Page 24 of Love Unbound
The bell jingled over the door as it opened, and Jodi looked up from the counter where she was ringing up a customer. The welcome froze on her lips, and she dropped her eyes from his quickly. Wrapping the book her customer had chosen in brown paper, she sealed it with a sticker, and then slid it into a brown paper bag stamped withTurn the Page’s logo on it. Handing the bag across the counter to the young woman, Jodi said, “Thank you so much for coming in today. We look forward to seeing you again.”
As the young woman made her way toward the door, Jodi stepped out from behind the counter and busied herself with straightening a shelf of children’s books, keeping her back to him. Jodi could hear his boot heels on the polished wood floor, and knew when he was right behind her. Still, she ignored him, hurt and anger warring for supremacy.
“Jodi, please look at me,” he whispered earnestly.
“I’m busy working,” she said stiffly, moving on to another shelf. “You can take those back with you when you leave.”
She heard the plastic wrapping crinkle noisily as he set the bundle of flowers down on the countertop beside him, then felt his warm hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off, rounding on him, blue fire spitting from her eyes.
“Don’t,” she snapped, her voice brittle. “Please go away, Free.”
His aquamarine eyes were full of remorse as he stared down into her own. “Jodi,” he whispered forlornly, “I’m sorry. I was an ass the other night. You have every right to be upset with me.”
Jodi scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not upset.”
She knew he knew she was lying. One corner of his mouth tilted up slightly, but the baleful glare she gave him made him straighten his face. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings.”
“You didn’t,” she muttered, turning again to the bookshelf that didn’t really need straightening.
“Mmmhmm.”
Waving her hand in his general direction, she snapped, “I’m not interested in whatever roller coaster this is, Free. You’re giving me whiplash.”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” he murmured solemnly, following her as she moved around the store. “Look, I know I messed up. Jodi—” he grated, sidestepping her quickly and forcing her to stop and look at him, his gaze intense, “—I like you. A lot. And that still scares the shit out of me. I have spent the last decade trying everything in my power to get rid of these feelings I have for you. Allowing myself to act on this is strange to me still. Please be patient with me while I learn.”
He was good, she admitted sullenly. She dropped her eyes to stare at the floor, studying the pattern of the wood grain in the flooring beneath their feet. She saw his hand reach out toward her, his fingers gripping her chin lightly, tilting her head up until she was staring at him again.
“Will you go with me to Shane’s wedding? As my date, I mean?” he asked quietly, his eyes searching hers gently.
“I don’t know, Free,” Jodi whispered forlornly, her gaze dropping from his. “This back-and-forth thing is too confusing for me. Maybe you were right to leave the other night before anything happened.”
“I know it’s confusing, and I’m sorry,” he murmured earnestly. He sighed. “It’s confusing for me, too, I won’t lie to you. Like I said, I have spent a decade wrestling with thesefeelings I have for you.” Tipping her chin back up with his fingers, she was forced to look at him. “Because of our age difference. Because I have known you since you were in grade school. Because you are the daughter of one of the best friends I’ve ever had. You asked me why I didn’t come home before now. It’s because I knew the second I saw you again I was going to be a goner, and in spite of all those reasons I gave myself to not want you, I still do.”
“I can’t just be a fling for you while you’re here,” Jodi whispered, her heart thundering in her chest at his profession.
Free’s thumb stroked along the edge of her jawline, making her skin tingle where he touched. “I’m not interested in a fling. How about we take it one day at a time? Be my date for my brother’s wedding?”
“Can I think about it?” Jodi breathed. She couldn’t focus with him so near.
Free smiled gently. “Of course.” He stepped back just as the door of the shop opened, the bell jingling softly. Jodi stepped out from between the shelves they were hidden behind, welcoming the newcomer.
While Jodi showed the guest where to find a set of novels they were looking for as a gift, she was keenly aware of where Free was at all times. He wandered the shelves, picking up random books to peruse before replacing it. When Jodi came back to the counter, Free sauntered over.
“May I get a cup of coffee?” he asked huskily, pulling out his wallet. The muscles of his arms and shoulders bunched and shifted as he moved, the sleeves of his t-shirt barely containing them. Jodi wished she could run her hand along that arm, to feel the muscles and soft, tanned skin of his bicep.
“O-of course,” Jodi stuttered, turning quickly to pour a cup of freshly brewed coffee into a cardboard to-go cup for him. Lidding it, she handed it over the counter to him, and as he tookit their fingers brushed, sending sparks through her.
He extended cash out to her, but she shook her head. He gave her a baleful look and set it on the counter instead, grumbling, “You’ll never make a dime if you keep giving coffee away.”
“Consider it a trade,” she said, glancing at the elaborate bouquet of flowers still lying on the countertop beside her. “I should probably get those in some water.”
Raising the steaming cup of coffee in thanks, Free eyeballed the cash still on the counter, then raised his eyes to hers once more. “Put that in the till, Jodi. I look forward to your answer.”
Chapter 16
“Well look what the cat dragged in.”
Free’s mouth lifted in a grin, a chuckle escaping him as he climbed out of the truck, closing the door and lifting his shoulders in a shrug. Gravel crunched beneath his boots as he ambled over to the covered porch that extended the full length of the Big House, where Levi sat in an old wooden rocking chair. A glass tumbler of whisky was in his hand, balanced on one knee that was crossed at the ankle over the other knee.
