See you lateras in he would see her later to make hot, sloppy love to her? Okay. Sure. She was good with that.Gah.She was soaking wet, and she didn’t mean metaphorically.
“See you later.” She waved weakly.
Now the question was: how was she going to survive until midnight without losing her shit? Washing, shaving, moisturizing, and dressing wouldn’t occupy her for more than a couple of hours. She needed something to do to stay busy.Hmm.She picked up her trusty clipboard and searched for the next task to tackle.
“Window display.” She nodded with approval. “Perfect.”
But her eyebrows burrowed into a frown when she glanced at the front window. Well, not the actual window but the deep purple curtains that blocked it from sight. The checkout counter used to stand in front of the window, but they’d moved it to the back of the store when they’d brought the other furniture in. Now the space was occupied by a round table—they should totally showcase some new releases on there—and a bright, yellow chair.
She walked past the table and chair and pulled back the curtains with a sharp tug. She coughed and waved her hand in front of her face as dust clouds plumed around her. But once the offending curtains were pushed firmly to the sides, the soft hue of late-afternoon sunlight flooded the storefront. She stood for a moment enjoying the view of the tidy, residential street outside the bookstore.
The curtains definitely had to go. Not only would customers be able to peek inside from the sidewalk, the store itself felt a whole lot airier with the outside view. Even when they set up displays, the exposed window should open up the space and make the bookstore more welcoming inside and out. Excitement buzzed through her. This was going to work. They were going to make Sparrow a beloved local bookstore.
Lizzy moved the few boxes that were stashed on the display area to the back room. Dusty and sweaty again, she was glad she hadn’t taken that shower—the one she’d originally planned on taking by herself to kiss Jack without worrying about her smelly hair. Not the one she’d imagined takingwithhim, where they were both slippery with soap, hot water streaming down his hard, naked body, and his hands were… Oh, myGod.The back room grew sweltering under her deliciously naughty thoughts. She grasped the front of her shirt and fanned it vigorously. Midnight felt like eons away.
The doorbell jingled just as she came out from the back, dusting off her hands with her horniness under tenuous control.
“Wow,” Elliot said, his wide eyes taking in the redecorated storefront. “Mom, can we live here?”
“I was thinking the exact same thing,” Lizzy said, laughing. “We can be roomies.”
“Cool. Roomies,” the little boy crowed. Then he zipped to a rocking chair and proceeded to rock back and forth with enthusiasm.
“Can you believe he asked to be picked up early from his playdate so he could check out what we did today?” Shannon shook her head, wearing a fond smile. “Anyway, sorry for leaving you to watch the store again.”
“You were gone for less than half an hour.” Lizzy waved away her friend’s apology. “Don’t worry about it. But I’m thinking you should teach me how to use the cash register and whatnot in case a customer comes in while you’re gone.”
“Oh, my gosh. I can’t put you to work like that. From now on, I’m putting theBE RIGHT BACKsign up like I used to.” Before Lizzy could protest, Shannon turned her attention to the front window. “So what’s next on the list? I’m guessing the window display?”
“Yup. It’s going to be so much fun.” Lizzy pinched a piece of the purple curtain between her thumb and index finger. “Would you mind terribly if we got rid of these curtains?”
“No, not at all. I had them up mostly so that I wouldn’t be reminded of the lack of a window display.” Shannon grimaced and lifted up one end of the curtain. “They’re pretty hideous, aren’t they?”
“It’s not that they’re hideous,” Lizzy said diplomatically—another one of her lawyerly skills. This one was most often used to gently inform her clients that they’d fucked up and needed to clean up their act. “But taking them down will open up the store so much.”
“You’re right.” Shannon glanced around the store. “The space does feel more open, and I love all the natural light we’re getting.”
“Awesome. It’s down with the purple curtains, then.” Lizzy bounced a tiny bit on her heels.
“Down with the purple curtains!” Elliot roared as he ran over to test-drive another chair.
“Crap. Sugar high,” Shannon muttered under her breath. “He snuck in cookies again. I can’t really blame him, though. They always have fresh-baked cookies at his friend’s house. I wouldn’t be able to resist, either.”
Between Lizzy, Shannon, and her sugar-pumped son, they managed to take off the heavy curtains and dispose of them, coughing and sneezing all the way. Lizzy was now sweaty,dusty, and snotty. But she only considered Elliot’s proposal to burn the curtains for a split second.
“What kind of window displays are you envisioning?” Lizzy asked Shannon as they both stared at the empty display area.
“You should put a life-size Iron Man suit up there,” Elliot piped up from his perch on the rocking chair where he was engaging in his new favorite pastime—reading.
“We’re not a comic book store,” Shannon pointed out.
“It’s not only for comic book stores.” The boy put a finger in between the pages to mark his spot. “When I was visiting Dad, he took me to this shoe store at the mall, and they had the coolest Iron Man suit set up by the door. I totally thought it was real for a second.”
“We don’t sell shoes here, either,” his mother said dryly.
Elliot shrugged and returned to his book, satisfied with contributing his two cents to the conversation.
“I just have some vague ideas about making it seasonal,” Shannon belatedly answered Lizzy’s question.
