Present day
Hours later Miss Phoebe walked them to the door, setting a hand on Gray’s arm for the fourth time. No, “setting” wasn’t quite right. The woman curled her long fingers around his bicep and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Then she gave it a final pat as if she couldn’t quite bring herself to let go. “I hope I didn’t keep y’all too long. You’re such delightful company.”
“Are you kidding?” Shelby turned at the door. “I love talking books with you. The writer’s process fascinates me. And I can’t thank you enough for doing this preorder special with us.”
“My readers will go crazy for it—and preorders are crucial for me too. I’ll sign as many books as we can presell.”
“We appreciate it,” Gray said. “I’ll get the web page set up tomorrow.”
“Let me know when it’s a go, sugar, and I’ll get Lacey to spread the news to all my fans. Thank you for the pizza and the visit. I know it’s such a pain to get all the way out here.”
“Thank you for having us.” Gray leaned in for a quick hug and instead found himself swallowed by eager arms and a cloud of floral perfume. He patted her shoulder awkwardly until she released him.
The woman turned to Shelby and offered her a big hug too. “Let’skeep in touch, sweetheart.” Then more quietly, “Oh, girl, you’d better snap him up before I do.”
Shelby’s snort turned to a clearing of the throat. “It’s always so nice to visit with you, Miss Phoebe.”
“You pimped me out.” Gray had to work to keep his scowl from morphing into a smile.
“Now, let’s not underestimate the power of Luigi’s pizza.”
“I swear her hand dropped to my backside during that hug.”
She chuckled as he assisted her into the boat. “It did not. And don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy every minute of her attention. She catered to your every whim.”
“I was afraid for my life.”
She laughed outright and the sound caught him right in the heart. He’d forgotten how much he loved that sound.
He untied the boat, then grabbed her arm before she sat in the captain’s seat. “Let me drive so you can enjoy the scenery.”
“I’ll take you up on that. Though I’m flying so high, I don’t know if I could possibly feel much better.”
Once she was seated he started the motor and guided the boat from the slip. The water was as smooth as glass. The sun had disappeared behind the hills. They’d been at Miss Phoebe’s house all afternoon, and even he had to admit the time passed quickly. The author’s verbal stories were so entertaining he’d already added her latest book to his to-be-read pile.
He’d looked up Phoebe Bell last night. The author was as successful as Shelby had intimated. She’d even had two books adapted for the big screen. Her social media following was impressive—she had over a hundred thousand Facebook followers and even more on Instagram.
“I have to hand it to you, Shel.” He increased the boat’s speed. “You’re a genius. This preorder thing’s gonna sell a ton of books.”
“Hope you’re right.”
“Take the win. She’s got a massive following and readers love their signed copies. On another note, we’d better line up plenty of help to package and ship all those copies.”
“We’ll need readers to receive them on January thirteenth. Her avid fans will be upset if they don’t have it on release day.”
January thirteenth was two months away. He’d be back in Riverbend Gap by then. The thought of going home opened up a pit inside. It wasn’t the thought of leaving Grandville or the bookstore. But the thought of leaving Shelby.
Not good, Briggs. Not good at all.He couldn’t let himself go there again.
The past no longer stood between them, but there were plenty of other reasons why thoughts like that were unwelcome. She’d never leave the bookstore or her family—and he’d never ask her to. Grandville was her home.
Oh, and there was her boyfriend.
You’re an idiot.Here he was, sitting here detailing all the reasons he should control himself, when Shelby wasn’t the slightest bit interested in anything he could offer.
The engine sputtered. Gray frowned at the throttle, then glanced back at the engine.
