Chapter 10
TEN
TYLER
Tyler stopped by the bookstore an hour before closing, seeing as Emma was still at the farm with Zoe. The afternoon sun cast long beams of light through the store, highlighting the fall must-reads.
Robyn was behind the counter, finishing up with a customer. Her hair was half-pinned up with that tortoiseshell clip, the rest of it falling in loose waves around her shoulders, and she’d pushed her glasses up onto her head the way she did when she’d been reading too long.
She glanced up as the register drawer slid shut, and her smile turned quick and private before she caught herself.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” she said, lowering her voice as the customer wandered out. “Not that I’m complaining.”
Tyler leaned his forearms on the counter, the old wood smooth and cool under his sweater. “Thought I’d update you on how the library went.”
“Oh? Was your mission a success?”
“It was. I was wondering if you wanted to stop over tonight to go over what I found?”
Robyn’s cheeks pinked in a way that made his own nerves kick up a notch.
“If you want,” he added, casually, but not really. “After Emma’s in bed.”
Robyn’s smile softened, turning warm around the edges. “Yeah, that could work.”
The quiet that followed was charged. Like the whole store had shifted and leaned closer to listen, including Mrs. C. and Mrs. Bishop, who walked by the front of the store, once, twice, a third time, as if angling for some behind-the-scenes gossip.
Tyler exhaled through his nose, then tipped his head toward the front windows. “Anyway, pretty sure half of Maple Falls already knows I’m into you, by the way. So much for taking it slow.”
“That would explain it,” Robyn said, eyes flicking toward the glass.
“Explain what?” Tyler asked, straightening.
“Mrs. C. walked past with Edith a little while ago.” Robyn’s voice went even lower, amused and exasperated at the same time. “They were staring at me through the window.”
Tyler winced. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine,” she said, and there was a brave little lift to her chin. “Gossip is impossible to escape here. Thankfully, we can trust that no one will say anything to Emma.”
Robyn scooped up a stack of books from a cart near the counter and started toward the back fantasy section, the one tucked behind tall shelves that created a narrow, shadowed corridor.
“Come on. Help me reshelve these.”
“Gladly.”
Tyler took the books from her arms, and they moved together down the aisle—Robyn scanning spines, him holding the stack while she slid each one neatly into place.
Every time she stretched up, her sweater lifted just enough to show a slim strip of skin above the waistband of her jeans, and Tyler had to grit his teeth to keep his hands to himself.
The kiss yesterday had left him alive and overheated, and standing this close to her made everything in him tighten again.
God. It’d been too long.
Not just since he’d been with someone—since he’d wanted someone like this. It made him forget that a customer could come in at any moment.
Robyn reached for the last book. She slid it onto the shelf with a soft thud, then paused, as if sensing Tyler before he made a move.
Tyler stepped in so his chest brushed her back, breath skimming her ear. His hands found her waist, his touch light. When she didn’t pull away, when she leaned back the tiniest bit, he lowered his mouth to the side of her neck and kissed her once, slow and deliberate.
Robyn softened, turning her head, melting into his touch.
He kissed her again, a little higher, right under her jaw. The soft skin there made something in him snap.
“I can’t help it,” he murmured against her, voice rougher than he meant it to be. “I can’t stop this.”
Robyn’s fingers came up to cover his hands, holding them at her waist. Her head tipped to the side, offering him more.
He kissed the other side of her neck, and she made the smallest sound, but it went straight through him.
God, he was aching for her. He couldn’t remember wanting anyone like this—couldn’t remember his own body being this insistent, this relentless, every nerve drawn tight toward her.
He tightened his grip, just enough to feel her inhale against his knuckles.
“I’m not complaining,” she whispered, voice unsteady.
Tyler smiled against her skin, warmth and hunger tangling in his chest. “Yeah?” he breathed.
“Yeah,” she said, and this time she turned in his arms.
Her eyes were darker up close, lips parted. She slid her hands up his chest, curling them around the back of his neck. Tyler kissed her fully, and the world narrowed down to breath and mouth and the soft press of her body against his.
He could’ve stayed like that, worshipping her, if only the store hadn’t still been open. They stepped apart just in time as the front doorbell chimed.
Robyn cleared her throat and smoothed her sweater. Tyler grabbed the nearest title off the shelf and opened it, suddenly very interested in reading.
A customer’s footsteps tapped closer.
“Hi there!” Robyn called out, her voice bright enough to fool anyone who wasn’t standing close enough to notice her flushed cheeks.
Tyler kept his gaze on the page, willing his body to calm the hell down. He turned the book over in his hands. It was upside down. Of course it was.
He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to right the book and read the first sentence. It was a collection of essays on romantic literature, which was somehow worse, because every other sentence made him think of her.
And tonight she was coming over. There’d be history books. A cocktail or two. Her neck still warm on his lips. And if they weren’t very careful, maybe more…