back up his nose and made a sound that could only be classified as chortling. Unabashedly gleeful chortling.
Ronan dragged his hand across his left cheek, unsure whether that made it better or worse, because now his arm was sticky, too. “Score one, llama.”
Lily looked smug as hell, her deep black eyes fringed by white eyelashes trained steadily on him. Her ears stuck straight up, flicking like she was keeping close tabs on everything around her. Her bottom teeth stuck out a little and might fool one into thinking she was cute, if a little derpy.
But Lily was not cute.
“That wasn’t very nice, but I get it. You’re feeling threatened.”
Lily brayed as if to say: no, I’m not! But llamas weren’t inherently aggressive…were they? Ronan held his hand out, allowing her to sniff him. That’s what he’d always done with dogs, and it seemed to work. And really, besides the occasional interaction with a friendly canine on the street, his experience with animals was zip.
“We can be friends,” he said to the llama. She sniffed the back of his hand and tossed her head again. “Please don’t spit on me.”
Thankfully, she didn’t. This time she nudged his hand with her nose and stomped her feet. What the hell was that supposed to mean? He took another step forward, and the llama shifted, her rear knocking into a bookcase so that it rattled precariously.
“I think she’s stuck.” Ronan skirted into the aisle closest to the llama and tried to see if he could move some of the shelving.
The entire bookstore was made up of single, mismatched bookshelves that looked as though they’d been rescued from charity shops and estate sales and front lawns. That meant none of it was bolted together. Talk about a safety hazard. Between all the paper in this store, the loose shelving, and the dust…this place was a 911 call waiting to happen.
You can worry about getting crushed to death after you’ve avoided being spit on…again.
Bracing his shoulder against one of the shelves, Ronan tried to nudge it forward. The damn thing didn’t budge. Clearly he needed to get back in the gym. Sucking in a breath, he tried again, and this time the unit moved a few inches.
Lily stomped her feet.
“Don’t get mad. I’m trying to help you.” He heaved again and budged the shelf a few more inches.
It was enough that Lily could turn, whereas before she’d only been able to move forward. Or potentially backward…could llamas walk backward? Add that to the list of things he didn’t know. Thankfully, the animal took the opportunity to swing herself around, knocking more books over in the process and heading back the way she’d came. On her way out, she tossed her head and kicked back at the doorframe in some kind of parting shot.
…
Audrey was about to call out for Ronan to keep watch on Lily, because she’d been known to zigzag across the road, putting herself and others at risk. But as Ronan disappeared, following the llama out the bookshop’s only entry and exit, she heard the sound of Lily’s owner out front.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Audrey crept out from behind her protective wall of books. Mr. Hart was standing behind his desk, a frown on his wrinkled old face. “I hope you and your boyfriend are going to clean up this mess, missy.”
“He’s not my…” She sighed and shook her head. “Of course, Mr. Hart.”
There was no point trying to correct the man—most days he didn’t remember anyone’s name, let alone who’d been in and out of his store. Hell, he might not remember Lily being in here, and then he’d wonder if a tornado had blown through. It was sad, really. She remembered the excitable, bespectacled man who somehow knew every single book in this place and the exact person who should read it.
Kneeling down in front of the desk, she started collecting the books and putting them back into piles, having no idea if there was any rhyme or reason to the order. A second later, Ronan walked back through the door. He had a wad of tissues in his hand and was cleaning up his face.
“I met Lily’s owner,” he said with a slight frown.
Audrey stifled a smile and kept about her work. “First impressions?”
“They’re perfectly suited.”
She snorted. “Truer words have never been spoken. Devon Huxley is, uh…efficient in his personal dealings.”
“Meaning he likes dealing with people to be over as quickly as possible?” He shoved the tissues into his back