Page 48 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

I knew enough to know that Kingston would never act on anything. And it was a one-way road to heartache anyway. I wasn’t looking for a fling. That wasn’t really my style.

Though I’d never had a fling, so I’d never say never.

“You ready?” Demi asked as the door flung open, and I turned my attention to my girls.

Ruby, Demi, and Peyton had rallied around me to get things ready for today, and I was grateful.

They’d baked and stayed up late, helping me get this place ready for the grand opening.

“Yes. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” I blew out a long breath.

“You look like a sexy librarian,” Peyton said, and Demi and Ruby both laughed.

“You look gorgeous.” Demi gave me a hug.

“There is already a line forming outside. I can’t even imagine next week when you have the book signing for Ashlan.” Ruby took a bite of a chocolate-covered strawberry and groaned. “Damn, these are so good.”

“I thought they were a good romance bookstore snack,” Peyton said, admiring the chocolate-covered goodness she’d made for the opening.

“How do you figure?” Demi asked, with a wicked grin on her face as she reached for one and took a bite.

“Warm chocolate. Sexy men. Speaking of sexy men, I saw Coach in line outside with some flowers. Apparently, he’s coming for your big day. You sure you don’t want to drip some chocolate down his ripped abdomen and lick it off?”

“Girl, you’ve got a one-track mind,” Ruby said before waggling her brows. “But do you have some leftover chocolate that I can take over to River’s tonight?”

My head fell back in laughter, and I patted down the skirt of my white and pink sundress. “You can take it all. I won’t be needing it.”

Jalen and I had remained friendly since I’d been honest with him about our relationship being better off as just a friendship.

I glanced around the place one last time before I opened the doors. We’d gone with rustic wood planks on the floors, and the bookshelves were sage green, with four-inch thick molding and gorgeous detail, and the checkout stand that Kingston had built for me was topped off with a white quartz countertop. Janelle, who owned Sweet Magnolia’s a few doors down, had dropped off a vase full of pink peonies for me, and they were sitting on the counter, looking more like a piece of art.

“Hey, hey,” Kingston called out, as he and all the guys came walking through the side door from Demi’s coffee shop. “Big day today for our girl.”

Hayes and River each had a case of bottled water in their hands. Romeo had two sleeves of clear cups, which Demi wanted to be placed next to the lemonade station she’d set up. Nash was holding Cutler’s hand, and Kingston had a big bouquet of flowers.

“These are from all of us, and Beefcake picked them out from Janelle’s shop.” He handed them to me, and I didn’t miss the way his eyes quickly raked over me from head to toe.

“Thank you so much,” I said.

“Happy opening on your love bookstore,” Cutler said, and my eyes widened as I took him in.

“Thank you. I like your hat.”

“It’s a fedora. It’s very cool, right? I wanted to wear something special for your big day.” He dropped his dad’s hand, and I bent down to give him a hug. “I like having you live here all the time, Saylor. And I’m going to come to your bookstore and read all the books.”

Nash cleared his throat. “How about we bring your magic fantasy books that we just got for you, and you can read those here?”

“But I want to woo my ladies. That’s what Uncle King told me these books are about. He said they would teach me everything I need to know someday.”

Nash put his hands over both of Cutler’s ears. “For fuck’s sake. Seriously?”

Kingston smiled, and my heart raced in response. His broad shoulders were straining against his white tee. His denim jeans showed off his finely toned ass and long legs. He had a pair of cowboy boots on, and his dark hair looked like he’d just run his fingers through it and walked out the door. He was sexy as hell, and I felt this pull toward him lately that was becoming more and more difficult to ignore.

“Take your hands off his ears and I’ll explain,” he said, a wicked grin on his face.

Nash removed his hands and raised an eyebrow as he waited.

“What I told my little man here is that romance books are books that women read, which means it’s what they want. So, when Beefcakegrows up, he should consider these books his… education on how to win over the ladies, so to speak.”

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