Page 11 of Breaking the Ice

“Trust me. If I think you’re sexy there’ll be others.”

She gaped at him. “Youthink I’m sexy?”

“Absolutely. I love this whole” – Nick gestured up and down her body. She might be wearing an oversized T-shirt and a baggy pair of jeans, but not even that travesty of fashion hid her bootylicious outline – “Rubenesque thing you’ve got going on.”

“That’s just code for fat,” she dismissed.

“No,it’s not.” Nick shook his head.

“Reuben’s models hadcellulite.”

“They were round and soft. They weresexy.”

“Cellulite is never sexy.”

Nick shook his head. “Women are so screwed up.”

She gave a half laugh boasting a faintly hysterical edge. “Ya think? When every image and headline our entire lives is centered around how we look and every which way we turn there are narratives about how we can be skinnier and prettier and younger?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. Even with the advent of the body positivity movement, it had to be hard to undo decades of crappy messaging. “That does suck.”

Clearly out of steam, Samantha nodded morosely. “Uh huh.”

Nick wished he had a magic wand to fix it all right here and now for Samantha and every other woman on the planet, but he didn’t. What he did have was a job going and maybe he could spend their work time together trying to get her to see herself in a new light?

“Okay, so… I can’t fix the ills of the world today,butI did hear from a regular customer that you were looking for a job so… are you interested?”

For long moments she regarded him with solemn gray eyes as if assessing his seriousness. Then a slow smile broke across her face and sent an electric current zipping up his spine.

“I’dloveit.” Her smile morphed into a huge grin. “It could only be a temporary thing, though,” she said, her expression morphing again to one of utter seriousness. “I’m 100 per cent committed to getting my old job back but this will do until then.”

Nick almost laughed out loud at how she made it sound so beneath her. “Well only if you think you can squeeze it in.”

Somehow missing the thick layer of sarcasm in his voice, she nodded absently. “Oh, it’ll be a few months before Bob sees Ray for the incompetent ass he is. I’ll give you as long as I can.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No probs.” She smiled. “Hey, how hard can it be?”

Nick chuckled. Her face was completely lacking any trace of scorn or snobbishness now. “Well exactly. I mean, the family gave it to me to run after all.”

Suddenly realizing how dismissive she must have sounded, she winced. “Oh God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay.” He laughed. “I know you didn’t. Just wanted to see you squirm.” She shot him a dirty look which caused him to smile as he continued. “Can you start tomorrow?”

“Oh…” Her brow furrowed. “Don’t you need to interview me or something? I mean, what exactly does the job entail?”

“You’re right.” Nick straightened, feigning an officious expression. “Just as well I have you or I could have hired my first employee on a whim.”

Walking behind the counter, he perched himself on his grandmother’s stool, remembering how he used to sit on it as a kid and Burt would swivel him around in it while Birdie served her customers. Reaching under the counter, he pulled out a notebook and a pen, opened it at a random blank page in the middle and wrote her name at the top.

“Now, Ms. Evans.” He glanced at her as she moved to the other side of the counter. “Do you know how to use an ancient coffee machine?”

She gave a half laugh. “I don’t even know how to use a modern one.”

Nick pursed his lips as he put a cross on the page. “Ever worked in a bookshop?”

“Nope.”

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