She swallowed hard.The ground beneath her slippered feet suddenly looked very interesting.Her lack of response did nothing for Hawk, who waited patiently, his grip unrelenting.
Fine.She’d come this far.Why not ask the big question?“I think I need help,” she said.
Ten seconds ticked by, but they felt like an eternity.Finally, she dared to glance up.The knot in his brow screamed confusion, so she whispered, “With my business.”
“Are you in danger of going bankrupt?”
“Jesus, no.”She laughed.“At least I don’t think so.”
He frowned at that.“You don’tthinkso?”
She knew that tone.It screamedwrong answereven though Hawk had never raised his voice.“I honestly don’t know,” she said.“I realized recently I need to think more like a businesswoman and less like someone with the hobby of collecting books.And to do that, I think I might need your help.”
Blessedly, he let go of her wrist, but her skin still tingled from where he’d touched it.Lilian pulled her arm back and cradled it, still feeling cautious about the situation.
“What do you need my help with?”Hawk asked.
“Profit margins, obviously,” she said.“But after that… I guess I don’t know.I don’t even know where to begin.I want this thing to be a success.”
“Which thing are we talking about?Your bookstore here or the one in real life?”
Real life?The Bodice and Brawnwasreal life to her.But so was the store in Tenison.Both businesses were tied together and held a place in her heart.She looked up and met his eyes.“Both.”
“All right.”He hummed, scratching under his neck.She could see the dark whiskers of a beard shadowing the skin.“I can’t promise I’ll fix anything.But I can help answer some questions.”
“Really?”She stared at him, unsure if she had heard right.
“Really.”
“Oh, wow, thank you!”Relief surged through her, along with the overwhelming urge to hug him.She stopped herself before she lost her mind completely.Hawk was being nice; she didn’t want him to regret this decision.She settled for a flood of gratitude.“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
His throat bobbed on a swallow, as if he was already reconsidering.But he shrugged the look off quickly and started writing something down on his clipboard.“It’s fine.Here, this is my number.Text me, and we’ll work out the details.Do you want to meet up this week?”
“Yes, please!The sooner the better.Here, let me give you my number as well.”
“Huh.”A smile pulled at his lips as he handed her a piece of paper torn from his clipboard.
“What?”
“Nothing.You just seem very serious about this.”
“Mr.Carlisle,” she said, staring him down, “you will find there are few things I take seriously in life, but books and bookstores are one of them.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.”
“It is?”
“Yeah.”He turned to walk away, but before he did, he threw back at her, “It means I’m not wasting my time.”
Fifth Week of Fair
Unknown
What’s your address?
Liliansquintedatthestrange text from an unknown number.Behind her, the television blared with old reruns ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer.She sipped her coffee slowly, considering if it was a scam or not.
Who is this?
