Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“I’m sure you would. Just last weekend, I was helping her with her garden—she has a little co-op greenhouse in the condo complex where she lives, so she can garden year-round—and she was whining at me that helping her plant tomatoes was the most I’d done in months outside of the hospital.”
“I’m sure it’s easy to let a job like that consume you.”
She nods. “It takes up quite a bit of energy, not to mention my time. Sometimes I’m on twelve-hour shifts. After that, all I want to do is melt into a puddle of goo in front of the TV before passing out on my couch.”
I creep my hand across the table until I can lay it over Alissa’s.
Sparks. Fireworks. A goddamned rainbow of emotions exploding into multicolored confetti in my brain. Just from touching her soft skin.
I almost draw my hand back at the physical reaction from our touch, but I keep myself steadily in position.
Alissa’s eyes widen. Does she feel it too?
“I understand what you mean,” I say after my heart has slowed down a bit. “Of course, I don’t work in a hospital. I’m not working to heal the sick and wounded. I can’t imagine what kind of energy that takes. But running the haberdashery on my own—all the up-front business as well as the paperwork behind the scenes—it’s enough to drain the life out of you.”
“I’m sure that’s true. I could never imagine running my own business, Maddox. You don’t have any employees at all?”
“No one full time. I hire an accountant to go over my books every tax season, and I’ll usually find a temp to man the shop if I ever have to go out of town for an extended period of time, but that’s about it. I inherited the building, but everything else in that shop, from the inventory to the décor, is all me.”
She smiles at me. “Absolutely fascinating. At the hospital, I’m told when to show up, where to go, who to attend to. I realize it comes at a price, but having the kind of freedom and flexibility you get from running your own business must be wonderful.”
I nod. “It is wonderful.”
And I’m not lying. I love that shop. It’s a pain in my ass ninety percent of the time, but being able to work in my chosen field and stay out of the polluted swamp that is the Chicago political sphere is worth the extra time and toil.
But the joy I get from running the haberdashery—seeing a young man smile at himself in the mirror as his parents buy him his first suit, fitting a set of groomsmen into matching outfits to support their best friend as he walks down the aisle, even renting tuxedos at a steep discount to at-risk kids for prom night—none of it compares to the feeling I got when Alissa and I touched hands.
I’d sell the shop—hell, I’d burn it to the goddamned ground—for just ten seconds of that feeling.
Fuck.
I’m in trouble.
11
ALISSA
I’m glad Maddox grabbed my hand. I set it on the table on purpose and hoped he’d take the bait. Electricity pulsed through me when our fingers touched.
If this is what it feels like just to hold his hand, I can’t even begin to imagine what it will feel like when he kisses me. On my cheek, on my lips, on the most intimate parts of my body.
And then, when we finally go to bed together.
Maddox’s pants are tight-fitting and leave very little to the imagination. I can tell that he’s well-endowed, and that’s when he’s at rest. I can’t even begin to imagine what he’ll look like at full mast.
Of course, it’s only our first date. He’s already proved himself to be a gentleman, which normally I’d appreciate.
At the moment, though, I kind of wish he’d get on with it.
I’ve had two drinks. I usually stop at one. But something in me wanted to lower my inhibitions tonight. Maybe it’s this club. The colorful lights, the oddly dressed servers, the jazzy tunes lofting over from the Hearts section.
Or maybe it’s Maddox.
Most likely a bit of both.
I lean toward Maddox and squeeze his hand gently. “What kind of music do you like, Maddox?”
He chuckles. “I have something of an eclectic taste. I play a lot of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin on that old phonograph in the shop, but that’s more to match the vibe of the haberdashery. I listen to a lot of stuff. Alternative rock sometimes, occasionally I get the country bug. But my go-to choices are the music of the sixties and the seventies.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Like disco?”
He laughs. “I enjoy a good disco song here and there. One of my favorite bands is Earth, Wind and Fire. ‘Boogie Wonderland’ is a masterpiece and I’m not afraid to say it.”