He dropped his camera and looked at me. “No.”
“May I ask what you’re doing, then?”
He held up his camera. “Taking pictures. Is that a crime?”
I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if a tourist was just taking pictures of the shop. It was a historical building, and a cute one at that. The brick structure was four stories tall. Each window was framed with blue shutters, and the front of the store had a large picture window with a big display of books. An awning, the same color as the shutters, stretched over the window and read Turning Pages. Red double doors served as the entrance of the bookstore, with the word Books painted above, leftover from the original shop. A large red maple tree stood at one side of the bookstore, while another tree—maybe a cherry—stood next to the bench.
I smiled. “No, it’s not a crime. Sorry, my…” Er, what was Greer to me? Was it too early to call her my girlfriend? I went with the safe route. “A good friend of mine owns this bookstore and lives upstairs. I guess I just got a little cautious, that’s all.”
The man raised a brow. “I see. Well, no worries. They’re for the appraisal, that’s all.”
That caught my attention. “The appraisal? Appraisal for what?”
The guy shrugged. “No clue. I was hired to take pictures of the outside of the building, so that’s what I’m doing. Have a good evening, sir.”
He pulled the camera from around his neck and put it in a camera bag. Before I could even think of another question, he was walking down the street.
I rubbed at the back of my neck. “Something’s not right here,” I whispered to myself. I walked up to the door and started to ring the bell, when it suddenly opened and I came face to face with Candace. Her warm brown eyes took me in, and she nodded as if giving me her approval.
“Hey, Candace. How are you this beautiful evening?”
A wide smile spread over her face. “I’m doing amazingly well. How are you, Hudson?”
“Feeling pretty amazing myself.”
“Uh-huh. I’m sure you are. You can head on up. Greer’s waiting for you, and the door is unlocked.”
I glanced past her and up the flight of steps. “I don’t need to let her know I’m here?”
She shook her head. “Nope, she knows you’re…um…on your way up.”
Her cheeks turned a soft shade of red. Clearing her throat, she lifted her hand. “Enjoy your dinner tonight.”
“Thanks, Candace. See you around.”
She turned and walked backward as she waved. “I hope so!”
I started up the steps and reached for the doorknob. I didn’t feel comfortable simply walking in, so I knocked.
“Come in!” Greer called out.
Twisting the knob, I opened the door and called out her name. “Greer?”
“In the kitchen!” came her reply.
I made my way toward the kitchen—and came to an abrupt halt when I saw her. Greer was reaching up to hook a pot on the rack that hung above the island. She had on a white sweater that looked like cashmere. I wanted to touch it and find out if it was as soft as it looked. My dick jumped in my pants at the small bit of her stomach that peeked out when she stretched to hook the pan onto the rack. She stepped around the island, and I let my gaze take in every inch of her, slowly.
Black skinny jeans hugged her curves, and I felt myself struggling to swallow, my mouth instantly going dry. She had on black-heeled ankle boots, and her hair was pulled up into a bun with pieces of it framing her face in loose curls. Her makeup was light, but more than what she normally wore. A pair of silver earrings with a pearl-like ball at the end hung down near her neck and caught the light from above when she tilted her head and looked at me.
She was beautiful. No, she was more than beautiful. She was stunning, breathtaking. Unbelievably gorgeous. How was this woman single, and how fucking lucky was I that I got to walk over and pull her into my arms and kiss her?
“You…look…beautiful.”
A blush covered her cheeks. “Thank you.”
She did a quick sweep of my body with her eyes. I had on dark jeans and a gray sweater. When she licked her lips, my knees nearly buckled out from under me.
It only took me a few steps to reach her. When I did, I placed my hands on her hips and pulled her body flush against mine. I brought my hand up to cradle her cheek gently. “I want to kiss you.”
Her eyes flashed with desire. “Please do.”
Leaning down, I softly brushed my lips over hers and then sucked her lower lip into my mouth. She giggled before I released her and gave her a proper kiss.