Page 5 of Then Came You

Order more of the number one and two bestsellers. We only have a few copies left of each.

Mrs. Leonard bought out the rest of the Nora Roberts books. Peruse titles and reorder. Man, she reads fast!

Straighten the kids’ section. There were a couple rowdy kids in here last night that kept taking books off the shelves, and I know they didn’t put them back in the right spots! I worked on it some, but you might want to double-check.

That’s all. Have a good weekend and call if you need me. I’ll just be sitting outside, reading.

Gillian was still smiling when she heard the bell ring over the coffee shop door. When they’d leased the double space, they’d installed a camera system with monitors set up at both counters so they could see who was entering and exiting the stores. They’d loved the idea of having two distinct spaces for coffee lovers and booklovers that were also connected.

Often, a customer came in for one thing—either a coffee or a book—and ended up buying both. It was an effective marketing technique, with coffee spills on books the primary downside. Luckily, it hadn’t happened too often, and the three owners had deemed it a success.

Gillian glanced at the monitor, and her mouth fell open. Is that Sam?

She bent her head closer to the screen to be sure, and then she heard his voice.

“Morning, Savannah. I’m surprised to see you here.”

Gillian’s eyes were glued to the screen like she was watching an episode of Game of Thrones. She simply couldn’t look away.

“What do you mean? I work here,” Savannah teased in her usual flirtatious manner.

Gillian rolled her eyes at the screen.

“Usually, you work next door.”

“I didn’t realize you were keeping such close tabs on me, Officer Nichols.”

Ohmigod. She’s shameless!

He laughed, although he looked somewhat uncomfortable. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts—yes, shorts! That was what had shocked her at first. She’d never seen Sam out of uniform. Correction—she’d never seen him dressed in something other than his uniform.

Gillian looked closer and tried to read the saying on his T-shirt, which was stretched tightly across his broad chest. The man was a wall of muscle. She might have noticed that before, but she’d gone to great lengths not to look at him too long. Now, since he couldn’t see her looking, she stared.

Sam wore his hair in a crew cut, like how Owen had worn his. It was shaved closer on the sides than on top, but the hair that he did have was a rich, dark brown. He was usually clean-shaven, but today, if the screen didn’t lie, he was sporting some stubble.

When he’d laughed at Savannah, he’d shown off a mouthful of straight white teeth, and his deep brown eyes had crinkled at the corners. He moved closer to the counter, and she could finally read the saying on his shirt: Cops Do It By The Book. She laughed aloud and then clamped a hand over her mouth.

“You here all alone?” he asked.

Whew! Thank God he hadn’t heard her.

“No. Gillian’s next door. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious,” he said, shifting from one foot to the other.

Glancing down at his feet, Gillian saw that he was wearing a colorful pair of Nikes. Nikes! She couldn’t get over how Sam almost looked like a regular guy.

“Would you rather her wait on you than me? Because I can call her over…”

NO!

“No. That’s okay. I’ll just take a large black coffee to go.”

“No pastry today?”

He shook his head. “I need to watch my figure.”

Savannah laughed, and Gillian did too, silently this time. Little did he know, but she was the one watching his figure right then. He was shorter and stockier than Owen and even more imposing. Stop comparing them!