“No.I can work with a lot of things, but this place makes your shop at the faire look like a Barnes & Noble.”He didn’t soften it.“I may not know bookstores, but I know the value of a cozy space.Right now, this place is chaotic.That won’t attract customers from out of town.We need to get rid of the junk and make it look more like a used bookstore instead of a landfill.”
Ouch.She didn’t think it was that bad.“Alex said she liked places like mine.”
“Alex?”Hawk paused at the name, and something about his reaction left a sour taste in her mouth.“Alex thrives in messes.But I think I know where she’s coming from.”
“You do?”
“Yeah.”His eyes swept over the space again, like he was seeing it with fresh eyes.“You’re going for an aesthetic.The dusty-unkempt bookstore vibe.It’s not bad.People like that.But right now, the chaos is overpowering your intent.You need to clear out the garbage, keep the gold, and make this place look like a disgruntled wizard lives here.It still needs to be organized.Understand?”
Unfortunately, she did.He had a point.The clutter got in the way.There were days she couldn’t even find the book a customer was looking for.And someday, a stack of books was going to topple over and kill her.Her mother had never had a system.Not really.And now Lilian was the one who had to fix that.
“It needs to be unorganized in looks only,” she said.
“Exactly.People like that feeling in bookstores.But as the owner, you need to still have a handle on the mess.”
“That seems impossible,” she muttered, taking in all the work surrounding her.
Hawk smiled.“That’s why you have me.”
Fifth Weekof Faire : Food and Wine Weekend
Theturkeylegswereout of control.
Another satisfied customer walked past the bookstore, ripping into a juicy turkey leg, leaving the smell of roasted meat trailing behind them.Lilian managed to suppress a groan.Her stomach did not.
“You should go get one, if you’re so hungry,” Margo said from the doorway.
“I’m trying to limit my intake of faire food,” she huffed.After a few weeks of packing her own paper bag lunches for the faire, it was getting harder to resist.But eating greasy, fried faire food all the time would take a toll on her wallet.And she needed to save every dollar she could.
Margo shrugged.“Suit yourself.But Wine Weekend only comes once a year.”
“I think that’s only half of the theme for the weekend.”
“Is it?”
Lilian bit the inside of her cheek to keep her smile in check.Food and Wine Weekend.Another fan favorite for the guests, as well as her and Margo.Local wineries from three surrounding states came to set up tastings for interested visitors.Restaurants tried their hands at the faire’s competition for best roast pig, most elevated Renaissance meal, and the best medieval desserts.Historians were called in to educate the masses on what real Renaissance royalty ate.Not to mention the bar crawl that slunk across the faire in the evenings.People loved visiting all seven taverns on the faire grounds, escorted by their own parade and served by the bar wenches.As a wench herself one year, Lilian knew things often got rowdy.But never unsafe.
“I heard Food Network is here this year,” Margo said, jarring Lilian out of her hunger spiral.
She gasped.“No.”
“Yeah.They’re doing a special on fun food festivals.King Rothbury is losing his mind about it.”
That didn’t surprise her in the least.The king was already strict about trying to protect the sanctity of the faire.Having actual expert judges would certainly make anyone stressed out.
“I wonder if Hawk is feeling the pressure.”
“Feeling the pressure about what?”
She nearly jumped out of her skin at the question.Her eyes immediately went to the doorway, but Hawk’s familiar tall shape wasn’t there.She turned to the window and saw him leaning in, his monstrous metal clipboard in one hand and a pair of sunglasses perched on his elegant nose.
“What are you doing there?”she asked.“Were you… spying on us?”Not long ago, she might have meant it as a real accusation, but the words didn’t have any serious bite.
He snorted.“Hardly.I was walking by when I heard my name.”
“Is it true?”Margo interrupted.“Is the Food Network here?”
He frowned, but gossip around the faire was its own kind of beast.Not even the tyrant prince could stop the tidal wave of rumors from traveling around.“A show from the Food Network is filming here.Yes.But that shouldn’t concern you.”
