7. Seven

Seven

Ollie

B o had been moments away from kissing me on the beach, and I had no idea why I hadn't just gone along with it, but turned away.

Perhaps because he's your guest, and you said you wouldn't shag on the job?

That I was desperate for him to kiss me and finally taste his lips on mine did absolutely nothing for my morale. I linked my hands behind my back to keep myself from reaching out and grabbing his hand. Yet his presence drew me like a powerful magnet attracting a shoddy piece of metal.

When we passed an ice cream parlour, Bo stopped in his tracks.

"Ollie, look! Do you think we can have ice cream?" he asked me, a hopeful gleam in his mossy green eyes.

"Of course, yeah." For a moment, I wanted to ask him why he was asking me for permission. You're an adult, Bo. You can have anything you want. Me too, if you ask nicely.

We approached the counter, Bo ducking down a little to inspect the little signs with the flavours. "Hi, what can I get you?" the server asked him in a chipper voice.

"Uh, hi, can I have two scoops of mint chocolate chip, please?"

She nodded, shovelling two massive scoops of the green ice cream with dark chocolate chips into his cone and popping it in the little holder. Then she turned to me.

"And for you?"

"Raspberry, just one scoop, and can I get some sprinkles, please?"

"You're gonna have whipped cream, too?" Bo gave me a cheeky side-eye glance.

"I don't like that kind of whipped cream," I shot back.

Oh my God, where did that come from?

Bo stared at me for a moment, before throwing his head back and laughing his ass off. "Nice one, ?lskling. Do you want me to ask what kind of whipped cream you would prefer?" he asked under his breath, still laughing as he accepted his ice cream, and handed the server a twenty crown bill, indicating that it was okay and tipping her about a hundred percent.

He didn't flounder about the fact that he had more than enough money, but was one of the most generous people I had ever met. I liked that.

We wandered past the dozens of tiny shops lining the long high street of Port Cillean, munching our treats.

"The Page Sage is just down this street." I pointed down one of the smaller alleys. "It's okay if you don't want to go there. We can just walk on."

"What? No, that's the book shop you told me about, right? Of course, we need to go in. You said you loved reading."

Please stop being this bloody adorable already?!

I hadn't been in relationships with many people—and no, this totally wasn't even close to one—but not one of my previous partners had ever taken my love for reading seriously. Had they called it a dorky hobby? Yes. Had they made me feel like shit for spending so much time in fictional worlds and ‘not even reading anything substantial'? You bet.

"Okay," I mumbled, stuffing the rest of my cone into my mouth and wiping my hands on a tissue, before we entered the bookshop.

God, I loved the smell of new books paired with the lingering scent of coffee.

"Welcome to The Page Sage," Ruby, the owner, greeted us. Her bright eyes hung briefly on Bo, then lit up even more when she recognised me. "Hi Ollie, it's good to see you again. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good. How are you? It's good to see you, too. Bo, this is Ruby, she owns the shop."

He gave her a little wave. Professional hockey dude Bo August Persson, looking momentarily shy and apprehensive, was the cutest thing I had ever seen.

"Hey! It's great to have you here. It's your first time, right?"

"Yes," he rumbled, running a broad hand through his long, dirty blond tangles.

"Sorry, it makes me so happy to have new customers here. If you need anything, I'll be happy to help, yeah? But I think Ollie can show you the ropes." Ruby winked. "Want a cup of coffee?"

"Yes, thanks!" we both blurted out together, then locked eyes and shared a grin.

The owner huffed a little under her breath and busied herself with the coffeemaker.

"Come on, let's see what's new." I led Bo to the back of the shop, trailing my hands over the rows upon rows of spines, already hating that I couldn't take all of them home. They were made to be read, and enjoyed, not to gather dust here. "One day, babies," I whispered, as if they could hear me.

"What's going to happen one day, Ollie?" I stopped and turned around. Bo leaned against the side of an archway I had just passed through, the one leading to the romance section.

Fitting. He's also amazing at the boyfriend lean. And so bloody tall.

I wandered back to where he stood, my gaze lingering on my hand, brushing over the spines. "One day I'll take not just one or two, but a whole bunch of them home." I was right before him when I looked up. "They're not meant to be gathering dust on a shop shelf."

Bo straightened and gazed at me as if he'd just spotted some ice cream clinging to my face.

"Pick whatever you like. My treat."

"What?" I almost shouted before getting my voice back under control. "What?" I repeated quietly, gaping up at him, unsure if I had heard him right.

"I want to say thank you for this wonderful day, Ollie. So pick any book you like. Ten, a hundred, thousand. However many you find. Why wait until ‘one day'?"

"You can't be serious, Bo." I laughed it off, ready to move on, but a firm hand gripped my forearm and pulled me close to his chest. His other hand came up to cup my cheek, thumb trailing my cheekbone.

"Dead serious," he rasped, inhaling a deep breath, and softly brushed the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip. "I want you to be my good boy and take a good look around. And then I want you to let me buy you every single book you fancy."

His good boy.

I had no idea why my eyelids were so hard to keep from fluttering shut. The stubborn fuckers closed over my eyes, and the next thing I knew was Bo's mouth was on mine.

A little gasp sounded between us as he gently coaxed my lips open, and gave me the most perfect first kiss of my life.

"Hej," Bo whispered as we backed out of each other's faces, an adorable smile on his lips.

Stop wooing me with your Troll magic!

Then he was back, kissing me softly on the mouth and heaving a deep sigh when he retreated. "I could kiss you all day. But right now, I want you to go crazy. Buy the entire shop, the sky's the limit. Understood?"

"Yes, I'll be a good boy and pick a few books. I'll get some for you, too," I told him with all the fake bravado I could muster. Something dark and hot clouded his eyes when I called myself a good boy.