“Just looking today or . . .?” I ask. “We have just about everything under the sun.”
My cheeks burn. I sound so lame, and for some insane reason I care.#p#分页标题#e#
Okay, that insane reason might be because he’s one of the most gorgeous creatures ever to stumble in here, but still, he’s Presley’s type. I don’t even have a type. And if I did, it wouldn’t be him.
This guy looks like the kind of man who’d pick an LA Laker cheerleader over a girl who shops at thrift stores and wears her hair sans-product. Girls like me are invisible to guys like him. They look clear through me, and I’m absolutely fine with that, because I wouldn’t waste my time on someone like that anyway.
No skin off my back.
“Baby books,” he says.
Presley and I exchange looks like our thoughts are syncing.
“You know,” he says. “Like how to change diapers and stuff.”
Presley’s shoulders slump forward, her jaw slightly hanging.
This man’s clearly about to become a father, which means he has a wife or a girlfriend, which means he’s completely off the market.
“Yeah,” she says, her tone now flat. “Over here.”
I stand back as she takes him to the tiny corner of the store where two narrow shelves house a couple of dozen baby manuals.
He doesn’t check her out, not once. Which is a shock. Every man who walks in here drools over Presley and her cocoa hair and deep-set gaze. Her lips are almost always slicked in bright shades like ruby or fuchsia. I’m positive half of our sales come from men hoping if they buy enough from her, they just might score her number.
“This is everything we have,” she says to the handsome patron.
The man pulls a thick book off the shelf, cracking the spine and thumbing through.
I yawn for the millionth time this morning, still barely able to stay awake. I’m strongly considering heading into my office, locking the door, and curling up under my desk for a little nap before Presley leaves at two. I’ll use the cushion of my chair for a pillow if I have to.
That damn Jackhammer and his bed knocking on my wall all night. One of these days, I’m going to run into him around the apartment complex and tell him exactly what I think of his late-night rendezvous.
“Okay. I’ll take everything,” the man says a minute later.
“Ev-everything?” Presley says with a laugh.
He’s got to be joking.
“You want all these books? There are twenty-five or thirty books here,” she says.
“Twenty-eight, and yes, I’ll take them all.”
“Okay, sure.” Presley throws me a look with lifted brows, grabs an armful of books, and hauls them to the cash register.
“Do you deliver?” he asks.
“Oh, um.” I rap my nails against the glass counter. “No one’s ever requested that before.”
“My truck’s full of baby stuff right now. Don’t really have the room, otherwise I wouldn’t ask.”
Presley shrugs, turning to me. “He is buying a ton of books.”
“Yeah,” I say. “Of course. I can deliver them personally. Just write down your address. Our bartender gets here around seven. I can duck out of here for a little bit and drop these off then. Would that work for you?”
“Two hundred forty-seven dollars and fifty-five cents,” Presley says.
“Yep. I’ll be home.” The man hands her a black Amex. He sure as hell doesn’t look like a man who’d carry one of those. I thought I had him pegged the second he walked in here. Now I’m not so sure.
“Oh.” She looks my way.
“I’m sorry, we only take VISA, MasterCard, and Discover,” I say.#p#分页标题#e#
“Not a problem.” He pulls out a thick wallet from a holey pocket in his jeans. The second he unfolds it, I spot a thick stack of green. I bet he’s a career gambler. I’ve heard some of them make a killing. “I’ll pay cash.”
I rip a sheet of paper from a nearby Post-It pad and hand him a pen emblazoned with our logo. “Address?”
He grabs it with his left hand, scribbles for a few seconds, and hands everything back to me. Our fingers brush, and it sends a quick jolt to my stomach.
“Thank you.” I yawn. “Excuse me. I can’t stop yawning today.”
“Late night?” he asks, looking me up and down. “You don’t look like the partying type.”
“She has this neighbor.” Presley leans forward and folds her hands together, resting her chin on top. “He keeps her up late.”
“Presley.” I say her name through a clenched jaw.
“I say if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” She ignores me.