She glanced over at Ethan to see if he was having a similar reaction. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t seem to be overwhelmed with happiness – but hewasat least looking around with a hint of interest. It was a start, she supposed.
“Ah! Hello there!” said a sudden voice from somewhere in amongst the books, and Chloe almost jumped out of her skin. “Sorry – I didn’t mean to startle you! I’ll be with you in just a moment!”
There were some thumping noises behind the shelves, and Chloe exchanged a glance with Ethan, who raised one perfect eyebrow.
Then, out from amongst the stacks, came wandering a big, black, fluffy cat, who stared at her with enormous yellow eyes.
“Oh!” Chloe gasped in delight – she was, after all, an animal lover, and this cat had to be one of the most magnificentspecimens she’d ever seen, enormous, sturdy, andextremelyfluffy. “Was that you thumping around just now?”
Chloe crouched down, holding out her hand so the cat – if it so chose – could sniff her fingers. She’d washed any hint of Bella’s saliva off her hands, of course, but the cat could probably still smell dog on their clothes, so she couldn’t have blamed him if he was a little wary.
But no – the cat was clearly supremely confident in himself, and he trotted up without a hint of shyness or fear, sniffing greedily at Chloe’s proffered hand before just as quickly turning away, fluffy tail held high in what was a very clear sign of disdain.
Chloe couldn’t help but laugh. “Now that’s a cat with character!”
“Oh! I hope Monty hasn’t been bothering you?”
Chloe looked up, standing quickly. In the aisle ahead of her, which she was sure had been empty just a moment ago, stood a woman with long blonde hair done up in an elaborate braid, a blue shawl thrown around her shoulders. She was blinking at them, biting her lip as the fluffy cat began twining itself around her ankles, its booming purr audible even to Chloe.
“Not in the slightest,” Chloe told the woman with a smile. “Well, notmeanyway.”
She glanced at Ethan, but he too was watching the cat with a faint smile on his face – the first smile she’d seen on him since they’d met.
All right, so he may not be very polite, but at least it seems he likes animals?That’s definitely a plus….
“Oh, that’s good!” the woman chirped, leaning down to pick up the cat in her arms. “How about you go back to your shelf for the moment, Monty,” she said to him as she gave him a belly rub, her fingers disappearing into his dense black fur. “I just needto give these people a hand. Unless the three of you are happy browsing for now?”
Behind her, Chloe sensed Ethan stiffening, even as she frowned.Three of us? It’s just me and Ethan here, isn’t it? Though I guess there could be someone else hidden away in this labyrinth.
That must have been what the woman meant, Chloe decided. What else could it have been?
“By the way,” the woman said brightly, “I’m Margot, the owner. Or one of them, anyway. And this –” she held up the fluffy cat, as if they might not have noticed him “– is Monty… though I guess I said that already. He shouldn’t bother you – he’ll probably just go back to sleep now that he’s inspected you.”
Laughing, Margot lifted Monty onto a shelf that Chloe could now see had a cat basket with several cushions that were almost as large as Monty himself inside of it. He settled himself amongst them, his golden eyes half-closing in contentment.
“But sorry, you didn’t get the chance to say – is there anything specific I can direct you toward?” Margot asked, turning back to them.
“Oh…” Chloe started, before realizing that Ethan was really the only person who could answer that question. “My – uh – my –”
Her answer trailed off before she could really give it. She’d started to saymy friend, but Ethan wasn’t exactly that. In fact, he might even take offense at her saying it. But what else was she supposed to say?My guy here who I only just met when I roped him into saving a dog’s life due to a case of mistaken identity and now we’re here in this bookshop together? For some reason?
“I was hoping to find books or documents about the history of Girdwood Springs,” Ethan broke in, saving her whatever humiliation she was about to bring down on herself. “Thingsfrom perhaps… the last one hundred and fifty years or so, if you’d happen to have anything like that.”
Margot – who had to be the friendliest bookshop owner Chloe had ever encountered – seemed to visibly brighten at Ethan’s words, a glow of excitement in her eyes.
“Oh, yes! We havea lotof books and records about the history of the town, going back a lot further than that! It gets a little spotty past a certain point, but we certainly have a lot of information about the founding of the town, right through to Mason Girdwood gifting the land and forest surrounding it to the people of the town in his will. I can definitely show you where to find all of that.”
“That would be very helpful and appreciated,” Ethan said, though he still sounded a little… stiff, Chloe thought.
Could it be that he’s just… socially awkward?
“I’ll have something that’ll help you out – definitely! Most definitely!” Margot was practically beaming with enthusiasm. “There’s nothing I love more than helping people with their research – the pursuit of knowledge is really rather noble, don’t you think?” She blinked, cocking her head a little, her green eyes still sparkling. “If you don’t mind me asking, is this something to help your friend there?”
Chloe frowned.To help… me?
Again, she felt hesitant at being described as Ethan’sfriend, but that was mainly because – for whatever reason – she felt a little stab of pain in her heart at the idea of Ethan having to explain they were in no wayfriends,and in fact, they didn’t even really know each other at all. She could just imagine how he’d do it, too, with his voice dripping with frosty politeness as he disabused Margot of the notion that they could befriends.
“Oh, no, it’s nothing to do with me,” Chloe said quickly, before Ethan could get a word out. “I just wanted to show himwhere the bookshop was. We’re not friends. We just met, in fact. I don’t even know what he’s looking for.”
