Page 13 of The Luck of Finding You
Can he just go away? “Didn’t you say you had a plane to catch?”
“Annie’s walking my dog. Once she gets back, we’ll head up to the airport.” Noah gives me a smile that doesn’t show his dimple. Not that I noticed. That much.
“We only have used inventory,” I repeat.
Noah takes a sip of hot chocolate. “We really need to start carrying some new inventory.”
“You’ve been here all of what, five seconds, and you’re already telling me what to do?” I turn away with my stack of books.
Noah follows me as I start shelving books. “If you want to sell the shop in a year, we have to have something to show for it. Right now? No one’s going to want it. If someone does buy it, it’ll be to tear the building down or at least all the shelves and make it something different.”
This makes my gut twist. “Who said I would want to sell?”
Noah cocks an eyebrow at me. “You seemed less than thrilled in the meeting about this new arrangement, so I just thought…”
“You assumed. Which, frankly, I shouldn’t be surprised by, but no. I don’t want to sell. And the reason I was less than thrilled is because I don’t want to work here with you.” I turn and head swiftly to the travel section, where I shelve a book that we already have three copies of. Why don’t people just use library books when they’re planning a trip? Seems like a waste to buy only to use it once.
“I could front some of the cost of the new books, at least for the first month or so,” Noah says, and I hold back an eye roll. Right. Mr. “Money Isn’t an Issue” can cover the cost of the books. How much money does he have, exactly?
“No,” I say, purely out of spite.
“We could start a book club.” Noah takes a step closer to me, and I don’t let myself react. We have one loyal and true book club that meets once a month. All the members besides me and Olivia are over the age of seventy.
“We have one,” I tell him.
“Just one?” Noah asks. “We could start more, have a few different themes. Or host a writers’ club or something. Get more foot traffic.”
I hate that we’re even talking about this. We do need more foot traffic, it’s true. We make enough to get by, but barely. Plus, the next few months are always the slowest. Things pick up in the summer, but now that school has started again, business will slow down. It’s happened every year I’ve worked here.
I turn away from the romance section to find Noah half a foot away from me. I step back, bumping into the shelves. “Freak. Why are you standing so close?”
Noah smiles. Hesmiles. Again.
Can someone please take away this man’s sunshine?
I frown. Nothing about this situation makes me want to smile. “You’ve been here all of five minutes and already you’re talking about how we need more foot traffic? How do you know we don’t already get a ton of foot traffic?”
“Maybe because you said you couldn’t afford to pay me much. That’s a bit of a clue that you aren’t rolling in money or customers,” Noah says, and I brush past him, back to the front counter. The bell above the door chimes.
“Hey, Tally!” Olivia says from the door, and Noah looks at her.
“Hey, Olivia.” I try and fail to keep the dismay I’m feeling out of my voice.
“What’s going on?” She glances between me and Noah.
No time like the present to make this very awkward introduction. Awkward because several weeks ago, I may have blurted out the entire story about Noah after she asked me if I was dating anyone. “This is Noah Jones.” My eyes don’t leave hers. I’m not sure she’ll make the connection, and I’m not sure why I care so much. “Marsha’s grandson. She left both of us the shop.”
Olivia assesses Noah for the first time. “Nice to meet you.” She holds out a hand to him, glancing at me as if to ask,Is this okay? My eyes are as wide as saucers. When Noah is looking at her, I point to Noah and mouth,That’s NOAH!
Olivia’s eyes go wide for a split second, then a sly smile slips onto her face. I’m not sure what that look means, but it makes me nervous. “Noah, you said? Nice to meet you. We’ll probably be seeing lots of each other. I’m the only other employee here. I’m Olivia.”
“Nice to meet you, Olivia.” Noah is polite, friendly, and I shove down the twinge of jealousy that floods my body. He’s not mine to want. “I look forward to getting to know you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Olivia tells him. Noah turns back to me, and Olivia mouths over his shoulderHe's hot!
I know my cheeks are a dark shade of pink.
“We were just discussing how we should sell some new inventory to increase sales,” Noah tells her.
