His Princess

Catherine

There are so many perks to working in an old book shop. You always know about the best sellers. You can read all of them without having to buy them. It is quite interesting work. Even the older books were appealing. Most of all, it is peaceful. No one comes into a book shop being loud or boisterous. Of course there are always exceptions, but they are rare and far between.

Catherine loved her job at The Vintage Reader. Her grandfather had started it with her grandmother when they first got married. It was quite a small shop with shelves lining the walls and stacks in between. The only area that wasn't covered in books was a small counter with an antique cash register and a comfortable chair that Catherine sat in reading the newest release while waiting on customers to come in.

She loved all books. Especially fantasy with dragons, vampires, and werewolves. Her absolute favorite was romance though. It was the closest she had ever been to feeling romance. She was terribly shy and at twenty-three years old, she was still a virgin. She had boyfriends before of course, but she would quickly lose interest in them. She found them to be quite childish and nonsensical. She had always hoped maybe if she waited a bit longer she would find someone who resembled the strong heroic type she had always read about in books. She had yet to find a man like that but if she didn't find him, she was content to be by herself and her books.

Catherine could hear someone coming into the shop door as the bell rang when anyone opened the door. She set her newest book down and stood up.

"What can I help you with today?" she asked the gentleman who walked in followed by two others.

"I have never been here before. I have lived twenty minutes away my whole life and I have never had a chance to stop and look into this shop before. What would you recommend?" the man asked.

"Well that all depends on what you like. Are you looking for fiction or non-fiction? Is there a certain genre you like? Like fantasy, cookbooks, self-help, romance?" her lips curled up into a grin a little as she asked. She would be highly surprised if a man as handsome of this would come into the shop seeking a romance novel. He probably wanted something more serious as he was quite serious looking. His demeanor made Charlotte want to submit to any request he could ever ask. He seemed like a man who had no problem telling others what he wanted.

"I am not quite sure. I have never really had the chance to leisurely read whatever I wanted. Hmmm.. What about a fantasy romance? That sounds interesting enough. Do you have anything like that?" he responded.

Catherine was taken aback for a second. It was like he had read her mind and responded to it in defiance. She had to gather herself quickly again to answer his inquiry.

"Umm.. Of course. We have all sorts of fantasy romance. There are books about vampires, werewolves, mermaids, you name it. Anything you can think of, I am sure we have something like it somewhere in this shop." she answered breathily while looking around.

"Oh that sounds wonderful. I will take all of them then." he said.

"All of them?? What do you mean all of them?" she responded wide eyed and disbelieving.

"Well, you said you have all kinds. I would like to try all of them. Just pick out whatever you think would match what you said and I want to buy them." he said chuckling.

"That might take me a while.. Is there a chance you can give me a couple of days to get it together? I want to make sure I find everything you need." she said still recovering from the shock.

"Hmm.. sure. I have something to attend to on Friday anyway. That should give you plenty of time. I would still like to bring something home today though. Can you just choose one?" he said.

"I am sure I can manage that. Let me see.." as she walked into the stacks she knew exactly what she would choose. She chuckeld to herself because it was one of her favorites and she loved the idea of sharing it with someone. She came back and handed it to him.

"Dragon's Heart huh? Seems interesting." he said.

"It is one of my favorites. I am really curious to see how you like it. If you finish it by Friday, I would love to hear your thoughts on it. What name should I put down for the order?" she asked shyly.

"Jacob." he replied with a smile.

"OK Jacob. Your total for today is $5.75 and I will see you Friday."

"Here you go. Keep the change and I can't wait." He said as he handed her a twenty dollar bill before turning and gesturing to the two there men to follow him out the door.

Charlotte was dumb founded. Who was this man who walked into the shop and turned her stomach into butterflies? For the rest of the afternoon all she could think about was his neatly trimmed dark hair. His perfectly plumb lips speaking to her and turning up at the corners to smile. His broad shoulders that she couldn't help but want to touch. He was a bit taller than her. She wanted to look up into those green eyes again and again until she was lost in them. What was she thinking? He would never be interested in her. She was too quiet and too ordinary. And who were those men with him? They never even muttered a word. They just stood there quietly examining the room. "How strange." she thought to herself as she locked up the shop and checked the doors again just in case. "Oh well, it's not my business. I need to start thinking about what titles I want to put I this order. I only have three days to get this together." she thought to herself as she headed home.