“Hi,” she said when Sawyer reached her. “Find some good stuff?” She indicated the three books in Sawyer’s hands.
“I managed to snag two Lee Childs and a Tana French. I read this one, but not the other two. Thought they’d be good additions to my bookshelf.” She scanned behind Jenna and saw the stack she’d built and laughed as she jerked her chin at it. “Ma’am, you own a bookstore. What can you possibly need with old library books?”
“Oh, those are for you.” Jenna grinned at Sawyer’s surprise.
“Me?”
With a nod, she said, “I haven’t given up on you finding a romance you actually like.” She winked, just to make sure Sawyer knew she was toying with her a little bit.
Sawyer shed her coat and set it behind the table with Jenna’s, thenstood next to her, and Jenna didn’t want to admit how her entire body reacted to Sawyer’s proximity. The way her skin tingled when Sawyer was close, the way she could smell Sawyer’s perfume, something light and warm and inviting, the way Sawyer was a bit taller and made Jenna feel safe somehow. Protected.
“Have you read her?” A woman was pointing to a Lily Chambers book on the table, and she looked up at Sawyer.
“I have, but not that particular book.” She indicated Jenna. “This is the woman you want to ask, though. She’s an expert on the romance genre,andshe actually knows Lily Chambers.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say expert,” Jenna began.
“I would,” Sawyer countered with a sly grin. “In fact, I just did.”
Sawyer stayed with her for hours. She didn’t seem to notice the concerned look Dakota had shot at Jenna on her way out, and she even ran out to grab them some lunch when Jenna complained about how she’d forgotten to eat that morning.
“Hey, I was thinking,” Sawyer said, as things wound down.
“Uh-oh.”
“Funny.” Sawyer’s laugh was rapidly becoming a sound Jenna adored, and she pointed a finger at Jenna. “You’re very funny. You should take that on the road.”
“I mean, Ihavethought about it.”
“Anyway.” Sawyer gave her a mock glare. “Thursday is Thanksgiving.”
“It is.”
“Are you going to your parents’?”
Jenna nodded on top of a sigh. “Yeah.”
“Oh, that sounds ominous.”
She shouldn’t be that way about her own parents, and she knew it. “No, no, it’s fine. My parents are just…they can be tough, as I’ve told you. But I’ll get to see my niece and nephew, and my brothers and…” She wiped her hand across the air like she was erasing what she’d said. “It’s fine.”
“What time is dinner there?” Sawyer asked, picking up their coats.
“Early afternoon.”
“Why don’t you come to my mom’s after that?”
Jenna blinked at her in surprise.
“We don’t eat until later. I know my mom would love to see you. You could meet my dad. And I don’t want to have to listen to Courtney complain about how she’s bigger than the Goodyear Blimp all by myself.”
“I mean, that’s a reason in itself right there.”
“Exactly.”
Jenna was surprised by how much she wasnotwavering. “You’re sure your mom wouldn’t mind?”
“Are you kidding? She likes you better than me.”
