Bookstore princess

Chapter 23

Nadia

James wasn't in bed when I woke up, but the pillows thankfully still smelled like him. It's hard for me to believe that in such a short amount of time, I've started falling so deeply. It's crazy, but it's true. Since that first day he walked into the shop, we've barely been apart. When we were, we were talking digitally. When I roll out of bed, I still feel light headed and I take a little extra time getting out of bed. I immediately went to my closet and started looking for something that James hasn't seen yet. My eyes scour and scrutinize each piece before settling on a mid calf pale pink dress with a sweet heart neckline, and white butterflies down at the bottom of the dress along the hem. Without pausing for long I head into the bathroom and pull the electric thermometer out of the drawer and take my temperature. It's cold and hard against my ear, but I need to know if I'm still sick or not. We can't really afford for me to take time off while Jacob is out sick. Especially on a Friday. I pull it back and look at the results and groan. A hundred and one. Which is officially a fever. I'll have to suck it up and pretend I didn't see these results. I stuff the thermometer back in the drawer and put it at the back. I glared at the drawer like it personally offended me, even though it didn't.
Work, I remind myself. I can't miss work
I get in the shower with my Japanese cherry blossom soap, shampoo and conditioner and my mind wanders to James and wondering what he is doing now. He's likely working again. Last night he seemed exhausted, but also had a fierce determination in his eyes. I make a note to tell him off for not waking me up so I can make him breakfast.

After getting out of the shower I took a moment to do my makeup and put my hair up in a bun because, honestly, I'm already exhausted. I hate getting sick. I put on a pink bra, and white panties, since I'm not rich and can't match everything the way I wish I could. I wore my pink panties earlier in the week, so I know laundry is in my future. I wear my birkenstock sandals that I wear fairly often, and open the bathroom door to the mouthwatering smell of bacon. I slowly make my way down the stairs, and the first thing I see is James' naked back wearing a pair of low hung grey sweatpants. His tattoos are beautiful against his pale skin. He hasn't shaved in a few days, so he has the beginning of a beard. I can't help myself. I walk towards him, where he's bent over the stove and I wrap my arms around his chest, laying my hands on his pectoral muscles. He hums and puts one hand over mine, and I kiss him in the center of his back.
"That smells fantastic," I lean my cheek against his back.
"You feel warm" James pulls my right hand up to his lips and kisses the finger tips.
"Must be the fantastic snuggle partner from last night" I coo. I know I'm lying, but it's a white lie. He doesn't need to know any different. "I was thinking, why don't you work on your empire today, and I'll be downstairs. If I need you, I'll text you" I suggest, having already thought this through. He needs to take care of his companies, and I need to figure out how to do this without bringing him down with me.
"I got up early enough they don't need me for a bit. I'm coming downstairs with you. Besides, you're expecting a delivery today" he reminds me and I wince. I had forgotten I ordered extra books. "Are you feeling okay?" he turns in my arms to see my flushed face and presses the back of his hand to my cheeks and forehead. "You still have a fever" he frowns.
"I'm fine, besides I can't afford a day off, and neither can you. You need to take care of your job too" I deflect and sass him. I'm hoping he buys into it. The determined look in his eyes as he flexes his muscles and crosses his arms tells me differently.
"The only job I'm worried about is taking care of you, everything else is secondary" he leans forward and gives me a kiss on the forehead. "Send me the list of books we are getting, I'll take care of the truck. You stay up here, and rest like you're supposed to" he says, and I frown. I don't want to take the time off, besides, we can't afford it.
"We are going to have our first fight, aren't we?" I ask him and he groans.
"If I have help on the floor, will you stay up here?" he asks.
"There's a process to this. They need to be bondable, and properly hired by the three of us" I put my hands on my hips.
"Baby doll, you're killing me here" he groans.
"Can we eat?" I ask him softly, not wanting to fight with him. I reach up and touch the side of his face and he leans into my touch. I kiss him softly on the lips and pull away.
"Eat yes, but it's only a pause on the argument" he sighs.
"After the truck delivery if I'm still not feeling well, I'll come back upstairs if you are confident in handling the cash register for the day" I give in.
"I can deal with that" he gives a relieved sigh and pulls me in for a hug. I wrap my arms around him and breathe in his scent. He lets go and leads me to the table where there's cutlery and a bowl in the center of the table with bacon in a paper towel, and several strawberries cut into little hearts with the chocolate dip to the side.
"Thank you" I breathe, and he smiles widely.