Walking into Bram’s shop fills me with all the memories from when Creed was little, running around picking the books he wanted to read.
Creed still does the same thing. His bag is just a bit bigger and more expensive, but buying my kid books is one thing I’ll never complain about.
“Hey, Havoc.” Cate steps out from behind one of the bookshelves.
That’s not a good sign. Bram gets one of the sisters to cover when he needs an hour or two off so he doesn’t have to close the shop. “Is Bram here?”
“No. He’s having lunch with that pretty lady of his. They’re at the Ivy Café if you need him.”
“Thanks.” Having this conversation in front of her isn’t a good idea.
Bram’s gotten in too deep too quickly.
Though who am I to speak. That one kiss this morning makes me want to think about a future that we aren’t even close to being ready for.
Women are so much trouble.
Stop Laughing
Greer
“You did what?” Bram gapes at me.
“It isn’t a big deal.”
“Say that again. Because I’m having a hard time believing that an international superstar just randomly agreed to play at our little festival.”
“Tory isn’t like that.”
“Tory. You call Kia Lemaris ‘Tory’.”
“That’s her name, Victoria Kia Lemaris, and she’s a nice, normal person.” Mostly normal. “Sometimes I call her Tory, and sometimes I call her Kia.” Well, unless we’re near our mothers. Then, and only then, is she Victoria. “This isn’t a big deal.”
“It’s a very big deal. Not to mention the club isn’t going to want to pay for her to come.”
Well duh. She doesn’t walk out of the house for less than seven figures lately. “They won’t pay a cent.”
“You aren’t going to—”
“She isn’t charging me anything. She does charity events several times a year. This will be one of them. And she can stay with me. We’ll just need to find a place for her sound and lighting crew to sleep.”
“You got your friend to play the festival for free?”
“And the winter ball the next day.”
“Winter ball. How big did you make this thing?”
“It’s not that big. And I found ways for it to help the community. Corsages from the florist. The diner is doing a giant charcuterie board instead of passed appetizers. The dress shop is sure to be packed with people. All I need to do is find a band or DJ to play when Kia isn’t singing. Oh, and we’re going to have a photographer going around taking snapshots to help sell tickets for next year’s event. And the little card shop is going to handle programs for both the concert and the ball. Think of all the money this will bring into the town.” Why is he making this into a big deal?
“How are you paying for all of this? Because I know not everyone is agreeing to work for free.”
Um…Distract. “I kissed my grumpy neighbor yesterday.”
“WHAT?” The sandwich he was holding but completely ignoring drops half onto the plate, half onto the table.
“I kissed him.”
“That’s what I heard the first time. What happened to not liking him and swearing off men?”
