She clasped her hands together tightly to stop the wringing just as her phone pinged from her back pocket. A text. From Lily. Yes, she had the personal phone number ofNew York TimesBestselling Author Lily Chambers—a fact she would never get used to.
“She’s here,” she said out loud. With a smile at both her employees, she asked, “Ready?”
Delia grinned and gave her a thumbs-up and Shane said, “Totally.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.” She headed down the center aisle to the back door of the shop. When she pushed it open, a black car was pulling into the parking lot. It glided to a stop. Before the driver could get out, the back door opened and a tall, dark-haired woman exited the car. She was gorgeous, all olive skin and wide, white smile.
That must be Marina Troiani, Jenny thought. She hadn’t met Lily’s girlfriend yet, but suffice it to say, if this was her, she was stunning.
The woman held a hand into the car and helped Lily Chambers out. She looked different than the last time Jenna had seen her, and it took her a moment to figure it out. She wore black pants, a royal blue top, and a black trench, casually unbuttoned and hanging open, with modest heels giving her slightly more height. Her light brown hair didn’t quite reach her shoulders, and she had it tucked behind her ears. But the thing Jenna finally pinpointed was the clear happiness. Strange how you could see that just from looking at a person. It was like an aura, surrounding her and bathing her in a soft yellow glow, and thesecond Lily glanced up and saw Jenna, her smile grew and she hurried to her with a small squeal. Jenna found herself wrapped in a tight hug before she could even comprehend it.
“Jenna,” Lily said near her ear. “I’m so glad to see you.” She tightened her grip and gave a squeeze before letting Jenna go and holding her at arm’s length. “You look fantastic.”
“Me? I mean, look at you. You’re literally glowing. I’m not even exaggerating.” It was true. Lily’s face had a healthy pink tint, and her blue eyes sparkled. Her gentle smile seemed permanent.
“Well, that’s credit to this one,” Lily said, jerking a thumb in the direction of the brunette. “Marina, I’d like you to meet my good friend Jenna Murphy, the woman who sponsored my very first book signing here in Northwood—how many years ago?”
“Oh God, six, maybe? I had just opened the shop, and it was your…” She squinted. “Third book? Fourth?” She held out a hand to Marina. “It’s so nice to meet the person who’s made this woman so happy.”
Marina took her hand, then closed her other one over it and held on warmly. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said, her Italian accent prominent. “It’s a pleasure to finally have a face to go with the name.”
“Same.” They let go, and Jenna clapped her hands together once. “Well, there’s a line of people waiting to get their books signed. Are you ready?”
With a nod, Lily said, “Let’s do this.”
They headed inside.
The key to a successful book signing was twofold: First, keeping the author supplied with everything she needed—water, coffee, alcohol, whatever was requested. Fresh pens for signing. The line had to move along, so no dawdling. If the author was okay with photos—which Lily was—then Jenna would take them. And, again, she’d keep the readers moving along. If she didn’t, there would inevitably be one or two or twelve who’d want to hang out and talk Lily’s ear off about their thoughts on her book or their idea for her next book or pitching their own book, and the rest of the line would start shifting and muttering and it would devolve into unhappiness for everybody. Jenna had been doing this long enough that she now knew how to run a very efficient book signing. And Delia and Shane had been around long enough to help her with that.
They worked like a well-oiled machine, the three of them. Shane delivered donuts and ladled cider into plastic cups. Delia rang up purchases, and Shane would scoot over to the register to help if she got overwhelmed. Jenna stayed next to the table, handing open books to Lily to sign, chatting with customers, and taking photos. Marina was there, too, and helped with the photos.
They were about an hour into things when Jenna looked up and felt her own eyes go wide. There, in line, stood Sawyer, Ally, and Courtney.
“You guys,” Jenna said, hugging both Courtney and Ally. She smiled at Sawyer, who smiled back while standing there looking incredible, and the fact that neither of them went in for a hug was an interesting tidbit Jenna would revisit later. “What are you doing here?”
Ally held up her copy ofCupid’s Arrow. “Getting my book signed. Duh.”
Jenna laughed, then met gazes with Shane. “Can you go in the back and grab a folding chair for Courtney?” He nodded and disappeared.
“You don’t have to do that,” Courtney said, but it was clear that being on her feet was exhausting for her.
“Here,” Lily said, standing. “Take my chair.”
Marina moved it so Courtney could sit down, and despite her protests, she sighed in obvious gratitude and relief.
“My sister-in-law had terrible leg pain when she was pregnant with my niece,” Lily told her. “She needed to sit practically every half hour. It was awful for her.”
Jenna met Sawyer’s gaze over the top of Courtney as she chatted with Lily. They hadn’t talked about sleeping on the couch together. It was like an unspoken agreement that neither of them was ready to address what had happened, what it had felt like, and what they should do about it. If anything. The only thing Jenna knew for certain was that her dreams since then had been filled with Sawyer Hall, and that they’d run the gamut from tame—Sawyer washing Jenna’s windows, weirdly—to not tame at all—Sawyer stepping into the shower behind her, sliding her soapy hands around Jenna’s wet torso…
She cleared her throat loudly, and Shane arrived with a chair, which Marina set back behind the table so Lily could sit again. She signed Ally’s book, then Courtney’s, and then came Sawyer.
“You brought your book?” Jenna asked before she could catch herself, her disbelief clear.
“Of course I did,” Sawyer said, then turned to Lily. “I admit to not being much of a romance fan in the past. Jenna and I have had debates about it.” She shot a wink in Jenna’s direction. “She recommended your book to me, and while I know she hoped I’d read it, I don’t think she had much faith that I would.”
“I mean, it did sit on your dining room table for weeks,” Jenna muttered good-naturedly.
“I needed to work up to it,” Sawyer said, handing her book to Lily. “That being said, I devoured it in two days.”
