Page 5 of Booked for the Holidays
“What was the question?”
“Mulled wine. Are you a fan?” she asks, putting a bottle into the cart I’m pushing.
“Absolutely. I’ll sell my soul for anything mulled this time of year.”
She stops for a moment, staring up at me with a curious smile.
Beneath her overcoat, she’s wearing a chunky cardigan sweater layered over a cropped tee, black leggings that hug her curves, and knit socks with a ruffle edge that peek out of her shearling trim lace-up boots.
And god, those freckles on her nose and cheeks. Maddeningly sexy. As if she wasn’t distracting enough.
Stop staring,the voice in my head snaps at me. It’s been loud ever since Juniper appeared at the door of her family’s home a little over an hour ago.
I trail behind her in this tiny liquor store that smells like pine-scented candles and dust, trying to focus on the task but getting caught in her orbit instead.
I came to Cedar Hollow because I wanted something different this year. I told myself it was about needing a break, about checking in on Jasper. Making sure my best friend isn’t too over his head with Stella, his childhood rival and the woman he’s been obsessing over since I’ve known him. But now, watching Juniper pick out bottles with that fierce determination of hers, I realize it’s more.
Maybe I came for what Jasper always had—a place to go back to. People who knew every version of him and still kept a seat at the table.
And maybe…it’s because I want that, too.
But the weird flutter in my chest watching Juniper has me all fucked up.
This isn’t June Bug anymore. That name, the childish nickname, doesn’t fit the woman in front of me. I don’t even know what fits. Or why the hell I can’t stop staring at the soft cream silk bow that trails over the back of her copper hair.
At first glance, the bow is innocent. But the way the silk catches the light when she turns her head, it radiates femininity and confidence. It’s graceful and elegant while taunting me in a way that begs for me to reach out and tug it.
“I think that’s everything.” She glances up, voice pulling me back.
“Good.” I nod, pretending to be the executive in charge of this shopping cart. Maybe business is the only place I can keep my head clear right now.
That’s where I need to keep Juniper. In the business only category.
“Tell me about your bookshop,” I say, steering the cart toward the register.
“Bookshop?” Juniper’s brow creases for a moment, before it softens again. “I call it a bookstore, but I like bookshop better. It sounds more romantic.” Those full pink lips of hers splay into a brilliant smile. “British accents have a way of doing that, I guess.”
She’s not the first woman to comment on my accent, but from Juniper it’s endearing, not flirtatious. So then why am I still staring at her lips?
“What is it called?” I ask, pulling my eyes from her mouth.
“Blush & Binding.” Her cheeks flush a little, the name rolling off her tongue like a secret.
“Blush because it’s a romance bookshop?”
“And I love pink. It’s going to have a pink door with a brass handle.” She beams.
“And binding, because books are bound,” I offer.
“Among other things,” she says casually, a hint of a smirk playing at her lips.
I’m staring again. Looking at Jasper’s little sister like she’s a woman to be desired.
She’s not.
I mean, she is, but not by me.
But fuck if she isn’t gorgeous and so damn intriguing.
