Strange Love

When I woke up, it was getting dark again. I was beginning to become afraid that I would turn my days and nights around if I spent the night with Seth again. I heard typing in the bed next to me and noticed the glow from a computer.

Anna was clacking away on the keys. I rolled over and stretched. "New book?" My voice was thick from sleep.

"Something Nicholas said gave me the idea." She nodded, a pen sticking straight out of her mouth as she continued.

"Any calls?" I rubbed my eyes. They were quite angry with me for sleeping with contacts in again.

"You hear the phone ring?" She spoke almost bitterly.

No I hadn't. I had hoped that maybe I had slept through it. I sat up, sore again. Maybe another shower would relieve the tension. The clock read 5:13. "You want some dinner?"

Anna looked over at me. She looked much more revived from a day of sleep. Even though the room was dark I could see that her skin looked much less pale, and the darkness from under her eyes was gone. "Yeah. I'm starved. My lunch was cold when I woke up."

I smiled and forced my body out of bed. "Cool. Let's do it."

We only went down to the sports bar in the lobby for dinner. My fears crept back up before we had even shut the door to our room.

But, like every other night since coming to Portland, no one attacked and no one was around to stalk. I took it as an extra bad sign when I felt the fear climbing my spine and lodging a tiny bomb in my brain. With the fear, I not only felt that someone was watching me, but I also knew that Seth was nowhere near.

The night was silent as Anna and I both subconsciously checked our cell phones for missed calls. Even though neither of us wanted to be reminded of the missing phone calls, we couldn't help but talk about the night before.

No matter how hard I tried to forget about Seth over a club sandwich or over an episode of

House

, his sexy smile and soft lips were always at the forefront of my mind. I was frustrated when I received no call, but when Anna hadn't either; we both agreed that maybe the filming ran very late. After all, when we went to bed it was nearly two in the morning. I tossed and turned that night. The eyes were boring into me even while I slept. When I opened my eyes, many times that night, no one was in the room, nor was anyone standing on the outside ledge peering into the windows.

When I closed my eyes I saw Seth, but with those indescribable green eyes. He was always flashing me smiles underneath his thick eyelashes and eyebrows.

The next morning came agonizingly slowly. Before I had the chance to open my eyes I heard the shower running. I had rescheduled the signing for one o'clock and the clock told me it was eleven. I had slept in. I reached over to the nightstand and grabbed my phone; I had missed all three of my alarms. I anxiously hit cancel; hopping that on the other end of those three would be a missed call. There were none.

I grumbled to myself about worthless Irish people, "It's no wonder my family moved away from Ireland. Women were sick of waiting for the damn Irish men all the time."

I put my contacts in, grumbling the whole time when Anna swung the shower down open, apparently grumbling to herself, as well.

"No calls?" I bit back a laugh when she scowled at me.

"No." She flipped her head upside down and began wringing her hair out.

"Well, let me jump in the shower and see if we can get some lunch before your thing." I mumbled, but a little more optimistic since she still had not heard from Nicholas.

The shower felt much better than it had the day before. I was not as sore, something that made me feel even more eager to have another visit from Seth. The shower did not sting my private spots, and I was not riddled with anxieties that Seth would be in the next room readying himself to take off.

Around noon we were both ready to hit the road. With the best intentions, we discussed going back to the same bar after the signing that we met Seth and Nicholas in.

We grabbed some McDonald's and headed straight for the little bookstore. It was cute and a tad bigger than an average

Starbucks

. Cars had already filled the parking lot, and we were surprised to see a line of women winding outside of the store.

"They can't be for us." Anna gawked.

"You weren't on the top twenty bestsellers list for twelve weeks just because it has a pretty cover." I reminded her, trying to keep the awe from my face as well.

Anna and I had both dressed cutely just in case we ran into the boys back at the bar that night. Even though the wind whipped at a chilling 45 degrees, I had slipped into my most professional looking black skirt and an orange ribbed turtleneck. My boots had a slight heel on them and were laced up my ankles.

Anna wore a brown skirt with a long-sleeved light blue shirt and black leather "fuck me" boots, as we had titled them, even though they didn't go as high as most that type.

As we got out of the car a soft murmur came over the line of women. It was always a true stereotype: women went gaga over romance stories. Sadly, that was what Anna's first book had been labeled by

Rolling Stone

and

Entertainment Weekly

. She hadn't been happy when the reviews came out, until she noticed that they were given thumbs up and people, mostly women of course, had begun buying it, and loving it.

I reached into the backseat and pulled out my briefcase full of paperwork, and the pens Anna preferred. She leaned over and grabbed our sodas from McDonald's.

When we passed the line of women, no one said anything to us. It wasn't much of a surprise since the picture Anna had included in the back of the jacket was a photograph she had taken of a flower.

"Good morning, Miss Tillman." An older woman with graying hair hurried over to us. She shook Anna's hand and then mine. "My name is Gale Florence. I'm the owner of

Book Nook

."

I glanced around the store. It was quite cozy. There were shelves lined up throughout the store. Seating areas, and window seats were scattered throughout and there was fresh "free" coffee at a bar by the front windows. The walls were mostly warm colors and the floor was wooden with many scattered throw rugs. I could tell she really took pride in her little store, and based on how well it was kept up, she must've made a fairly good living at it too. "Good morning Gale. I'm Sandy Belfour."

"Ms. Belfour, of course. How pleasant to finally meet you." Gale watched a woman walk around the store and slowly work her way up towards the register. Gale was dressed quite comfortably in jeans and a short-sleeved brown shirt. I couldn't get over how differently the people in Oregon dressed. When the customer finally got to the register, Gale excused herself to check her out.

"Are you here alone?" Anna asked as we followed her to the register counter. It was lifted a foot from the ground on a platform.

"Yes. My girl called in sick. Seems to be a lot of that going around, huh?" She glanced at Anna and I felt guilty for canceling the previous day. I should've told Anna I said she was sick with a head cold. I hoped she would play it cool, or Gale would feel the need to ask.

After she rung out she stepped back down to greet us. "It's usually just me and Sarah, I have two people that help on the weekends, but we're a small store so we get along well." She looked at Anna again, "How are you feeling today, Dear?"

"Much better, thank you. I'm sorry I had to cancel yesterday, I didn't realize that everything was planned so perfectly." Anna smiled sweetly.

"It's alright. We were quite lucky actually. All of our customers are on an e-mail listing, so we just sent out the change of date. More people were unaware of your signing than I realized, so more people found out about it this way." She smiled and pointed to a table in the back of the store near a door. "I set you up over there. Around 12:30 I'm going to let the people inside out of the cold, if that's alright with you."

"12:30 is fine." I answered for both of us. Anna nodded as the three of us walked towards the back.

"I have five boxes of your books in the backroom" She pointed to the door that was situated next to the table and chairs. "There are already two boxes of books out on the table."

"How much are you selling them for?" Anna asked. I was surprised at her boldness, but since this was a smaller private store compared to the chains I was a little curious as well.

"23.50, and they've been going like hotcakes for the last two months." She nodded excitedly.

"Wow." I nodded appreciatively. It was the cover price; I was impressed. However, most of the big chains liked to offer rewards programs where 40% was immediately knocked off.

"That's why when I saw that you were doing a book tour Sarah begged me to have you come." I felt another pang of guilt knowing the girl who had called in was the one that wanted us here. "She knew that so many of our regulars would want to meet you."

Another customer came into the store and Gale excused herself again. Anna and I looked at each other with guilty looks and then looked over the set up. They had a table and rather comfortable office chairs set out for us, along with a sign that read: Today Only! Meet Anna Tillman author of

Timeless Love

. Over the table was a gray tablecloth with her books piled high and a spot for cards and mailing list sign ups.

Gale returned with a big smile on her face. "Sandy if you wouldn't mind would you help me out a bit today?"

I groaned internally at the thought of working register. "Sure. With what?"

"Just going into the back room and getting more boxes of books when you need them. I'll be busy at the register once she starts signing the books."

"

Once

she starts signing books?" I repeated.

"My one rule with customers is that they must buy the book in order to have it signed. Everyone out there either is a first time buyer or loves the book so much they're willing to buy it a second time to meet you." Gale smiled and looked down at her watch.

"Yeah, I'd be happy to get the books for you." I smiled; relieved I would not be running the register at all. I glanced at Anna whose eyes were wide with fear. She must've been even more nervous knowing everyone had to buy the book.

I inhaled deeply, and enjoyed the scent of the coffee filling my nostrils. "I should let them in." Gale repeatedly looked at her watch.

"Okay. You ready?" I asked Anna. She nodded stiffly and started flexing her hand into a fist and stretching her wrist. "I'm gonna go get us some coffee. You okay?" Again she nodded and began to walk around the table to sit down.

I followed Gale to the front of the store, "If there's anything else you girls need, please let me know, but I'm going to be swamped so I can't check in on you."

"Sure thing." I waved to her as I walked over to the coffee station and made up two hot cups for us. As she told the customers they were free to come in, I noticed that there were quite a few different age groups represented.

I rushed back to the table, knowing that Anna would kill me if I left her alone at the beginning of this thing.

"I took your book out of the library and the whole time I read it I wished I was Kate. It's not fair how you ended it though, I mean couldn't you have told us if it would work out or not?" A college age girl gripped onto her new copy of the book.

"There's a new one in the works." Anna told another lady as she sent each one on their way. A few times I noticed her clench her hand and release it as a cramp tensed her.

I relaxed against the chair listening to the inane chatter, quite happy that this was not something that I had to deal with. I rolled my head back and forth stretching. All morning I had noticed the absence in my paranoia and was relishing in the freedom of my breathing and unclenched chest.

"How do you spell that?" Anna asked as she signed another book, I sipped the last of my coffee and looked around the row of bookshelves to see if there was an end in sight.

I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the chair. I felt the warmth of sleep falling over me when I heard Anna mention that she would need another box of books soon.

"I can't wait to read it." A smooth male voice spoke up. My eyes shot open and I looked across the table to see a breathtaking blond man looking at her. Next to him was a girl who could easily have been half a foot shorter than Anna, quite a feat.

The girl had dark shaggy hair and was dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark gray oversized sweater. A huge smile was on her face and I felt oddly at peace by her smile. She looked Anna over and then turned to me. Her stature made her look about fifteen but her face was clearly a bit older.

The man was dressed in nearly the same thing; his hair was slightly curled. His smile was bright and his soft golden eyes burned into Anna and then me. An instant smile spread to my lips. He continued, "Lost love is one of the most romantic and tragic things in life."

All I could do was nod. Anna's mouth hung agape as he looked back at her. "I do hope there's a happy ending."

The girl elbowed the guy and he looked at her. Anna closed her eyes- and mouth- and reached out for the book that he held in his hand. "You'll just have to read to see."

I sat forward in my chair and noticed some movement a few people back. I arched my head around the girl to see Seth excusing himself to the front of the line. My heart leapt when I saw him and I wrapped my fingers around the arms of the chair to make sure I wouldn't do the same.

"Oh, I will." The beautiful man smiled charmingly again, a slight twinkle in his eye. The woman remained silent, but her smile was bright and wide.

Seth came to the front of the line at last and froze when he spotted the two people before us. "Excuse me." He said to the girl very quietly and she smiled even wider as she stepped aside silently.

Seth smiled at me, and Anna's eyes shot from the man to me and then settled on Seth. She blinked a few times, confused, and looked back, "Who should I sign this to?"

Seth's shoulders tensed as he looked down at me. "Hi."

"Hi." I tried to repress my smile. I was so overjoyed to see him I had completely forgotten the missing phone calls the night before. Well, almost.

"Could you just write 'forever yours'" He purred almost. Seth turned to look at the man and woman. He turned back to me while I watched Anna scribble the inscription into the book and then sign her name. "Thanks for reading." She smiled back at him and watched as the two walked away. "Hi Seth."

"Sorry I didn't call." He ran his hands hurriedly through his hair. He turned to look at the man and woman walk away, then back to us.

"It's fine. We went out anyways." I told him. He didn't need to know that it was only downstairs, and then back up for a depressing night of television.

"How'd you find us?" Anna asked.

"Looked at your website. It's listed." Seth shrugged. He could've been lying. I didn't know the last time we had updated the site, but I didn't care. He looked phenomenal. He was wearing a light blue shirt with blue pinstripes. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and he had a black cuff on his left wrist. Tan khakis hung from his hips, but the shirt was untucked so I didn't get to enjoy his waist- or butt.

"Was he really the one?" I heard a woman ask Anna. She nodded and leaned over the table, "But who knows if it'll last?" She smiled wickedly and signed the book. She glanced over at me and then back up at Seth, "I still need those books. I'm down to ten."

"Okay. I'll go get them." I stood. Seth's eyes traveled down over my body and I felt a blush coming on.

"I'll help you." He whispered, more Irish sounding than when he spoke normal pitched. He rounded the table and I could feel his eyes take a lengthy look at me from the back. I pushed open the door that was adjacent to the table and walked into the dark storeroom.

I felt along the wall for a light switch when I felt the heat from Seth's body close to my back. I shuddered from the sudden warmth as I found the switch and flicked on the lights. The room was almost as big as the store itself and was full of boxes. I scanned the titles written on each box, not taking a second look at Seth.

When I felt his hands on my waist turning me I took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry I didn't call you." He repeated.

We were halfway into the storeroom. I leaned against a stack of books and crossed my arms in front of my chest, blocking him. He lowered his hands from my waist feeling my rebuttal.

"It was a really busy day yesterday." He stressed. "We shot in my den for almost five hours and then went down into the garage and filmed for like seven hours. I didn't even get home until after midnight."

I kept my mouth shut contemplating what he said. That's what Anna and I had agreed on. The filming went late. "That's fine." I lied.

He relaxed his shoulders a little and looked me over.

"Why didn't you call today? You could've saved yourself a trip." I sighed, dropping my arms.

"I needed to get Anna's book." He shrugged his shoulders and slyly smiled.

"It would've been nice, I miss-" I cut myself off. He looked up at me though his thick lashes. A smirk spread across his face.

Shit

. Me and my big mouth.

"You missed me?" He stated more than questioned.

"No," I snarled. "I

mis

took you not calling, to mean something else."

"No." He came closer to my body. "You were going to say you missed me."

I shuddered again when I felt the heat of his body against mine. He pushed me into the boxes of books. They seemed to be less absorbent than the brick wall at the bar. He coked his head and grazed his nose against my jaw line. I clenched my jaw shut so that my teeth wouldn't begin to chatter from the chills he was sending through my body.

"You smell lovely." He complimented me like the day before. I hadn't even put perfume on today, so he was smelling me naturally- and loving it.

He inhaled along my jaw and down to my neck. I let out an audible "oh."

His lips followed the same trail his nose took down until he laid the softness of them on the corner of my mouth. He backed away and looked down into me with his coal colored eyes. "Your eyes are so dark."

He closed them and leaned in for a kiss. I moved my head back without much success; he had caught my lips too quickly. The warmth from his lips burned my skin, but my lips ached for him. They had been separated for too long.

His tongue soon traced the outside of my lips and I gave into the kiss, curling my arms around his neck. My one hand played with the back of his hair very gently while the other one slid inside his collar. His kiss was urgent. There was a need to it that I hadn't felt the previous two days. I wanted to break away and ask him what was wrong, but instead he pushed deeper in. His hands found my waist and jumped me up onto the stack of boxes behind me.

I gasped when I felt him nuzzle his hips between my legs. My skirt hiked up the tiniest bit as he pushed against my underwear.

His lips broke away from mine and began to travel in tender kisses down my neck. I arched my neck giving him full access to the tenderest skin on my body. Every kiss he laid down left electrifying pulses there, tingling down to a cramping in my stomach.

I pushed my thighs forward and met his thighs straight on. If he wanted me, I wanted him to know he could have me. I watched his eyelids as his eyes moved beneath them in concentration. His fingers dug into the soft skin on my hips as he kissed his way back up to my mouth. A small groan emitted from him and I felt a slow pressure greeting my panties.

I smiled against his mouth when I realized I had just felt him grow an arousal. Suddenly I was wet with want. My hand moved from inside his collar down his chest. He sighed into me as I touched his body with sensual slow strokes.