’s incorrect. The store is closing soon. Sometimes I forget.”

“Oh, that’s disappointing,” she says. “It’s my first time here, and G mentioned we should stop by.”

You don’t say. How interesting.