“I don’t blame her. I know I’ll remember that cover every time I go there for a while—or possibly for the rest of my life. So enough with the horror section. Let’s go find your books now.”
Even though she had no doubt Danny knew exactly where his books were shelved in the store, he didn’t lead the way. Instead, he let her meander through the aisles. They wouldn’t make it a few feet before one of them saw a book to give a closer look, or to share how much they enjoyed it and see if the other had read it.
Once she knew they were nearing the general fiction section where they’d find his books, she took a hard turn toward the romance section. Maybe it was a silly test, but she wanted to see how he reacted.
To her surprise, he said nothing and didn’t make any snarky comments. He browsed alongside her, occasionally pointing out a book or author that a member of his family enjoyed. There was a new release in a series she and Rhylee both enjoyed, so she grabbed a copy.
Danny offered to carry it for her, and by the time they reached theKsection in the general fiction area, he was carrying four books—two each. When she found the line of books with Dan Kowalski printed on the spine, she glanced at him to find his cheeks pink. He shifted his weight, looking as though he’d like to sprint off in another direction.
“It’s great that they keep multiple copies of each book,” she said. It was tempting to buy a new copy ofUnder Still Watersbecause hers would inevitably fall apart, but she got the impression that might make him uncomfortable. And he’d probably try to get her to take a free copy from his stockpile of them.
“They have more in a display toward the front with other local authors, all of them signed.”
“Will you do a signing when the new book comes out?”
“Definitely. And no, you shouldn’t come. I’m very awkward when everybody in the room is looking at me, expecting me to say something profound.”
“Maybe I’ll sneak in the back of the crowd and you’ll never know I was there.”
“Crowd might be a bit of a stretch, but I always visit a few of the bookstores in New Hampshire, and I get enough of a turnout to make it worth their while. And my Aunt Terry always comes with me and plays assistant. She’s really good at talking with readers and guiding conversations.”
“Do you do book tours? Not that I really know much about them other than what I’ve seen on TV.”
He wrinkled his nose. “I did book festivals and stuff a lot earlier in my career. I did a big tour for my third book and hated it. I did smaller tours for my fourth and fifth, with most of the signings in New England and then a few big cities around the country.”
Kenzie tried to imagine it, but she had a hard time picturing Danny as anything other than…just Danny. To her, him being an author meant walks in the woods to solve plot problems and collections of empty coffee cups, but in reality, he had an entirely different life down here.
She had a million questions, but standing here in front of his books talking about his career clearly wasn’t his favorite thing, so she trailed her fingers down the spines a last time and then grinned.
“Let’s go look at the snarky coffee mugs and funny cards.”
They spent another hour roaming the store, laughing and sharing discoveries with each other. There was a slight dustup at the register when Danny tried to pay for her purchases, but he eventually acquiesced and let her pay for her own books, and the funny coffee mug she bought for Rhylee’s birthday.
When Kenzie climbed into his truck, she relaxed into the comfortable seat with a sigh of relief. She was accustomed to spending her days on her feet, but she was usually wearing very supportive sneakers and not cute black boots.
“Are you hungry?” Danny asked once they’d both buckled up.
“Famished,” she said honestly. “Bookstore browsing is quite a workout, especially if your favorite authors end up alphabetically on the lower shelves.”
“Is there a restaurant you already know you like? Or did you scope any out online that you want to check out? Since we’re already in Manchester, we can get almost anything you’re in the mood for.”
Kenzie suspected he was imagining the two of them in an upscale restaurant. The kind with candles on the table and cloth napkins. A wine list. She didn’t love that idea, but she also knew he was trying to spoil her a little.
“Come on,” he cajoled. “I can see you want to say something.”
She knew he’d rather her have a good time than pretend for his sake, so she answered honestly. “Do you have a favorite pizza delivery place?”
“Of course. Who doesn’t?” When she gave him a wry smile, he winced. “Right. But yes, I have a favorite pizza place that delivers to my house. They visit almost as much as my family, honestly.”
“The only time food gets delivered to my house is if somebody died and the community thinks two people who own a restaurant need two dozen casseroles, or if a bunch of stuff in Aunt Karen’s freezer is nearing expiration and she doesn’t want to throw it away.” He laughed, but she wasn’t kidding. “I know it’s not fancy, but I’d love to get a pizza delivered and eat on your back porch.”
“That sounds perfect.” His smile made her want to reach over and crank the AC up a notch. “You’re not just my friend, Kenzie.”
Her heart stopped, and it took all of her self-control not to react to the words.
“An afternoon at the bookstore and then pizza on the back porch?” he continued. “You are mybestfriend.”
She laughed and slapped his arm. “You say that now, but we’ll see how you feel after we negotiate the toppings.”
