“A man kissed me on a beach and then told me he’s been three different people and knew who I was the whole time we were exchanging deeply personal letters. That’s all. It’s not a big deal.”
Austen blinks slowly.
“It’s NOT.”
He turns around and shows me his butt, which is cat for “you’re lying to yourself and I’m done with this conversation.”
“Rude,” I tell him.
He ignores me.
Caroline arrives fifteen minutes early,which means she’s heard something.
“Morning!” she says, too brightly. “How are you? Good? Great? Everything normal and fine?”
“Yep.” I pop thePand avoid her gaze, typing inventory numbers into my laptop.
“Cool. Cool cool cool.” She sets down her bag. “So. Anything interesting happen this morning? Any...morning activities? Dawn-related events?”
“I opened the store.”
“Right. Yes. The store.” She taps her fingers on the counter. “Nothing else? No beach walks? No romantic encounters? No?—”
“Caroline.”
“Yes?”
“If you have something to ask, just ask.”
She takes a breath. “Mrs. Sanders saw you walking back from the beach at 6:30 AM. She told her sister. Her sister toldthe woman who runs the bait shop. The bait shop woman told literally everyone who came in this morning.” She pauses. “Also, someone saw Scott Avery’s car in the beach parking lot. At dawn. On the same morning you were mysteriously walking back from the beach.”
“People in this town need hobbies.”
“Romanceistheir hobby. You know this.” She leans against the counter. “So? What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Jessica.”
“Nothing I want to talk about.”
She opens her mouth, probably to push, then stops. Something in my face must tell her to back off.
“Okay,” she says slowly. “But if you change your mind...”
“I won’t.”
“But if youdo…”
“I won’t.”
She holds up her hands in surrender. “Fine. I’ll be in the stockroom. Pretending I don’t have a million questions.”
She disappears, and I go back to entering inventory.
The morning passes.
I help customers. I process orders. I recommend books to Mrs. Henderson, who wants “enemies to lovers, but the sad kind, where they’re fighting because they’re scared.”
