Page 119 of Blush Crush

She spares me a glance. “Your ego is showing.”

“Want me to show you something else?”

Her eyes roll, but the ghost of a grin plays on her mouth as she puts the book back on the shelf and picks one up with a blond guy on the cover instead.

“I like this one better,” she says as she stacks it over the top of the dark romance.

I love it when she gets smart with me.

The third item on the list is to find a book with a spicy scene in the first chapter.

Her gaze wanders the shop, her expression a bit perplexed.

“You could find that in any subgenre, but it’s not the most common, so it might take a while.”

I shrug. “There’s no rush. It’s just us. Take your time.”

She ends up in an aisle where all the books have cartoon-style covers.

“I don’t know if you’re going to find what you’re looking for in those. They look like they might be for teenagers.”

My comment makes her release a baffled scoff. “Looks can be deceiving. These cute little cartoon-style covers can also be incredibly filthy. And they’re definitely not for teenagers.”

All right then, looks like I’m the one getting the lessons.

She keeps browsing while I mostly just watch, because it’s honestly hard to tear my eyes off her. Her lower lip disappears between her teeth the way it does when she’s concentrating, her gaze tracking across the page, a faint crease forming at the bridge of her nose. Her long, dark lashes flutter over those wide blue eyes, blinking a little faster, her cheeks turning pink as she flips the page. I’m guessing she found what she was looking for.

“Did you find a winner?”

She nods. “I think so.”

She passes me the book, a mischievous grin on her face. I start reading, and I’m immediately dropped in the middle of a blowjob scene, in the shower no less. Very graphic, especially considering the innocent-looking characters on the front.

“Hey.” I laugh. “This sounds familiar.”

“Which part?” she challenges, her brow arching.

I back her up against a shelf and drop my mouth to her ear, nuzzling the spot a little. “The part where she’s massaging his balls really took me right back to when you did it to me,” I whisper. “I liked that.” My hand skims down the curve of her waist. “I like everything you do.”

A moan slips out of her, her eyes darting across the shop where Evelyn is bobbing her head, listening to music and going through paperwork just like she said she would.

“Don’t worry, she’s not paying any attention to us. In fact, I paid her double just to make sure she wouldn’t.”

Her eyes thin to slits. “How much did this cost you?”

My shoulders lift. “Not much. Nothing compared to what you’re worth, and I don’t know if you know this, but you’re pretty priceless.”

“Wow.” She giggles. “That was a good line.”

After everything, she still doubts that what I feel for her is real. Somehow, I’m going to have to prove it. Until then, all I can do is show her—with what I do, not just what I say—and hope, eventually, she believes me.

I draw her in for a kiss, cradling her jaw. “No lines for you, baby. Just the truth. And the truth is there’s no amount that’s too much to spend on you. You really are priceless to me.”

A sober expression erases her lighthearted smile, a flash of worry clouding her gaze. She cranes her neck to stare into my eyes like she’s searching for the punchline, for me to turn this into a joke.

It’s right there, on the tip of my tongue. Tell her. Tell her it’s real. That it always has been. But the moment passes as fast as it came, and she takes a step back, straightening her shoulders.

“Okay.” Her tone is overly bright. “Next on the list is to find a book with my favorite trope.”