Page 48 of Booked on a Feeling

She sucked in a sharp breath and rose to her tiptoes, pressing her lips against his. He opened his mouth over hers and drank deeply from her. When she hummed, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed her flush against his body.

“Here we are… Oh, and there you are—” Arthur said, his voice cracking. Jack didn’t bother lifting his head and just flapped his hand, shooing him away. “Well, then. I’ll be at the counter if you need me.”

Jack should have been more concerned about making out in the middle of the town’s hardware store, but he couldn’t have cared less. Lizzy was in his arms—hisLizzy—and she was kissing him as though she couldn’t get enough of him. He ran his tongue along the bottom of her lips and drew another hum from her. He couldn’t get enough of her—enough of this. He was in big trouble, and he liked it just fine.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Jack lifted his head, confiscating his lips from her.The nerve.Lizzy was about to protest when she realized she didn’t have enough oxygen to speak, so she sucked in a lungful of air instead. Breathing slipped her mind whenever he kissed her. But he never seemed to forget to do silly things like breathe. In fact, he was always the one who broke off their kiss.

A part of her was peeved that he kept his head on so well when she could hardly remember her own name—when her need for him was all-consuming. But a part of her had to be grateful for his control. If it were up to her, they would be knocking over paint in the middle of Arthur’s Hardware Store in their hurry to get each other naked.

“We should… uh… go look at those color swatches,” she said, acting more nonchalant than she felt. In reality, she wanted to growl like a feral cat and launch herself at him.

“Yeah.” He blew out a ragged breath and raked his fingers through his hair. “Let’s do that.”

So he wasn’t as unaffected as she’d thought.Hehe.She bither lip to keep her smug smile from surfacing and walked up to the front of the store.

“Hi, Arthur,” she said. “We’re ready to look at those swatches.”

“Yes, of course.” He didn’t quite meet her eyes as he handed her the color booklet.

Did he see them making out in the paint aisle? His face did look a little blotchy. Geez.Way to go, making the poor guy uncomfortable in his own store.Lizzy studied the swatches intently to hide her embarrassment. She wasn’t big on PDA, but she couldn’t seem to help herself with Jack. They seemed to kiss regardless of where they were—the bookstore, the sidewalk, and now the hardware store. Where else would they end up kissing? She felt a flush rise up to the roots of her hair, but it had nothing to do with embarrassment.

She snuck a glance at Jack, who was grinning triumphantly at Arthur with his hand planted firmly on her back. With a slight shake of her head, she returned her gaze to the color booklet. He really couldn’t seem to help himself. Despite her firm conviction that she would never be anyone’s possession, she still thought he was adorable. He seemed like a kid who’d won first place in a pinewood derby. All because he was the guy who got to kiss her.

They chose shades in yellow, sky blue, coral, and light gray for the chairs and some warm, honey-colored wood stain for the tables. The coral and yellow would look great in Hideaway Bookstore, too. She should start a list of suggestions to share with Beverly for when she went back to Los Angeles. Her stomach sank at the thought. She would be leaving Weldon soon—too soon. She glanced at Jack, and he smiled at her, easing the sudden tension in her shoulders. She didn’t want to think about leaving yet. She was just glad to be here now—with him.

After adding paintbrushes of various sizes to their loot, they headed back to Sparrow. She couldn’t wait to show them to Shannon. They walked into the bookstore with a cheery jingle of the bell.

“Hi,” Elliot said, from behind the counter—a sullen sigh behind his greeting.

“Hey, little man.” Jack held out his fist, and the boy bumped it weakly with his. “What’s gotten you so down today?”

“Mom’s making me read a book.For fun.” His jaw dropped open to show how ridiculous he found the notion. “And she says comic books don’t count. How else am I supposed to have fun reading?”

“Just to be clear,” Shannon said, walking out of the back room with an armful of books. “I never said comic books didn’t count. I only meant you couldn’t read the ones you already read twenty times.”

“But I don’t have any new comic books,” Elliot protested, pulling at his hair.

“I told you to think twice before you spent your birthday money on those computer game upgrades.” Shannon shrugged with her head to one side. “The good news is you have a store full of books to choose from.”

“I don’t like any of these books.” The inconsolable boy buried his head in his arms on the counter.

Lizzy couldn’t hold back her gasp of dismay. “Elliot, I’m about to ask you a question. Please don’t take it the wrong way if I’m way off, but… do you not like reading?”

The child responded with an eloquent gag and hid his face again.

“But… but…” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Or seeing. He had this amazing wonderland of books at his disposal, and he didn’t even want it. “What… How…”

“I know,” Shannon said kindly, putting a consoling hand on Lizzy’s shoulder. “For me to have a child who doesn’t love reading is my life’s biggest irony.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t think I liked reading when I was your age.” Jack tousled Elliot’s hair. “But one day, you’ll find a book that changes everything. Have you seenThe LEGO Movie?”

“Of course.” The boy lifted his head, suddenly interested in the conversation.

“You know how Emmet is totally clueless at the beginning of the movie, but at the end, he suddenlysees everything?” Jack asked.

“Yeah. It’s so cool.” Elliot twisted his hands like he was working a Rubik’s Cube, makingswish-whooshsound effects. “All of a sudden, he could see what every piece was for and build all these awesome things in like a second.”

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