Page 16 of Burn for You

I wince at her high-pitched voice that rings across the space between us. “Hey, Aria.”

“You don’t look too great.”

I deadpan as I walk up to where she’s standing behind the counter. “Thanks.”

Aria and I have formed somewhat of a friendship in the last couple of months. I stumbled across The Cozy Corner after work a while back. The warm lighting caught my eye in the dark night on my way home from my shift at Marina’s.

When I pushed through the door, I was met with warm, soft lighting, plush surroundings, andtonsof books. Rows and rows of fiction. It was like heaven, with window seats and voluptuous couches surrounding the shelves in the middle of the store. I quickly knew this would be a place I’d come back to.

“Busy week?” I ask as I shut the door behind me.

She shakes her head. “It’s been quiet, but ooh! A new one came in that I put aside for you!” She shuffles around behind the counter as I walk up to meet her. She stands up, placing a new release on the table between us. My hand flies over my mouth.

“No way!” I pick it up like it’s made of glass.

“I know.” She waves her eyebrows around in excitement.

I turn the book over in my hands, flicking the pages as I go. I’ve been waiting for this book to come out since I finished the first one almost a year ago, and me and Aria have had enough chats that she’s across all of my favorite authors.

“I thought I’d better put one away for you, just in case.”

I grab her head with both hands and lean in to press an obnoxious kiss to the side of her head. “You’re an angel.”

Her bright green eyes glimmer as she laughs when I pull away from her and back to my side of the counter. “You’re welcome.”

“I’m gonna have a little look around.” I gesture to the shelves behind me.

She nods. “I’ll be here.”

I wander through the store, slowly making my way to theromance section. I always end up here. Even when I pretend to branch out and look at other genres, I always float back to this shelf. It’s like gravity, pulling me right back to where I belong.

I pull a few titles from the shelf, skimming the blurbs before putting them back. Nothing is catching my attention like the book burning in my arms waiting to be read. That is until my gaze snags on a familiar frown through the cracks of the spines of two books just above my eye level.

I strategically pull a book from the shelf to get a better view, and as I do, two brown eyes look up at me. I put the book back in place, because that makes things less awkward.

“Whitley?” Rafael appears at the end of my aisle. “What are you doing here?”

I gesture around us. “Book shopping. The better question is, what are you doing here? Is this how you pick up chicks? Pretending to be intellectual?”

“God, you are such a brat.”

“You love it.” I can’t help it. I know I said I’d tone it down, but as soon as I’m in his presence, the little devil on my shoulder uses me like a puppet. I have no filter when it comes to this man.

He scowls down at me. “So?” I ask.

He holds up a book in front of him that he’s obviously been holding this entire time.

“Oh.”

“Yeah,oh.”

“I didn’t pick you for the reading type,” I say, tilting my head.

“And why is that?”

My eyes fix on the frown that settles into every faint line of his face. “Actually, I take that back. I mean, you’re old and grumpy. I can see it now—a little pair of glasses right on the edge of your nose, and maybe a dressing gown? Ooh! And some fluffy loafers! Yeah, that’s perfect.”

He just glares at me, and I hold back a laugh at the image in my mind. “I donotwear loafers.”

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