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I earn another airy laugh for my troubles, and Jesus, she’s so cute. She has tiny teeth and her smile is sweet.
Fuck, I’m crushing so hard on this girl.
“Can I call you Brin?” I ask.
“Only if I can call you Tom. You know. From Tom Sawyer.”
“Or Tom Thumb. For short. Or for being short.”
“You’re not short.” Her smile teases me. “You must be, what, five foot four, five foot five?”
“Yeah.” I shouldn’t feel so pleased she noticed my height, dammit.
“You and me, we drew the short straw. Literally.”
I snicker. Fuck, she has my kind of humor. I love it. “This way, Mademoiselle.” I give another ridiculous bow and offer her my hand to rest hers on. “Allow me to guide you to your seat.”
She plays along, letting me lead her to the bar where I pull a stool for her. She climbs on it gamely, and I stand behind the bar.
Putting distance between us? Between myself and what I feel for her? Probably. It’s also habit and being on this side of the counter soothes me.
I gesture behind me. “Coffee? Tea? Cocktail?”
“Just coffee, please. A flat white.”
“With lots of sugar, I know. Coming right up. Oh, and the book, before I forget.” I crouch down and open the cupboard where I stashed it. Pull it out and place it on the bar with a wink. “With our compliments.”
“Aren’t you smooth?” She’s smiling as she drags the book toward her. “Does this work on girls normally?”
“No idea,” I tell her truthfully. “I’ve never tried it.”
I have never been seriously interested in other girls, but she doesn’t need to know that. I’ve bared myself to her enough as it is. Was it a mistake, getting her a book? Moving too fast?
But then she focuses on the book cover and her mouth drops open. “Oh, my God. This is amazing. Wasn’t this one of the series you talked about in the book club? The one with the feathered, winged men?”
“Yeah. And it’s fantastic. To be honest, I don’t recommend the rest of the series, they were kind of a dud. But hey, you may like them, I don’t know.”
“I’ll dive right in. Tonight.”
“Awesome,” I breathe.
Why does the thought of her in bed with the book I chose for her make me feel so hot and bothered?
“Oh, look, the illustrations are beautiful. Love the chapter pages! I can never leave it lying around at the Alpha Cat, someone will steal it, for sure!”
Damn, she really is after my heart. “Glad you like it,” I say, unable to keep the smile out of my voice. “What’s the Alpha Cat?”
She glances up, frowning. “What? Oh, nothing. Tell me about the book. Did you get it with the used books for the café?”
“No, I…” Fuck, my neck is heating up. “I got it for you. In case you came by.”
“You bought it?” Her eyes darken. I can’t read her expression now. “Sawyer. You shouldn’t have.”
“Oh, I should have. And I did.” I turn to the coffee machine, to busy my shaking hands. Dammit, not an anxiety attack, not now. It’s just that… man, I like her so damn much.
“This is… so sweet of you.” Her voice has gone very quiet.
I let out a breath as I grab a cup and saucer. “You’re welcome. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it.”
