“You keep getting more beautiful every time I see you,” I told her as I climbed into the truck.
The familiar flush to her cheeks deepened. “I could say that right back at you. Look at you, you got the guns out today.” She reached over and squeezed my bicep. “We’ll have to pick a romance to read because everyone in this bookstore is going to be swooning over the muscled man reading a love story.”
“No matter how many eyes are on me, my eyes will always be on you,” I said seriously.
We gazed adoringly at one another, staring deeply into each other’s eyes. Her lips curled into a smile. We drove the rest of the way to the bookstore in comfortable silence.
When we arrived, she went to grab the handle to let herself out of the truck. I reached over to stop her. “When you’re with me, you’ll never open your own door, okay?”
“But I’m a strong independent woman,” she argued.
“You’ll still be a strong independent woman, but you’ll be giving me permission to worry about the small things—like opening your door.”
I got out of the truck and walked around to open the door for her. “Thank you, kind sir,” she said as she took my hand to step down from the truck. Once she was down, she grabbed my arm like she always did, and we walked into the store together.
“Are you still in your fantasy romance era?” she asked.
“Always, but I honestly can read anything. As long as there’s a good plot and dynamic characters, I’m sold.”
“Well, I’m in a fantasy romance mood. What’s cool about this store is that they sell local Arizona authors’ books. Should we go look at that section first?”
“You’re the boss,” I said with a sly smile.
“I like the sound of that.” She winked at me.
We walked over to the local author section, and we were both simultaneously drawn to a blue and green cover covered in white wings and stars. The book was titledFate’s Tetherby Jade Nioma and had an intriguing premise. The main character is tasked with escaping from their abusive husband, who also happened to be the king of a three-island planet. There were angels, immortals, mysterious crystals, and otherworldly beasts. I was sold.
“We should read this one,” we said simultaneously. We both grabbed a copy and walked around the rest of the bookstore.
She showed me some of her favorite romance novels, and the way she glowed when she talked about books completely stunned me. I never met someone with so much passion. I was mesmerized by her.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked, bringing me back to reality.
“I think it’s because I kind of like you,” I replied boldly.
She looked down shyly. “Just kind of?” she said with a wink.
I inched closer to her. “Are you flirting with me, pretty girl?”
“Maybe,” she said, taking a tentative step back. “Do you want to have a drink with me? I heard their green tea is to die for.”
“I would absolutely love to have tea with you.” I extended my arm for her to grab as we walked over to the cashier to pay for our books and ordered two green teas. I paid, even though she very strongly tried to herself.
We found a green love seat in a quiet corner of the store and settled in. We both placed our mugs of green tea on the oval wood table in front of the couch.
“Tell me all about this promotion of yours,” I said, shifting to face her.
Her face lit up. “I’m so excited for the opportunity to expand my knowledge and skills. I’m closer to becoming ready to open my own store.”
I smiled widely at her. “What kind of ideas do you have going into the new role? I know you love your book clubs.”
“I do,” she said. “I want to highlight local and indie authors even more. Those might be harder to get people excited about, but I’ll find a way to market them”
She radiated excitement. I'd never been as excited about anything, especially anything work-related. “You sure do shine when you’re talking about your passion. I’m sure if you really want it, you’ll make it happen.” I squeezed her hand, reassuring my belief in her.
She smiled. She didn't do well with accepting compliments, or maybe she still had doubts about her abilities. I could only hope my encouragement and support would boost her confidence. “What ideas do you have for your own store?”
She contemplated for a moment before she spoke. “I want my place to be somewhere people can come to escape the complexities of life andrelax. I want to create a safe and welcoming environment with cozy love seats like this,” she said, gesturing to the one we were sitting on. “But also have some chairs that spin or rock because my best friend has ADHD and can only sit still if her chair moves.”
