Samantha
The store was busier than usual, but I wasn’t complaining as I hurried around restocking shelves. It kept me busy and distracted, which was all too welcome at that point in time.
I was rearranging one of the middle table displays when I heard the store bell ring for about the fifth time in less than an hour.
Smiling, I turned to greet the new customer, but I tensed and frowned when I realized it was Ryan.
He looked at me with a determined expression as he practically marched toward me.
“Sam, I need to speak with you,” he said in a low tone..
I glanced around the store, taking note of my other customers before telling him, “I’m sorry, sir. As you can see, it’s a rather hectic day today. Do you need help finding a book?”
“You know that’s not why I’m here.”
I shrugged. “Showing up at my place of work to demand a conversation on my employer’s time? Sorry, no can do. I’ve got a little mouth to feed, remember?”
He clenched his jaw and appeared to want to argue the point, but to my surprise, he sighed and nodded.
“All right, fair point,” he murmured. “I’ll just wait until it’s less busy in here.”
I frowned, baffled. I didn’t know the man was capable of patience if I was being totally honest.
I wasn’t all that interested in talking to him, but if he was willing to wait around for me, I could give him a little bit of time.
As I continued working, Ryan wandered around the store, looking through the books.
I kept an eye on him, glancing his way now and again to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble or bothering my actual customers. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he was keeping to himself and staying out of my way.
After about twenty minutes, the store slowly began to empty. Soon, it was just the two of us. When I realized that, I knew he was going to make his way over to me.
I walked to the front counter, hoping that if I ignored him then he’d get the hint and just leave. Wishful thinking, clearly. It wasn’t two minutes later that he walked up to me, his expression serious.
“Sam,” he began. “Please. I just want to talk to you.”
I looked up at him and could see that he was borderline desperate, though he was trying his best to hide it. For a moment, I almost felt bad for him, which shocked me to my core. Still, I couldn’t stand that sad puppy dog face he made.
With a sigh, I said, “Come on. I’ll make us coffee. Tell me what you want to talk about, and we’ll get it over with.”
He arched a brow, apparently surprised by my easy acquiescence.
“All right.” He nodded for me to go first.
I led him to a little table in the corner of the store and had him sit down while I made a pot of coffee in the back of the store where we had a little break room for employees.
Once the coffee was done, I poured two mugs and brought them out to set on the table, and then, I sat down as well.
Ryan thanked me and took a sip before asking, “So, how’s Henry? He at school today?”
I sighed. “Yeah…he does half-days, then daycare. I pick him up after work..”
He nodded. He looked nervous and awkward, which was really strange. Growing up, he’d always seemed larger than life to me. The epitome of confidence. “I know you don’t want me to, but…can I ask about you?”
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion but gave him a little shrug. “Sure. Whatever. Ask away.”
He was thoughtful a moment before asking, “How’s your life been since we last saw each other?”
A rather broad and vague question to start with, but I got the feeling he didn’t really know where to go with this conversation.
For a moment, I considered shutting him down again and refusing to answer, but then, I let out another sigh and said, “Things have been good, for the most part. Life hasn’t gone exactly how I’d planned it, obviously, but I really have nothing to complain about.”
“I see,” he murmured, his gaze on his mug. “Did you finish school?”
I felt a twinge in my chest and had to take a moment so unnecessary emotions didn’t leak into my voice.
“High school, yes,” I answered stiffly. “I didn’t go to college, though. I needed to take care of Henry. But I’m taking online classes now, so I will hopefully have my degree within the next three years.”
Ryan flinched. “I see. I-I’m sorry things didn’t work out as you’d hoped.”
I shrugged. “Life happens. Plans change. No reason to dwell on the what-ifs.”
“I suppose there’s some truth to that,” he mumbled. “So, you didn’t end up going to college. Have you been working for the bookstore since then?”
I was struggling to figure out his endgame for this conversation. Was he really just curious about me?
I wasn’t certain I believed that, but there was a small part of me that was a little bit happy that he was asking about my life. It was a stupid, naïve part of me, but it was there all the same.
“Yeah, I have,” I answered. “I got the job here and loved it right away. I’ve been working here ever since. Now, I’m hoping to buy the place if I can.”
Ryan’s eyebrows shot up. “Buy the place?”
“The owner, Sheila, is retiring soon,” I explained. “I’ve been hoping that I can buy the store from her, so I’ve been saving up every penny I can spare.”
Why was I telling him all this? I couldn’t seem to control the words coming out of my mouth.
Was I trying to impress him?
Show him I wasn’t some uneducated loser?
I grew annoyed at myself for revealing so much to him, but since I couldn’t take back any of my words, I just had to push forward with this tense interaction.
Ryan set his mug down and said, “Let me give you the money for the store.”
He appeared genuinely surprised by my refusal. “What? What do you mean, no?”
I held his gaze and answered, “I don’t want handouts, never have, and especially not from you.”
His eyes widened, then narrowed in clear irritation. “You’re really going to be stubborn about this? It’s not a big deal for me to give you that money, and then, you’d have your store and wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.”
I gritted my teeth. His arrogance was astounding.
“Then what? You think everything will be better between us because you threw some money at me?”
“That’s not what I’m doing, and you know it.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re doing, because I don’t know you anymore. Not that I ever really did, and you clearly don’t know me. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have made that offer.”
“I’m just trying to help you,” he insisted with a growl.
I shook my head and pushed to my feet. “If you want to help Henry, we can figure that out, but I don’t need it for me. I have to get back to work.”
I turned to walk away, but he surged to his feet and grabbed my hand, stopping me. He tugged on my hand. I spun around, slamming into his chest with a gasp.
“Ryan, what…?”
My words died on my tongue as I gazed up at him. He stared down at me, and neither of us said a word for several, long moments.
It was as though we were frozen in a haze, and something passed between us that I couldn’t quite explain.
My body grew warm in his arms, and my breathing grew heavy. It seemed that, no matter what my mind thought of him, my body still reacted to him in a way that I couldn’t control.
“When did you get so stubborn?” he murmured.
I opened my mouth to answer, but the words wouldn’t come out. Just a breathy whimper that I wished I could take back because it revealed far more than words could.
Something flashed in his gaze that made my heart begin to race. It was heady and lustful. My fingers curled into his shirt. I realized I wasn’t going to move away from him if he tried anything, and I could see the intent in his eyes.
He slowly began lowering his head, his lips moving closer and closer to mine. I didn’t move. There was a part of me that wanted to know if his kiss was as intoxicating as I remembered it being.
Just before lips made contact with mine, however, I heard the bell above the front door of the shop ring as someone came inside.
Gasping, I realized exactly what it was I was about to do and pulled away, jerking out of his hold.
I could see he didn’t want to let me go. He didn’t try to pull me back, though.
“I need to get back to work,” I said in a breathless tone. “You need to leave.”
“Sam…”
I shook my head sharply. “No, Ryan. Don’t say anything. Just go. Please.”
He clenched his jaw and shook his head, but then he said, “All right, but we’re not done talking.”
“I know,” I murmured, turning away from him. “Please, just go.”
I walked away and didn’t let myself look back at him. I did listen for the store bell to ring to indicate that he’d left, though. I let out a sigh of relief, determined to put him from my mind so I could focus on my work.
A task much easier said than done.