Page 2 of Flames of Desire

He grinned. “Well, you were always quite the little adventurer yourself. How's your brother, by the way?”

Lily's smile faltered slightly. “He's good. Probably busy with work or something. We don't get to see each other as much these days.”

“Yeah, same here,” Alex said, his expression softening. “I guess sometimes, life gets in the way.”

There was a brief silence, and we just stared at each other. I then glanced down at the book in his hand. “You know, we still have that book if you want to relive some old memories.”

Alex's eyes lit up. “Really? That would be great.”

I nodded, reaching for the book. “It's on the house.”

“Thanks, Lily,” he said, his voice sincere. “It means a lot.”

As we walked back to the counter to confirm his purchase, I couldn't help but feel a sense of connection, and the old awkwardness gave way to a more comfortable familiarity. “Maybe Alex’s unexpected visit wasn't so bad after all.”

I wasn’t done with my train of thought when the door chime rang out yet again, and I looked to the entrance to see a woman walk in wearing a very provocative outfit. She had on a tight, red mini dress that barely covered her thighs and hugged her curves like a second skin, paired with thigh-high black boots and a leather jacket slung over her shoulder. Her hair was a wild shade of dark brown curls, and her lipstick matched her dress, making her lips look like they were painted in fire.

“Alex!” she yelled, strutting toward the counter. She grabbed hold of his hand, her red-tipped nails looking like claws against his skin. “There you are.”

Alex looked at her, a mix of surprise and annoyance crossing his face. “Tina, I told you to wait in the car until I was done.”

She pouted, batting her heavily mascaraed lashes. “But I missed you, babe. I wanted to see why you were taking so long in an ordinary bookstore.”

My mood immediately soured as I watched her fingers curl around Alex’s biceps. I felt a wave of utter disgust. I had forgotten the reputation Alex had in this town. He was none other than the town’s notorious bad boy. And the girl clinging to his hand only confirmed the rumors.

I began to pack up his book hurriedly, trying to ignore the lump forming in my throat. Alex must have noticed my demeanor because he turned to me, a hint of concern flickering in his eyes as he asked, “Are you okay, Lily?”

I gritted my teeth, trying to keep my voice even as I forced a smile. “I’m perfectly fine.”

I kicked myself mentally for letting his charm get to me. I should have known what kind of a person Alex was. The signs were right there. But just being alone with him made me question my better judgment, and now here I was, already feeling terrible because I found out what he actually was.

I shoved the bag containing his book toward him, “Thanks for stopping by,” I said in a curt manner, my tone leaving no room for further conversation.

Alex gazed at me with those deep blue eyes, trying to understand what had gone wrong, but I didn’t bother even looking at him. I walked away into the back of the store.

When I was sure he had left by the sound of the door chime, I came back out into the empty store and sat on the small sofa by the wall. The thought of me being so incredibly stupid irked me, but before I could dwell on it, a small group of teenagers trooped into the store, and I had to act normally.

I plastered a smile on my face and greeted them. “Welcome to Chapter & Verse! Feel free to browse around and let me know if you need any help finding something.”

They nodded and dispersed into the aisles, chattering excitedly about whatever kids were into these days. I decided to bury thoughts of Alex deep inside. He wasn’t worth it, and besides, he hadn’t even shown the slightest bit of interest in me, so why in God’s name was I doing this to myself?

After a very long day, as I was closing up the store, my phone buzzed. I picked it up to see that it was a message from the manager of the renowned author Richard L. Ginsberg. I had been trying to get Mr. Ginsberg to come for a book signing to promote his new book in my store and help with the store’s publicity.

The message was pretty simple: “Mr. Ginsberg will be at a secluded cabin on the outskirts of town due to media reasons and would love to meet you.” At the bottom was his live location, so I could easily find it with a GPS.

I grinned in happiness and rushed out of the store, eager to get back home. It was then I realized that it had begun to snow. Winter had come.

Chapter two

CHAPTER TWO - FORCED INTO SECLUSION

Seeing Lily again felt really good. I couldn’t exactly remember the last time I had seen her, possibly a couple of years ago, but I could never forget those iconic brown eyes of hers with the sprinkle of golden flecks scattered over the white part.

Lily had always been like a little sister to me, the same way Colton had been like a brother. So, imagine my surprise when I found out she was the owner of the new bookstore that had just opened up in Greendale.

Just looking at her made my heart skip a beat, and I assure you I wasn’t the type to be in such a situation. For the last four years, I had been voted Greendale’s most eligible bachelor and sexiest fireman for eighteen months and counting, so believe me when I say there was no woman capable of making my heart flutter— or so I thought.

The look Lily had on when Tina walked in was one I knew all too well. I had seen it countless times on the faces of women around me, so many times that it was impossible for me not to understand what had actually happened back at the bookstore.

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