Page 18 of I Don't Need Your Romance

“Now for three more,” he says.

My brows crease. “What?”

“You said you don’t leave the bookstore without at least ten books.”

I glance at the clock on the wall and see there are about twenty minutes until the store closes. “You think I can find three more in time?”

“I think you can do anything you want.”

“Okay.” I glance at the seven books in my arms that are getting really heavy. I wish I could put them somewhere. Usually, I leave them on one of the tables while I search for more books, but there’s no way I’m abandoning the mystery book here. Someone might snag it.

“I can hold them for you,” Damian offers.

I just gape at him.

“What?” he asks.

“Just…um…” I didn’t expect him to be nice. Actually, he’s been nice to me this entire time.

Before I can ramble anything else, he takes the books from me and holds them carefully in his arms. I have to say…a bad boy like Damian holding a stack of books is a pretty sexy sight, that’s for sure.

“Thanks. Be back in a sec.”

I spend the next twenty minutes running around the store like a madwoman. I love so many genres and don’t know which to choose. I end up settling on a historical romance, another romantasy, and a thriller.

“Thanks again,” I tell Damian when I return to him. I reach to take the books from him, but he turns away and marches to the cashier. There’s a bit of a line because they’re about to close. If they announce that I need to leave without my books, there will be blood.

When it’s our turn, Damian sets the books on the desk. I add mine to a pile next to his. The woman smiles when she sees my books. “Avid reader?” she asks.

“Books are my life,” I tell her.

She smiles again. “That’s what I love to hear.”

Once all my books are scanned, she tells me the total. I hand my credit card to the woman and she taps it on the screen. The machine makes an odd sound.

“Hmm...it seems your card was declined, hun.”

“What?” I stare at the screen and see that her words are true. “That has to be a mistake. I just used it yesterday.”

The woman tries again, but it’s declined.

“Are you sure you didn’t go over your limit?” she asks.

My face, neck, and ears feel hot. Oh my gosh, how embarrassing is this? And in front of Damian! He probably thinks I’m so poor.

“I need to call my parents.”

I walk off to the side and yank my phone out of my bag. This has never happened to me before. While my parents are not the richest people in the world, we’ve never actually been so poor.

“Hey, sweetie,” Mom says when she answers the phone. “How’s school going?”

“Fine. I can’t really talk now because the store is going to close any minute. But I need your help. My credit card doesn’t work. Did you or Dad cancel it?”

She’s quiet.

“Mom?”

“Listen, sweetie,” she says in a serious tone. “Your father and I have decided to cut you off.”