You Are Mine Little Sister (by Syra Tucker) novel Chapter 181

Her jaw unhinged a fraction; a comma hung between us.

"f you back out, you're admitting you know I can do it."

Her lips moved without sound, as if the words were shy. She didn't even know how to handle conversations like this.

"Okay," she whispered in the end, under her breath.

It was reckless. I hadn't read for pleasure in too long. I didn't even know how I ended up in this conversation with Rali. Simply because I wanted to keep hearing her talk, I'd agreed to a life sentence.

"I'll just get some baskets to put the books."

Her eyes brushed mine—half a heartbeat, less than a second—and still it did something unreal to my system, like a switch flipped under my ribs.

"Your colleagues."

She stopped, facing me again.

"How much have they sold?"

Her brows knit. "Um... The highest is ninety."

I nodded once. "Can I get a hundred and eighty books, then?"

Confusion returned to her eyes, loosening her jaw.

"I'm—I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm trying to help with the task."

Fear crept into her eyes. Fuck, what did I do? Why was she afraid?

Alarms went off in my head.

"There are people I'd sell them to," I added quickly. "I'd actually be making a profit."

That seemed to do the trick. The fear in her eyes unspooled into something safer.

"A—Are you sure you'll be able to sell them? You'll be spending a lot of money, you know?"

Funny. I could buy the entire bookstore and my accountant wouldn't bother sending a text.

"This is business to me. There's nothing to worry about."

Her eyes twinkled. For the first time since I walked in, I saw genuine happiness in her.

"T—Thank you. So much." She dipped her head.

Happily, she went off to get the baskets. While she packed my order, my hands kept itching to gather her hair and inhale. It may not smell like bubblegum, but I'd take whatever it offered.

A while later, the boot of my car swallowed bag after bag. Her colleagues who had helped carry some bags stood behind while I said my goodbyes to my favorite sales rep.

"Thank you so much, sir. This means a lot." That was the fourth time she was thanking me.

I laughed, staring down at my shoes.

Today was a good one. Even the boss was greatly impressed when she heard about it.

"Tell me, how did you do it? Managed to convince him to get all those books. Does he have a village he plans to distribute to?"

"He said he has people he could resell to. I was equally surprised, you know."

"Uh-huh. Well, when you collect your prize, remember your favorite coworker." She waggled her brows.

"He was hot, you know. How did it feel talking to him?"

I searched for the answer and found two truths: he was absurdly handsome. The moment I laid eyes on him, I understood why my colleagues had been gushing from the window. He had the kind of charm that made it easy for girls to fall for him.

But at the end of the day for me, he was still a man. There wasn't much I could feel about him.

Brielle and I kept talking and separated when we got to the bus station. At least today I had enough money to take me home and bring me to work the next day—my customer had left a really nice tip.

At dinner, I told Marovelle and Rosaline the whole thing. Rosaline got angry with the fact that I didn't take his contact.

"Next time he shows, tell him you've got a very cute aunt who also loves to read," she said.

Marovelle snorted. "Read? You can't even read the ingredients off a cereal box. I'm actually surprised you can spell your name."

Their bickering ricocheted around the table and I let it warm me.