Page 135 of Vicious Deception

He leans back in his chair, his eyes sparkling. “Or maybe it was fate.”

I smile. “Or maybe it was fate.”

Chapter forty-one

Wren

OneyearafterLudo’sdeath

I hum to myself as I carry the box of new books through the store. Usually I come in with Ell, but I was so excited when I got the notification that this shipment came in. I couldn’t wait, and he’ll be in soon, anyway.

Besides, I like being at the shop by myself in the mornings. It gives me some time to soak it all in before we have to rush to make sure everything is ready for the day.

I have to rearrange the shelves to make room for the books. They should go in the poetry section, but I want Isabella Dupont’s new collection to be front and center on release day.

It’s been a few months since Aubrey Stallard passed away in a car crash. Isabella, however, is alive and well and living her own version of happily ever after in California. We get to talk every once in a while, and we have a trip planned to visit her coming up next week.

Once I have her books up front, I take the books I had to displace to the back shelf. There’s some room all the way up at the top, and I can put these there for now.

Typically, Elliot stocks the top shelves because they’re the tiniest bit too high up for me, but I’ve managed before. I just have to make sure to keep my balance.

Once I’m on the ladder, I stretch upward, trying to reach the top shelf. I positioned the ladder wrong, so I have to lean backward a bit, but I’m able to slide the books almost exactly where I want them.

Just . . . have to be . . . careful.

With one last stretch, I push the books into place on the shelf—and tip backward in the process. I try to grab onto the ladder, but it’s already out of reach as I fall. I let out a terrified yelp as I brace for impact.

Except instead of hitting the hardwood floor, I land directly into a pair of arms that grip me tightly. I grab onto Elliot as my panic quickly fades into relief.

“Oh,” I breathe out. “Thank you.”

Frowning down at me, Elliot says, “I thought I told you I’d handle the top shelves.”

“Yeah, but those new books came in, so I had to rearrange.” Pecking him on the cheek, I place a hand on his chest. “I guess I got a little excited.”

“I can tell. You were out the door so fast this morning, I didn’t even have a chance to tell you I was ready to leave early.” Carefully, Elliot sets me down. “You could’ve gotten hurt, love.”

“But you made sure I didn’t.” Smiling, I tug him down and kiss him.

With a soft moan, Elliot cups my face in his hands. His lips move against mine gently as I rise onto my tiptoes and slip my arms around his neck. He tastes like cinnamon and sugar.

I pull away. “Did you steal one of the muffins from the shop?”

With a bashful smile, he says, “Maybe.”

“Ell! Those are for the customers.”

He shrugs. “There are plenty left. Besides, that’s not what’s important right now. You’ve gotta be more careful on the ladder. If I hadn’t been here, you could’ve hit your head or broken something.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “I should’ve moved the ladder to a better position.”

Elliot runs a hand over my hair. “Please don’t do it again.”

“I won’t,” I tell him as I smile reassuringly. “I promise.”

That seems to placate him enough—especially since I mean it—so we move on to getting the store ready to open for the day. Ava texted me that she’s running late, so I start opening up the coffee shop and bakery side of things. Almost as soon as we opened, we had to hire a manager, and Ava was the first person who came to my mind.

Once Elliot finishes opening up the bookstore side, he steps into the coffee shop side. “Need help, love?”

---