After his meteoric rise to superstardom, Jim O'Brien is no longer a small-town boy who plays in bars and dreams of success. His handsome face is plastered on the covers of celebrity gossip magazines, and his voice alone is enough to make girls swoon...
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I loved being busy at work, but there was nothing I hated more than the empty store and no customers to talk to. I read the blurbs of the latest releases and rearranged the books in the Young Adult section, but only thirty minutes passed — thirty minutes that felt like two hours.
When a woman walked into the store, I was more than ready to do a victory dance. I greeted her and pretended to be busy with romance books, giving her enough time to browse the shelves without feeling pressured. I didn't like annoying clerks at stores, and I had no desire to be one of them.
I did allow myself to throw glances at the lady clad in a stylish red coat. Her short black hair shone under the store lights. Everything about her was beautiful in a nonconventional way. Her eyes were too big and her lips too thin, but she carried herself with confidence and seemed to be the kind of person who knew what she wanted.
I saw her roll her eyes at the blurb of one of the books Harper and I read. Unlike the lady, Harper didn't give the novel an eye-roll. If my memory served me right, Harper's reaction was more along the lines of spitting her wine at one of the scenes.
It was the definition of raunchy. Of course, we had to read it all to know how it ended. Luckily, it wasn't on my e-reader. Imagining Jim reading the bits of it to me was too much.
Thinking about Jim and his hands, Jim and his lips, Jim and his tongue would lead to me being more frustrated than I already was. I missed him like crazy and couldn't wait to see him after work.
"Excuse me." My customer's voice rang in the almost empty store, reminding me of my duties.
"Can I help you?" I asked, striding toward the coat-wearing lady.
"You can." She smiled and gave me a once-over. "I'm looking for a good romance. I want angsty and hot, but don't give me billionaires and damsels in distress. Give me a couple I will want to root for. I want genuine feelings and people and sex scenes that don't resemble low-budget porn."
It took me next to nothing to grab one of the series Harper and I adored. "The female main character is smart and career-driven. The man is respectful—"
"Say no more." The woman snatched the books from my hands. "Angsty?"
"Very." I smiled. "You'll want to set these books on fire, but don't do that. You'll regret not knowing what happens next."
"Okay." She winked at me. "Now, I need a good travel guide. I'm going to Paris soon, and I have no idea what to see. Call me old school, but I'd rather not depend on the Internet to move around."
"Are you looking for specific recommendations?"
The woman nodded. "Sights to see, places to eat at, good shopping spots. Everything the local people would recommend."
"Come with me," I said. The customer trailed behind me as I led her to a different section. I took a small book from one of the shelves and opened it. "It's what I took to Paris with me. I used almost all the suggestions from this guide. There are maps of each district and a brief description of what you can find there, as well as a section dedicated to shops and restaurants."
