I could appreciate that. From what I remembered of the people I met the last time I was here, the town was full of quirkycharacters who only enhanced the charm of the town. Clearly, this woman rated high among them. “I can appreciate that. And as for the books, I’m a huge reader. These probably won’t last me a month.”
“Huh.” She hummed thoughtfully. “What a coincidence. Our Holly here is also a huge reader.”
I turned to the woman in question, my lips curving upward again. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d smiled this damn much in such a short period of time.
Holly glanced up from the book she was ringing up and offered me another bashful smile as her cheeks pinkened once more.
“So she said.” Under my attention, her blush rose higher on her cheekbones. “Which makes this the perfect place for me. I’m sure I’ll be in here a lot while I’m in town.”
“You hear that, Holls? He’ll be in here alot.”
Holly cast her friend a threatening look before switching her attention back to me. “You’re welcome any time. And I hope you enjoy these books. You’ll have to let me know what you think.”
“I have no doubt I will.” I usually liked to get to know a woman a little better before I asked her on a date, but something about this one had my instincts screaming to act fast. She’d said that last part as a one-off, but I jumped on the opportunity it created. “I’d love to give you my thoughts, say, over dinner tomorrow night?”
Holly’s lips parted and her eyes widened in shock, like she couldn’t believe I was asking her out. I studied her features. Her delicate nose that turned upward ever so slightly, her perfect rosebud lips, and the rosy apples of her cheeks. I didn’t see a hint of dishonesty in her eyes, which led me to believe this woman truly didn’t realize what a knockout she was.
“Oh. Uh...” Holly seemed almost nervous, while I could practically feel the energy buzzing off her friend beside me.
“She’d love to!” Naomi chirped excitedly, earning herself a murderous glare from Holly that made my stomach drop to my feet. I didn’t get turned down often, but it didn’t take a genius to see that was the direction she was headed.
“Please ignore my friend. She has this condition where she speaks without thinking.” She licked her lips and cleared her throat before continuing. “That’s really sweet, but I’m afraid I have to decline.”
I knew I failed at keeping the disappointment I suddenly felt off my face. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. If you’re seeing someone?—”
“Oh, no. I’m single.” And with those two words, the spark of hope came back to life. “It’s just that I’m not really dating right now.”
“Honey, don’t be ridiculous,” her friend Naomi butted in. “Of course you’re dating,” she declared before shifting her gaze to me. “Of course she’s dating. And tomorrow is perfect.”
“Naomi,” Holly said in warning, but there wasn’t a lot of heat behind it. Not that it mattered much to the tiny dynamo at my side. She didn’t bother to glance at her friend as she tore a scrap of paper from the receipt machine and started scrawling something on it.
“Here. This is her number. Give her a call later to finalize the details. I promise, she’s going to be so excited come tomorrow.”
A part of me questioned if the tiny woman beside me was a little crazy, but another part of me really wanted Holly’s number. There was no way in hell I’d force a date on her if she didn’t want it, but at least this way, I could keep in contact without having to show up at her job day after day. And hopefully, after exchanging some texts, she’d warm up to the idea of a date.
Taking the slip of paper, I carefully folded it up and put it in my pocket. I gave Naomi a polite nod, but hit Holly with the most charming smile I could muster. “Ladies, it was nicemeeting you both.” Then I said specifically to Holly, “I really hope to see you again soon, Sunshine.”
I managed to keep the victorious smirk off my face at her sharp intake of breath as I gathered up my things and headed back into the cold. I was going to have to give some real thought to how I was going to play this, because everything inside me was screaming to see that woman again.
Chapter Six
Holiday
Istood in front of the full-length mirror in the corner of my bedroom, examining the dress I was wearing and trying my hardest to keep my nerves at bay. Those bastards had been driving me crazy all day long, and I felt like I was going to spiral into a panic attack at any moment.
“I cannot believe I let you guys talk me into this,” I said into the mirror, aiming my glare at my friends who were gathered in my tiny bedroom. When I bought this building for my bookstore, I was excited to find out there was an apartment upstairs. It wasn’t the biggest space, and the fixtures and appliances were pretty dated, but there was no beating the commute. Plus, it was only me and my cat, Yoda, so I didn’t need too much space. However, with most of my friends crammed inside, I was starting to feel a little claustrophobic. Something that wasn’t helping my nerves one bit.
My sister Sunny was sitting on the foot of my bed with her bestie and our recent sister-in-law, Blythe, both of them fishing through my jewelry dish for what they considered theperfect pieces. A very pregnant Rae was propped up against my headboard, eating the bowl of ice cream she had balanced on her belly as she okayed or vetoed the clothes Merritt and Ivy were pulling from my closet. Naomi was stretched across my bed beside her, lying on her stomach with her feet kicked up in the air.
She grinned unrepentantly at my reflection in the mirror. “Oh please. You’re going to have the best time, and you know it. If you’re mad at anything, it’s that you know I’m right and you can’t stand it.”
I tugged at the high neckline of my dress, my top lip curling into a sneer. This absolutely wouldn’t work. “I never should have let you talk me into going on this date,” I grumbled. But the truth was, it wasn’t Naomi’s pushing that led me to agreeing to go out with the walking, talking sex on legs. We’d actually been texting a little since Naomi gave him my number without my permission, and he honestly seemed like a nice guy. He’d made me laugh and genuinely seemed excited to take me out.
The problem was, I didn’t trust my own judgement when it came to men. Time had proven over and over that I was a shitty judge of character, and I couldn’t help but question the instant draw I’d felt toward him when he walked into One More Chapter the day before.
“I should text him and cancel. Make up an excuse, like I came down with scarlet fever or something.”
My room erupted with shouts of objection. Naomi knew me too damn well. She knew I’d probably chicken out of tonight, so she’d called in reinforcements in the form of pushy friends and sisters. With them here, there was no way they’d let me back out of this date.
