Page 11 of September's Kiss (Loving the Curvy Girl)

“Classified,” he answered, lowering his gaze to the table.

“Dangerous,” I clarified.

“Volunteer basis only,” he said. “Tommy wouldn’t ever have to take on any work he wasn’t interested in.”

“You’re the owner though, huh?” I asked, a little impressed.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “My brothers and I run the place. It’s not much, but it’s a living.”

I stared at him for a minute, raking my gaze over his rugged features and his broad shoulders. I felt so…safe with him. It didn’t surprise me that he had a dangerous job like that.

“What?” he asked, the corner of his mouth twitching up into a half smile.

“You make me feel small,” I admitted with a shrug.

I’m a fairly big girl. Curvy and proportionate and in the right light, I can see that I’m pretty. But Joshua was just so massive, he made me feel almost dainty.

“Is that bad?” he asked cautiously.

“No,” I admitted. “It’s nice, actually.”

“So,” he said, scratching nervously at the back of his neck. “What’s it like to work at a bookstore.”

“How do you know I work at a bookstore?” I asked him, narrowing my gaze. I was pretty sure that hadn’t come up.

Chapter Eight

~Joshua~

Oh, fuck.

How the hell was I going to explain this? Why had I even opened my mouth?

“Wait a minute,” she said, her tone accusatory. “Were you there today?”

“What? No,” I said, a little too quickly.

“You were!” She crossed her arms across her body defensively. “You were across the street. You were spying on me.”

“No!” I insisted. “No, it wasn’t like that.”

“Are you stalking me?” She slid out of the booth and stepped away from me. “Oh my God.”

I tried to stand up, but she held her hand out and backed up another couple steps.

“No!” she yelled. “Just, stay right there.”

I suddenly noticed that everyone in the restaurant was staring at us. I lifted my hands in a defensive manner, showing Ember, and everyone else, that I wasn’t a danger to her.

“Can we please talk about this?” I asked her calmly. “I know it looks bad, but I promise I can explain.”

“Explain that you’ve been following me?” she snapped.

“Ember, please,” I begged, standing up then instantly regretting it.

Sometimes I forget how large I am. I mean, I’ve been big my whole life, so I don’t really think about it. But when a woman is pulling the stranger-danger card in a public place, and my six-foot-four inch, two-sixty frame stands up…I immediately seem like an evil ogre that needs to be chased with pitchforks.

“Sir,” a very brave manager with a very shaky voice said as he approached. “I’m going to have to ask you to sit down and allow this lady to leave if she wants to.”

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