The Guy Next Door. Missy Tippens

with tidying up. Saturday nights could sometimes be a nightmare, but an older crowd had hit earlier than usual. Though she enjoyed working with preteens and young teenagers, they tended to travel in packs, tearing through the place like a tornado, leaving a swath of destruction in their wake. Something Darcy couldn’t relate to at all.

      She’d never had a pack of girlfriends in high school. Never enjoyed shopping for jewelry, purses and hair accessories. She’d been tomboyish, a late bloomer who’d spent all her spare time with Luke, fearing he’d see her differently if she suddenly showed up wearing dangly earrings and eyeliner.

      Certain he’d never think her as pretty as Chloe.

      Shaking off old memories, she headed toward the cash register. One last quick walk around the shop and—

      The entrance chime sounded. A group of giggling girls set upon tables of jewelry, and Darcy’s hope for an early evening quickly fizzled. “May I help you girls?”

      One, a redhead with pretty hazel eyes set off by the perfect application of makeup, fastened a double strand of faux pink pearls around her neck and admired it in a mirror. “We’re just looking.”

      Two of her friends, squealing at fifty decibels, darted to a table of wristlets.

      “Oh, look,” screeched one. “The exact shade of green as my new Keds!”

      “Buy it. Have you got your mom’s debit card on you?”

      “Yeah.”

      “Ashley, wait. Come look at this one first,” called a girl from the other side of the store.

      Meanwhile, two others stacked bracelets up the arms of a third friend.

      There appeared to be a half-dozen of them dressed in stylish clothes, their hair about the same length and all flat ironed. At some point that evening, they’d eaten at a nearby restaurant because several of them had to-go cups they’d set down and quickly forgotten.

      She closed her eyes and let out a sigh as the image of that novel beside her bed faded into oblivion.

      A crash sounded in the back. “Uh-oh,” said one of the girls.

      Crashes followed by uh-oh’s were never a good thing.

      Darcy rushed to the back and found a rack of earrings turned over and gold and silver hoops scattered across the floor.

      “I’m so sorry.” The girl’s mortified expression sent her friends into a fit of laughter.

      “Don’t worry about it,” Darcy said.

      While the three girls meandered to the next table, chattering and playing around as if nothing had happened, Darcy scooped up packs of earrings. The chime sounded again as someone else entered. Great.

      “I’ll be right there,” she called.

      The last of the earrings had landed under the display case. She got on her hands and knees and, with a grunt, made one last-ditch effort to reach them.

      “Need some help?”

      Luke. And she heard the grin in his voice.

      “Luke Jordan, if you were a real gentleman, you’d already be down here helping me.”

      “You’re right. My apologies.” He chuckled as he knelt down beside her and reached underneath the display, his breath tickling her neck as he angled his head out of the way.

      She bolted to her feet. “A pack of…uh…earrings. Do you feel it?” She touched her neck. How many times had they wrestled around or goofed off without her ever once thinking about the feel of his breath against her skin?

      And now—

      “Is this what you’re looking for?” He stood and handed her the earrings.

      “Yes. Thank you.” The fact he could set her on edge made her angry. At herself. And, though unfair, at him.

      She tugged her shirt back where it belonged. Straightened the collar. “I need to check on my customers.”

      “Go ahead. I’ll wait at the cash register.”

      She caught up with the six girls near the front and tried to feign calmness she didn’t feel at the moment. “Are y’all ready to check out?”

      “I think so.” The redhead still wore the necklace.

      “So you decided to go with the pink pearls? They look great on you.”

      She fingered them, looking around at her friends for confirmation. “I do like them.”

      “They’re too classy for you,” said one of her supposed friends with a sneer before turning to the brunette nearby and laughing.

      The girl looked stricken as she removed the necklace. “But they’re kind of expensive.”

      “Come on, let’s get out of here and see if the yogurt place is still open,” said the mean one. She was the obvious leader, because everyone followed without questioning her order.

      They also left without purchasing anything. Instead, they all set their items on a table near the door before quickly exiting to catch up with their boss.

      Darcy growled as she rolled down the metal gate that closed off the shop from the mall.

      “Tough night?” Luke asked.

      “A little slower than usual, but that last group was typical. I’m afraid I’m not good at sales with the younger crowd.” She nodded to the discarded items. “They were going to buy those, but the pack leader declared it was time to go.”

      “Next time, tell her to back off.”

      Darcy laughed. “I’m sure that would go over really well. I’d probably get reported to my boss by a credit-card-­toting teen.”

      His eyes sparkled with mischief, as if he’d love to see the event. “Yeah, but you might make the sale.”

      The main problem was that all these girly things were new to her, something she’d always been too embarrassed to admit she loved and longed to wear. “You know me. This feminine stuff is a steep learning curve.”

      He looked her up and down with an intensity that made her squirm.

      “You look plenty feminine to me. A natural beauty. You don’t need all this sparkly—” he gestured around the shop “—paraphernalia.”

      Stunned, Darcy looked into his eyes. He’d always complimented her on being smart, but never had he praised her looks or femininity. Even that afternoon at Grace’s, he hadn’t said she was pretty.

      “Accept the compliment, say, ‘Thank you,’” he teased, his smile softening.

      Flames crept up her neck. “I need to clean up this mess.” The pink pearl necklace clacked as she jerked it up and hung it on the display.

      “Fine. Ignore me.”

      “I’m not ignoring you.” Darcy snatched up the neon green wristlet the girl had left behind and headed to the table of spring clearance items. “I don’t tend to trust compliments from a man who’s said those words to half the female population.”

      He followed, laying a hand on her arm to still her movements. “I wasn’t giving you some cheap, recycled line. I spoke the truth, a truth you need to take to heart.”

      What Darcy needed to take to heart at the moment was the fact she had to be careful around him, especially when he was being kind and supportive.

      Being a good friend.

      Darcy was strong and capable. Why go all weak-kneed just because he said she’s a natural beauty? “I accept your compliment.”

      Luke smiled, a victorious smile. “Good. While we’re having this heart-to-heart, let me add that I hate seeing you killing yourself working two jobs when you don’t need to, and