“I’m proud of you for trying something new!” I shouted after him with a grin.
Yeah, maybe this would be okay.
4
OLIVE
A bell rangas I opened the door to The Grove Bookstore and slipped inside. My heart pounded as I closed the door behind me, desperately hoping I hadn’t been followed.
This was absurd. I was acting as if an ax murderer was chasing me when it was only the overly friendly townspeople. Four people had stopped me on the short walk from the pharmacy where I’d picked up my monthly prescription to the entrance of the bookstore. I’d been too overwhelmed to remember most of their names, but they had stopped me to say hello, give me unsolicited advice about what flowers I should plant in my window boxes, and press a small container containing Arepa Dulce—a type of Dominican cake—into my hand. That last one was from a woman named Marisol, who owned the market. I’d slipped it into my tote bag. I wasn’t about to turn down dessert.
Everyone seemed excited to have someone new in town, but I was waiting for them to get bored of me when they realized I was the least interesting person to ever walk the planet.
Most people would love this kind of small-town charm, but I hated that I couldn’t move around anonymously. Social situations didn’t come easily to me, unlike my dad who had been one of the most outgoing men I’d ever known. He’d been right at home whenwe’d visited Starlight Grove six years ago for a rare off-season vacation. Sometimes, I wondered if he would have been happier to live in a town like this instead of spending most of his days on the boat. But he had grown up on the water, expected to take over the family lobster business, and then he’d fallen in love with a painfully shy beta who was at home on the sea, away from the bustle of coastal towns.
When I’d seen the lighthouse keeper position posted online, I’d felt a little tug of something inside me. My mom would have said it was the call of the universe, but I wasn’t so sure. I’d spent the years since my parents passed feeling lost, and there was something alluring to the idea of returning to a place I’d been happy with them… like maybe I would find some of the happiness we’d had.
I wandered through the cramped bookstore aisles, careful to avoid tipping over the precarious stacks of books and wondering if I should have looked for a more remote lighthouse position. One where supplies needed to be specially shipped in and I wouldn’t be bombarded by overly friendly townspeople.
Then, I would be totally alone.
A tall man appeared in front of me and I shrieked. My breaths were ragged and I clutched my chest before realizing it was Hank, the elderly bookstore owner I’d seen around town.
“Oh, hello,” I said weakly.
He lifted his chin at me, a faint scent of old books wafting in my direction. “You’re the new girl.”
His voice was gruff. Grumpy.
I nodded.
“Name’s Hank. I own this store.”
“Yes,” I said.
I groaned internally. This was why I hated talking to strangers. Everything inside me froze up, preventing me from forming a complete sentence.
When I said nothing further, he asked, “Are you here to buy or just take up space?”
My throat tightened and all I could do was blink. Why was I like this? Why couldn’t I just sayyes, I want a book?
“I don’t have time for this,” he muttered. “My hip says a storm is coming.”
I glanced down at his cane. His hip was right. The forecast was calling for bad weather.
I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself enough to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. My cheeks grew even redder until I couldn’t handle it anymore. I spun on my heel and booked it for the front door. It was fine. It didn’t matter that my e-reader had broken and all I had at my cottage was a stack of nautical books left by the former lighthouse keeper. It didn’t matter that my favorite author had just released a new book. All that mattered right now was getting home.
The wind whipped my hair as I emerged back onto the street, another sign that the storm was fast approaching. My hands shook as I fumbled with my bike chain that had popped off again. My eyes burned with tears and that, more than anything, told me an episode was starting. Darkness plucked at the edges of my soul, ominous and exhausting. Maybe if I just ignored it, it would go away.
“Olive!” A bright voice called my name just as I got the chain back on its track. My heart pounded as I looked over my shoulder. A smiling blonde woman who looked to be close to my age was sprinting towards me, her pale green dress rippling in the wind. “I can’t believe I ran into you! I’ve been dying to meet you!”
I pushed up from my crouched position.
“I’m Lucy,” she said, panting heavily as she came to a stop in front of me. A wave of her bright spring floral scent washed over me, telling me she was an omega.
“Hi,” I mumbled.
“Whew, I need to do more cardio. I hate that I haven’t introduced myself before now. I’m the head of the Starlight Grove Welcoming Committee! I stopped by your house a couple of weeks ago, but you must not have been home.”
