If I had to be in this hellhole, at least I got to see Rainier’s face when I told him I was his co-worker for the day. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. It was so funny. I was not even offended by the blatant horror on his face.

His already pale skin looked a couple of shades lighter, which made his dark hair an even starker contrast than usual. I could see how wide his eyes were, even behind the thick-framed glasses he wore. He didn’t look at me while he cleaned up a mess on the ground and didn’t ask me to put books on the shelves. He didn’t even ask me to wait on the very few customers that came in during our shift.

It seemed that Rainier was doing everything in his power to avoid me and I loved it. I’d flipped through some fashion magazines Dad had on the front counter. I didn’t think people bought magazines anymore. Why pay for something so bulky, when the same things could be found online for free? Of course, I didn’t think people bought books either. And yet, here I was, working in my father’s bookstore.

Thankfully, it was a small store tucked away on the far end of the mall in Boise. I didn’t think any of my friends would come in, but the fact that it was so far off from the good stores, made me more confident in keeping my anonymity.

Between The Pages was a small bookstore my dad started before I was born. It would never compete with the bigger places that had at least five times the amount of space.

The green carpet was not only worn, but looked like it was at least thirty years old. The fluorescent lighting did nothing for anyone’s appearance, and the soft instrumental music playing in the background sounded like it was stolen from an elevator. The place was a joke.

For some reason, my dad was attached to it, even though I knew he barely broke even on it. I couldn’t understand why he held onto it, but it didn’t matter. I was stuck here, at least for the summer. After that, I was going to have to find a way to make sure I never stepped foot into this rinky-dink place again.

My phone buzzed.

Aves: How’s my sexy librarian doing?

Me: If you tell anyone!

Aves: Relax. Nobody cares if you’re working at your dad’s bookstore. Stop overreacting.

I took a selfie with my middle finger front and center and sent it to her.

Aves: Anyway…. wanna hang out tonight? I want to see you before I leave.

Me: Sure. Want to come over and swim?

I hit send before thinking. My skin still stung from the sunburn. I hoped Avery would suggest something else.

Aves: Carter is playing tonight. I thought we could watch him play.

Ugh. Okay, anything but that. I did not want to be the third wheel to her and Mr. Guitar Hero. They couldn’t keep their mouths to themselves. Plus, Wild Bill’s smelled like the love child of a dumpster and an ashtray. The last time I went with Avery, my favorite flats were completely trashed because some drunk guy spilled his beer all over my feet.

Me: I’m not going.

I waited for her response, but when I didn’t hear back for several minutes, I assumed she didn’t have anything else to say. Whatever.

I looked up from my phone and watched Rainier. He was walking around the store quickly putting books away. The glasses he wore kept sliding down his nose while he fought a losing battle. He would push them back up with his shoulder, since his hands were full, but they always fell back down. One time, Rainier ended up dropping a stack of what looked like romance novels, and I barely held my laughter back.

Fine. I didn’t hold it back at all. I laughed, and he caught me, earning a glare. I just smiled and gave a little wave of my fingers. He was such a dork, and I could only hope I wouldn’t be stuck working with him every day. Even Jenny would be better than this.

My phone buzzed again.

Aves: Just come tonight.

Me: I’ll go next time.

Aves: This is the last chance before I leave for Mexico.

Me: Then I’ll go when you get back.

Aves: You can be so selfish sometimes.

I put my phone down with more force than I intended. I wasn’t mad, not really. Avery had a point, but I really didn’t want to go out. I looked up just in time to see Rainier walking back to the counter to grab more books.

“Why are you running around like a chicken with its head cut off anyway?” I asked, when he got closer.

“It’s my job,” he said, barely making eye contact with me as he looked at the spines of the different books in his hand and began organizing them. He tapped against the books in a repeating pattern.

“Yeah, I get that.”

“Do you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He set the books on the counter and looked at me. “Nothing, but I have plans tonight, and I need to make sure I finish everything before I go.”

“Dungeons and Dragons?” I teased.

“Something like that. Can you just… Just tell me if someone comes in and needs help, okay?”

“Sure thing, Mr. Manager,” I said with a wink, which earned me a slight blush. He didn’t say anything in response, just continued with his work.

Just a couple more hours and I was out of here. I was not looking forward to a summer full of customers. Customers like the woman walking up to the counter. Rainier had just walked off when I spotted her coming in my direction. She was a mousy looking thing with a small stack of books. When I looked closer, I could see they were romance novels.

How pathetic did you have to be to read stuff like that?

“You’re not buying these, are you?” I asked when she set four books on the counter. The one on top had a woman in a beautiful green dress that was falling off her shoulder, while the man on the cover was shirtless. I snorted.

The woman’s face turned red. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“You mean besides being pathetic? How about it gives women unrealistic expectations about love?” I pointed down at the books.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the books on the counter and the entrance to the store, and it looked like she was about to cry. I wondered if she would walk out before buying them and knew my dad would have a lot to say about that if he ever found out. I started to open my mouth to apologize when Rainier interrupted.

“Mrs. Bristol,” Rainier said in a friendly tone. “How are you today?”

She quickly blinked away any tears that were forming and smiled at him. I also noticed her blush was back. Interesting. This woman had to be in her thirties or forties. “Hi, Rainier.”

“I didn’t see you come in or I would have pulled out the new Tessa Dare book I hid behind the counter for you. I know how much you love her.”

The woman pointed to the counter where her books sat. “I grabbed one from the shelf with a few others.”

Rainier looked to the books on the counter, up to me and back to Mrs. Bristol taking in the scene. When his gaze met my face for the second time, he narrowed his eyes. “Michelle, would you mind taking this?” He held a book up in his hand.

“Why?” I asked, crossing my arms. Like he had any right to tell me what to do.

A deep sigh escaped his lips, and I think he may have even whispered something under his breath before walking up to the register. Rainier rang up the books that were sitting on the counter, while he and the older woman exchanged pleasantries. It sounded like she was a regular who came in every week looking for more romance. And Rainier acted like this wasn’t the most pathetic thing ever.

Which of course it was.

They talked for a couple of minutes before she left. The smile that was on Rainier’s face through the entire transaction fell the moment he turned his head to face me.

“I told you to get me if someone came in.”

“Technically she was here before you said that.”

“You know what I meant. I’m pretty sure that woman single-handedly keeps this business going. It might be best not to alienate her.”

“We both know this is the weakest link in my dad’s chain of businesses. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if it closed.”

“To Mrs. Bristol, it might be. She loves coming in. Ever since her husband died, she took up reading. This is one of the highlights of her week.”

“Are you sure you’re not the highlight of her week.”

“She’s a widow. Cut her some slack. Not everything has to be a joke, you know. Sometimes it’s nice just to be nice to other human beings. You should try it.”

“You did not just say that to me,” I argued, feeling my temper rise. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I’ve heard enough. Plus, between the way you just treated a poor woman trying to buy books from you and the way you’ve sat here doing nothing all day, I've seen enough.”

“Wait until I tell my dad what you said.”

“Tell him, Michelle. If telling his spoiled brat daughter that she’s not in line for some humanitarian award costs me my job, so be it. But I’d like to think your dad is better than that.”

“Better than me, you mean?”

He looked down at his watch and back up at me. “We close in an hour. Can we just ignore each other until then? I’m not asking you to do anything except let me do my job.”

I sat back down in the little chair behind the counter. “Fine by me.”

I didn’t move from that spot until the last customer left and the last dollar was counted from the register and put into the safe under the counter.

I didn’t lift a finger just like Rainier asked.