Bookstore Barbie (Magnolia Ridge #1) - Alexa Riley Page 0,11

up there with “good girl.” One cop lets out a sigh while the other mumbles about getting his pad from his cruiser.

Shaw’s jaw ticks and I can tell he’s pissed about their response but doesn't say anything.

I sit down at my desk when they come back and I answer questions. Shaw hovers over me the whole time. It doesn't take long, and they’re out the door after a few minutes.

“I’m going to order us something to eat and then I’ll get to work. Pizza wasn't my ideal first meal for us but this date has had a couple of disasters so that’s working in my favor.” He winks at me, making me laugh. “I really am sorry about the books. I’ll get it cleaned up quickly.”

He pulls me close and before I can react, his lips gently graze mine. I’m far from mad at him.

I let out a small sigh, enjoying his touch and what it does to my body. I try to deepen the kiss but he pulls back.

“We know how that will end up. How do you take your pizza?” he asks, taking a step back. He gives Romeo a long rub down his back and I’m suddenly jealous of my cat.

“I like all pizza,” I admit. “Breadsticks too.”

“My kind of girl.” He pulls out his phone to call the local pizza shop down the street and places an order. I stand from my chair and assess the chaos that is now my bookstore. Shaw’s hand comes to my hip and his body presses into mine from behind. “Relax, I got it.”

“I’m not going to let you clean this up alone.”

“Why don’t you go pack a bag? We'll get this sorted while we eat and then head to my place.”

“What?” Why are we going to his place? I’m not saying no, I’m just a little surprised with how forward he is about it.

“Never mind, we’ll stay here instead. You won’t want to leave your place unlocked with no one here. Not with that nut job next door.” I shake with laughter because Missy is a nut job.

“You’re staying here?”

“I’m not leaving my girl in a place that won’t lock overnight.” I like the sound of that.

I think I’m actually happy about my busted lock now that it means I’m going to have Shaw all night.

Chapter Six

Shaw

The soft heat pressing against my cheek makes me smile. But when I feel the tickle of fur I open one eye to see Romeo sitting on my chest.

“This is not the pussy I was hoping to wake up to,” I mumble to him and I swear he winks at me before he hops off my chest and walks out of the tiny living room.

I try to stretch but my arms and legs are sore from sleeping on Barbie’s couch last night.

It took a long time for me to get the bookshelves back up and in place. Luckily I had some tools in my truck to bolt them down, which she agreed should have been done when they were installed. She used a cheap crew and they cut corners on a lot of the work. She’s lucky it didn’t happen while someone was on the other side of the aisle from us because they could have been seriously hurt.

While I worked on the bookshelves she organized all the books. We talked a lot while we worked side by side and it was something I’d never thought could be romantic. I learned all about her love for romance and every now and then she would hold up a book and tell me how much she loved it.

After we got everything mostly put away we had a picnic on the floor of pizza and room temp sodas. We talked for hours about everything you can think of like movies and music. But mostly we talked about books. I didn’t think you could learn so much about a person based on what they read, but even talking about childhood books together somehow bonded us in a way I’ve never been before. It’s like we were sharing the same secret when we talked about how we read Bridge to Terabithia when we were nine and cried at the end of it.

The sun was coming up when we finally got up from our picnic and we walked upstairs to her place. It was small but exactly the place I would have pictured her living. There was one bedroom with a full-size bed and a living room attached to