Kincaid watched with amusement as he scrambled to extract himself from the too-small-for-a-seventeen-year-old reading nook, all long limbs and jabbing elbows. Shelves rattled behind him.

“Dammit, KC,” he said, getting to his feet and quickly turning his back to her as he pretended to check the state of the tent. “What the hell are you doing, sneaking up like that? You left, like, half an hour ago.”

She rocked onto her toes, trying to get her eyes on the book he’d been reading. “I forgot my backpack. I thought I left it over here. I didn’t mean to…interrupt.”

“Well, damn, give a guy some warning. What if I’d thought you were an intruder? I could’ve hurt you.” He shoved the book he’d been reading onto a shelf next to Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. The cartoon pigeon on the cover looked scandalized.

“How? By throwing a dirty book at me?” she teased, stepping closer.

“It’s not a—”

Kincaid snagged the paperback from the shelf and flipped it over to get a closer look at the cover. She smiled at the sexy, open-shirted duke on the cover. “Wow, look at you. Mr. Thriller Reader is branching out. The cover got ya, huh? I don’t blame you. Look at those abs. Ooh-la-la.”

Ash grunted, keeping his back to her. “I didn’t choose it for the abs. We’re supposed to read as much stock as we can so that we can make accurate recommendations. These are popular. I’m being a diligent employee.”

Kincaid nodded. “Of course. Ash Isaacs working overtime. Such a model employee. Reading naughty scenes and getting all hot and bothered in the kids’ section. Someone give this boy a raise.”

Ash groaned and finally turned around to face her, blue eyes wary behind his dark-rimmed glasses. “You’re like a dog with a bone, Breslin. You know, a normal person would just politely ignore the situation and change the subject.”

She smirked. “Good thing I’m not normal. And are you really going to throw the word bone out there right now? Also, did you just call your junk a situation? Because you’re making this too easy.” She eyed the edge of the book to see where the space between pages was obvious and opened to the part he’d been reading. “So what turns the book snob’s crank?” She started reading. “‘William ran his tongue along Isabella’s sweet—’”

Ashton plucked the book from her hands before she could get to the scandalous part and tucked it under his arm. “You’re not old enough for this one, KC.” He grabbed the pigeon book and handed it to her. “This may be more your speed. That pigeon is nothing but trouble. You’ll have a lot in common.”

Kincaid laughed and put the children’s book back on the shelf. Ash was only three months older than she was, and she’d bet every penny of her meager savings that she was more experienced. Ash hadn’t had a girlfriend in the three years since they’d worked together at the bookstore, and before that, he’d only briefly dated Harmony Johnson freshman year. And dating seemed like a strong word for what that had involved—a few trips to the movies and the homecoming dance.