Chapter 3 #2
Since Kayla had officially stepped aside to start her day care, she’d hired three more part-time employees, Amy, Jodi, and Tara to help with the shifts. Then there was Cora, who had been around almost as long as Olivia had and usually worked the night shift and closed up since she didn’t have kids.
She’d just finished training all of the new hires and was positive that the store was in good hands for the influx of patrons that would soon be streaming through the doors.
Each summer was different, but also the same. There were days when they were so busy that she hardly had time for lunch breaks, and then there were days she sat and caught up on her reading between customers.
Today, unfortunately, wasn’t one of those days. After the regular crowd shuffled in and started their first yoga class, the bell above the door never stopped ringing as customers came and went.
She even worked up a little sweat as she helped people find what they were looking for. Thankfully, she had just enough time to eat an apple behind the counter, taking bites between checking out customers.
When a group of young teens came in looking for summer dresses, she helped them each find the right sizes as they tried everything on.
She was standing up on a stepladder, using the metal hook to reach a different size dress, when she heard that sexy voice directly behind her.
“Should you be doing that?” he asked, almost sending her toppling over.
She let out a squeal that sounded like something Simona would have done and gripped the handle on the ladder so she wouldn’t fall over.
“Don’t do that,” she hissed as she glared over her shoulder down at Todd. He was smiling a very sexy smile back up at her, no doubt pleased with her reaction. Turning slightly, she frowned down at him. “What would you have done if I’d fallen?” she asked.
His smile grew. “I would have caught you.”
Her eyes ran over him, and suddenly she imagined herself being held by him, his muscular arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer. Then her eyes moved down to his lips, and her mind changed gears to imagine what it would be like to kiss him.
She just knew that he was a good kisser. Not like Brock had been. Oh, at first, she’d been too enamored with him to see his faults, a mistake she wasn’t going to make again anytime soon. That thought had her clearing her mind and refocusing.
Turning, she took the dress down and stepped off the ladder to hand it to the young woman who was waiting in the dressing area.
Then she turned back to Todd.
“Is there anything in particular I can help you with?”
He was still smiling at her as if he knew what she’d been thinking moments before.
“I just stopped by to see if this place is as I remembered it.”
“Well?”
He chuckled. “Yes. With some notable improvements.”
She took the hint that he was talking about her.
“While you’re here, you may want to look at some…
” Then something terrible happened. She drew a complete blank as to anything they sold in the store.
She quickly glanced around and blurted out the first item she saw.
“Oils.” That wouldn’t have been too terrible if she hadn’t pointed to the line of sensual oils Crystal swore by. Olivia felt her face heat.
Over the years, she’d sold a ton of those products and a few others along those lines without batting an eye. But now, here, with this man standing so close to her, hovering over her with his manly muscles and sexy looks, she blushed like a schoolgirl, which had his smile growing.
“Oh?” He walked over and took up the bottle labeled Handi Hand Job, and she closed her eyes as once again her imagination spun to an image of him running his oiled hands over himself slowly.
Damn. She was in serious trouble.
Swallowing her embarrassment, she stepped forward and put on her salesman face.
“This product is infused with hemp to awaken and enhance both your pleasure and hers.” She picked up another bottle labeled Orange Creamsicle. “This is basically the same thing without the hemp. If you don’t go for that sort of thing.”
He turned slightly towards her, the bottle still in his hands. “Do you?”
“Pardon?” she asked, setting the bottle back down.
“Go for this sort of thing?” He waved the bottle in her direction.
Thankfully, she was saved from answering him when the group of girls came out of the dressing area, and she had to ring up their purchases.
She knew every single one of them, as they were locals and had been coming into the shop for years.
She’d overheard that they were all heading to the beach and had decided to stop in and get new sundresses for the trip.
She wished them all fun and told them to drive safely.
As they walked out, she realized Todd was still in the store, walking around slowly, looking at other items. Luckily, not the sensual oils and the various toys they had in boxes near the back corner.
Most of the items in the store were not sensual.
“Find anything you can’t live without?” she asked lightly as she stopped next to him. His eyes ran over her, and she could tell she’d pushed the sales pitch a little too far. “Are you getting settled in your place?” she asked, not giving him a chance to answer her first question.
“It’s getting there.” He nodded. “Crystal opened up a massage and yoga studio?” He motioned to the flyer he held in his hands.
“Yes, classes run daily.”
“Have you taken any classes yourself?”
“Sure, I take the early morning classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Are you thinking of taking yoga?”
He tilted his head and ran his eyes over her. “Maybe. I guess it depends.”
“On?” she asked when he didn’t continue.
“Do I have to wear tights?” he asked, causing her to smile.
“You’re free to wear whatever you want. Some men wear gym shorts. Others wear those.” She motioned to a rack filled with men’s yoga pants.
He walked over and took a pair of bright rainbow yoga pants from the rack. “Not really my style.” He held them up.
“They come in different colors.” She pulled out a pair of black ones. “Something tells me you’d be more comfortable in black.” She held them up for him.
“I do have a couple pair of gym shorts.” He set the yoga pants back on the rack then leaned on it. “So, don’t you have a graduation to go to?”
She smiled and glanced at her watch. “I have a couple hours before it starts.”
“What about after?” he asked.
“After?” She felt her heart skip a beat. Was he going to ask her out? If so, what would she say? Did she want to go out with him?
Her mind raced over everything she knew about Todd O’Brien. Nothing in her minute knowledge of the man screamed stalker, wife beater, or psycho. But then again, nothing in the first few months of knowing Brock had screamed any of those thing either.
“After? I take my daughter home and we watch Frozen for the millionth time,” she answered easily.
“I mean after. Is Simona in summer classes?” he asked.
Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”
He shrugged. “I guess I’m just not too sure what happens to kids during the summer months anymore. I mean, from what I remember of summers…” He shook his head. “Most of the time I was left to my own devices for far too long. After we stopped coming up here, anyway.”
“So, you used to spend your summers in Silver Cove?” she asked.
“Yes, until the summer after I turned nine.”
“What happened then?”
“My father was killed.” A look crossed his eyes and, for the first time since she’d met him, he looked… lost and sad.
She reached out her hand and touched his arm. “I’m sorry. I can tell that he meant a lot to you.”
He seemed to tense slightly but then nodded towards the front. “So, is there a night you aren’t watching Frozen with an eight-year-old?”
“Simona’s six. She turns seven next month. Most nights, it’s just me, Simona, and Elsa and Anna.”
“Don’t forget Olaf,” he supplied.
She frowned at him. “How do you know about Frozen? You are single and without children, right?”
He chuckled. “Single, no kids. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good flick.”
“Something is wrong with you.” She shook her head, causing him to laugh.
“If it eases your mind, I was forced to watch it overseas with the rest of my platoon.” He shrugged. “It was either that or an old Bob Hope movie, and since some of the troops had kids and wanted to be able to talk to their daughters on video chat about the movie, Elsa won out.”
She smiled and nodded. “I suppose I never really thought how hard it must be for our military men and women to keep up with all of their family’s needs.
If I wasn’t able to talk to Simona about Frozen and her other favorite movies, she’d be upset.
Once I made the mistake of forgetting Kristoff’s reindeer’s name.
You would have thought that I’d just told her that all dogs don’t go to heaven. ”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Forgetting Sven’s name is almost a rookie mistake.”
She leaned on the shelf next to him and crossed her arms over her chest. “Just how many times did you watch the movie?”
“I stopped before it became annoying. If you know what I mean.”
“I do.” She rolled her eyes. “How many times can a six-year-old watch the same four movies in her lifetime?”
“Let’s see, take the number that she’s watched it up to now, then triple that number each year from now until she turns twelve. I figure that’s when girls stop watching cartoons and start chasing boys.”
She laughed. “Great, now I have that to look forward to.” She sighed and shook her head. “I think I was just past sixteen when I noticed boys for the first time.”
“Oh?” He looked at her as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying. “Something tells me the boys noticed you right away. I know I would have.”
She laughed. “Something tells me you were too busy chasing every woman you could to notice a skinny, awkward girl like me.”
“I’m noticing now,” he said smoothly.