Breaking the Ice

Chapter 5

5

Nick blinked as Samantha stared at him like he was slightly – or possibly very – dim. He suppressed the urge to smile. She was something else. His infrequent visits home hadn’t permitted more than brief conversations with his neighbor as they’d fitted their keys into locks or rode the elevator or exchanged pleasantries at Birdie’s. They were friendly but she always seemed to be going to, or coming home from, work, so his impressions of the woman in the apartment next door had been scant at best.

And then he’d bumped into her at Birdie’s graveside and her obvious love for his grandmother had left him with a warm buzz of solidarity.

This morning she was definitely making an impression as she scrolled through a gamut of expressions. She’d been pensive, then prickly, then her cute pink mouth had softened as she had breathily proclaimed her approval of his alterations, and now she was being what?

Snobbish?

“Hey.” He tutted. “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”

“Thanks.” She put the book back on the shelf. “I think I’ll pass.”

“Snob,” he teased.

Her eyes widened a little like she hadn’t expected him to tease before she recovered and shot him a quelling look. “Discerning.”

“Well, my grandfather, Burt, loved them and he practically raised me on them and if I’m gonna be stuck in a romance bookshop all day then at least I can have something to read and besides, I’m trying to attract some male clientele.”

“Yeah? In that case, put a TV in the corner and run ESPN all day.”

Nick laughed. “Or you could apply for the job.” He pointed to the sign he’d posted in the door. “That should bring them in.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Right.”

Her voice oozed derision and Nick frowned at the disbelief in her tone. Was she serious? Samantha Evans was gorgeous and curvy and had the cutest mouth. In fact, that mouth could be quite distracting should she take him up on his offer. She had thick, wavy hair which, for once, she wasn’t wearing tied back, and the most entrancing gray eyes he’d ever seen.

Plus, she was as bright as a spark. And God knew he loved a woman who could keep him on his toes. “I’m serious. They’d be lining up.”

She snorted. “Why?”

“To catch a load of those curves.”

She stared at him like she was finding it difficult to compute what he was saying. “Let me tell you something, Nick. Men don’t want curves. Men want stick creatures and Barbie dolls.”

“This one doesn’t.”

Nick liked a woman with some meat on her bones and wasn’t afraid to eat in front of him. Someone who enjoyed food. Someone who didn’t count lettuce and celery as a food group. “I like real women.”

Samantha raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen you with a real woman, Nick Hawke, and I’ve seen quite a few coming in and out of your apartment door. You should really just get a revolving one fitted and be done with it.”

The thought was amusing but Nick didn’t think she’d appreciate him laughing. “I’ve dated all shapes and sizes. Not my fault you’ve only seen a limited selection.”

“Limited selection?” She shook her head. “Jesus…”

He did laugh then. “Women love me, what can I say?”

She looked him up and down in a way that Nick thought was supposed to be dispassionate and disapproving and should definitely not turn him on, but kinda did. “Of course they do.”

The thought that this verbal ping-pong might be a regular feature should she come work for him caused a kick in his pulse. “Anyway…” He dragged the conversation back on track. “As I was saying, there’ll be men belting down this door, just you wait and see.”

“Yeah, well… don’t hold your breath.”

“Trust me. If I think you’re sexy there’ll be others.”

She gaped at him. “ You think I’m sexy?”

“Absolutely. I love this whole” – Nick gestured up and down her body. She might be wearing an oversized T-shirt and a baggy pair of jeans, but not even that travesty of fashion hid her bootylicious outline – “Rubenesque thing you’ve got going on.”

“That’s just code for fat,” she dismissed.

“No , it’s not.” Nick shook his head.

“Reuben’s models had cellulite .”

“They were round and soft. They were sexy .”

“Cellulite is never sexy.”

Nick shook his head. “Women are so screwed up.”

She gave a half laugh boasting a faintly hysterical edge. “Ya think? When every image and headline our entire lives is centered around how we look and every which way we turn there are narratives about how we can be skinnier and prettier and younger?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. Even with the advent of the body positivity movement, it had to be hard to undo decades of crappy messaging. “That does suck.”

Clearly out of steam, Samantha nodded morosely. “Uh huh.”

Nick wished he had a magic wand to fix it all right here and now for Samantha and every other woman on the planet, but he didn’t. What he did have was a job going and maybe he could spend their work time together trying to get her to see herself in a new light?

“Okay, so… I can’t fix the ills of the world today, but I did hear from a regular customer that you were looking for a job so… are you interested?”

For long moments she regarded him with solemn gray eyes as if assessing his seriousness. Then a slow smile broke across her face and sent an electric current zipping up his spine.

“I’d love it.” Her smile morphed into a huge grin. “It could only be a temporary thing, though,” she said, her expression morphing again to one of utter seriousness. “I’m 100 per cent committed to getting my old job back but this will do until then.”

Nick almost laughed out loud at how she made it sound so beneath her. “Well only if you think you can squeeze it in.”

Somehow missing the thick layer of sarcasm in his voice, she nodded absently. “Oh, it’ll be a few months before Bob sees Ray for the incompetent ass he is. I’ll give you as long as I can.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No probs.” She smiled. “Hey, how hard can it be?”

Nick chuckled. Her face was completely lacking any trace of scorn or snobbishness now. “Well exactly. I mean, the family gave it to me to run after all.”

Suddenly realizing how dismissive she must have sounded, she winced. “Oh God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay.” He laughed. “I know you didn’t. Just wanted to see you squirm.” She shot him a dirty look which caused him to smile as he continued. “Can you start tomorrow?”

“Oh…” Her brow furrowed. “Don’t you need to interview me or something? I mean, what exactly does the job entail?”

“You’re right.” Nick straightened, feigning an officious expression. “Just as well I have you or I could have hired my first employee on a whim.”

Walking behind the counter, he perched himself on his grandmother’s stool, remembering how he used to sit on it as a kid and Burt would swivel him around in it while Birdie served her customers. Reaching under the counter, he pulled out a notebook and a pen, opened it at a random blank page in the middle and wrote her name at the top.

“Now, Ms. Evans.” He glanced at her as she moved to the other side of the counter. “Do you know how to use an ancient coffee machine?”

She gave a half laugh. “I don’t even know how to use a modern one.”

Nick pursed his lips as he put a cross on the page. “Ever worked in a bookshop?”

“Nope.”

He marked another cross next to the first. “Any retail experience?”

“Nope.”

Another cross. “Dear me, Ms. Evans, you’re supposed to be selling yourself.”

Her laugh this time was full throated, her grey eyes lighting like sunshine through clouds and Nick really wanted to hear more of it.

“Oh. Right. Um… well, let me see. I can read.”

“Literate.” Nick put a tick under the crosses. “That helps.”

“I’m good with figures. I can help you with the accounts.”

Nick just stopped himself from saying, Damn right you’re good with figures . “Excellent.” A second tick down. Thankfully Birdie had been a meticulous bookkeeper but it wasn’t something that was really in Nick’s skill set. “Anything else?”

“Um…” She shook her head, clearly trying to come up with another plus. “Apparently there’ll be men lined up out the door all gagging to get a look at the Rubenesque assistant.”

Nick smiled triumphantly – fuck yes there would be. “That’s the spirit.” And he’d make it his mission to get her to actually believe it, too. “Consider yourself employed. I’ll be gone for several hours each afternoon for my physio sessions so you’ll be flying solo then, otherwise it’s you and me. Until your better offer comes along, of course.”

“Really?”

She clapped her hands excitedly which was so spontaneously delightful, it caused a warm glow right in the center of his chest.

“It can’t be that easy.”

“You’re right.” He nodded solemnly. “There is a condition.”

“I knew it,” she said, her eyes downcast in mock rejection.

Reaching behind, he pulled a Western off the shelf. “You have to read a Marshall Grover.”

“Deal.” And much to his surprise she thrust out her hand as if she didn’t want to give herself time to change her mind. “But I have a condition of my own.”

Nick took her hand, warmth flushing all the way up his arm at the contact. “Ms. Evans,” he murmured, injecting a little flirt into his voice. “I make the conditions around here.”

It was gratifying to hear her breath hitch a little and know that he wasn’t the only one a little discombobulated by this vibe flickering to life. With her hand in his, the fact there was a puck out there somewhere with his name on it, was completely forgotten.

Ignoring his edict, she said, “You have to read a Rita Summers.”

Nick quirked an eyebrow. Right now, he would have eaten a ton of arugula if she’d asked. And he hated that spiky, peppery, weed with a passion. “Rita Summers?”

“She writes pirate heroes.”

“I thought pirates were villains?”

“Hers aren’t… exactly.”

Nick’s gaze dropped to her mouth, watching Samantha’s lips as they formed the words and wondered if they’d be as soft to kiss as they looked. Soft, like the rest of her. A few moments passed before he realized he’d been holding her hand for longer than was appropriate and she was waiting for his response.

He cleared his throat. “Deal,” he agreed, his fingers slipping from hers.

Hell, Nick couldn’t wait to find out what exactly meant. Something told him that pirates were Samantha’s kink and he sure as hell wanted to know more about that.