Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
“I figured.” I smiled at her as I continued to look around the busy room. “Business is good?”
“Very. Nonstop all day. And look at all the families!” She had a big grin as she pointed out a pair of dads wrangling toddlers in the children’s area, and what looked to be two moms and a pack of tweens looking at the young adult books.
Some soft spot in my chest that I’d accidentally left unguarded twinged. I was happy being a good son and brother and the fun uncle. I didn’t need a partner of my own, but still the ache bloomed as I stared at the families.
“Bet that makes you happy,” I said softly to Audrey.
“It does my librarian heart good, seeing all the little readers.” She patted my arm. “And I think all the people are good for Harrison too.”
“Seems to be.” I glanced over to where he was showing a fresh group of people the nonfiction section full of queer history books and biographies. He did seem as content as I’d seen him outside of bed, a little grin on his face as he gestured animatedly at various books.
“Come on. I want to show you my revamp of the gardening section.” Audrey led me over to a different set of shelves, where the end cap featured several glossy books with chickens on the cover.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Does Harrison know that you ordered all these backyard husbandry books?”
“Well…”
“She saw a picture of some chickens in sweaters.” Finally free of his patrons, Harrison joined us. His eyes met mine in a private greeting that made the back of my neck heat.
But before I could get sidetracked by his nearness, I had to stay in farming educator mode. “That’s actually not a good idea for most chickens. It can cause health problems. It looks cute, but really should be done only under advisement from a vet.”
“Darn.” Audrey huffed in a way that made her seem far younger. “Well, I still want a coop. The backyard is plenty big enough.”
“I could set you up with a starter poultry set.” Unlike Harrison, I wasn’t going to try to talk her out of her sudden interest in chickens. If she changed her mind, I’d take the birds back, and in the meantime, her enthusiasm was fun to encourage. “It doesn’t usually come with the coop, but twist my arm, and I could probably help build you something simple.”
“No two-story chicken condo?” Harrison joked, bumping my shoulder. Sparks raced down my arm even from such incidental contact. Damn. I glanced down at my watch, trying to calculate how long until closing time.
“Hey, don’t be looking so smug.” I bumped him right back. “You’re helping.”
“I am?”
“You are.” I nodded, an idea already taking shape for Audrey’s coop and anticipation over more time with Harrison as my building assistant.
“I suppose it’s only fair. And helping last time was…fun.” Smiling slyly, Harrison met my gaze, the memory of our first kiss hanging between us along with the exact number of hours it had been since our last kiss.
“Very.” I tried to tell him with my eyes that I had all sorts of plans for him later.
“Finn, did Harrison tell you the news?” Oblivious to the unspoken conversation I was having with Harrison, Audrey continued to chatter. “We owe you. Apparently, we have a new wine bar manager.”
“Tanner worked out?” That was good news. I liked knowing that he’d landed in a better situation. The poor guy had been through a lot. Our mutual friends would all be relieved too.
“Ha.” Harrison snorted. “I think Mom’s going to adopt him and replace me.”
“We’re going to have wine lessons.” Audrey rubbed her hands together. “It’s going to be delightful. And he’s taking the empty apartment. Everything’s working out perfectly.”
It was. Maybe too perfectly. But I couldn’t bring myself to worry about it, not with the promise of getting Harrison alone later, more perfect moments to be captured.
Chapter Fifteen
Harrison
The grand opening had been a smashing success even before Finn showed up, but having him there made all my excitement and pride burn that much brighter. Mom and I had pulled it off, and having someone to witness our success and share in it was sweeter than I wanted to admit.
“Put me to work,” Finn demanded after my mother had drifted back to the children’s section to help some customers. “What needs to be done before closing?”
“You don’t need to help.”
“I know I don’t need to. I want to.” Leaning in, Finn lowered his voice. “The sooner you’re done here, the sooner I can help you celebrate.”
He made celebrate sound like such a dirty word that I shivered. “In that case, there’s a basket of books waiting to be reshelved, but—”
“But nothing.” His wink was even warmer than his voice. “I know my alphabet, Harry.”