How are you feeling today?
Lilian bit her lip, unsure how to react.It was just a question.An innocent question between friends, right?
Margo’s voice echoed in her mind.“How many romance novels…”
She squashed the sentence before it could finish.
Much better actually.
Tyrant Prince
Good.
Tyrant Prince
Because I have free time today, want to have another business brainstorming session?
Lilian stared at the response.Half relieved and half… something else.They’d just seen each other last night.After soup, Hawk had stayed to watch one more episode ofTheLion’s' Den.When he had left, she’d been almost sad to see him go.Now, not even twelve hours later, he was asking to meet up again.Excitement tickled her stomach as she typed out her response.
You have my attention.Meet at the store?Same time as last week?
Tyrant Prince
Actually, I was thinking we would take a field trip.
Hawk’s sleek white truck stood out among Tenison’s rusted utility vehicles.Being from a farm town meant mostly everyone had a truck.But Hawk’s practically had a neon sign on it that said,Never driven on a gravel road.
“Hey,” he greeted, turning down the twang of guitars blaring on the radio.“You look better.”
“I feel better.”Lilian opened the door and took in the truck’s meticulous interior.Yep, totally free of dirt.It smelled of clean leather and Pine-Sol.The dashboard lit up like the cockpit of a plane, with a digital map on display.
“I hope you weren’t pushing yourself by agreeing to this.”
“I’m fine,” she said, settling in.The leather was already sticking to her exposed skin.It was building up to be another hot day, and she’d opted for comfort.“Besides, you can’t entice me with a field trip and not expect me to go to… where is it we’re going exactly?”She watched as the main street of Tenison disappeared behind them and was quickly replaced with cornfields and pastures.They were heading toward Manhattan, which wasn’t surprising, considering it was the closest thing to a city in a hundred miles.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Oh, come on,” Lilian pleaded.“What if I hate it?This is kidnapping.”
His lips quirked up.“I have documented evidence that you agreed to go with me.”
“Damn, I didn’t realize I was so easy to kidnap.”
“If it makes you feel better.I’ll get you coffee when we get there.”
It did make her feel better.But her Midwest politeness was out before she could think better of it.“You don’t have to.You already brought me soup.”
“That was nothing,” he said.“Besides, it’s my fault you haven’t been able to do much work around the store.So let me make it up to you.”
He had her there.And honestly, Lilian wasn’t as good about pushing back as her mother and father were when it came to help.If someone was going to offer her something for free, she wasn’t going to fight them on it.“All right,” she agreed, “I’ll let you treat me.”
Hawk laughed.“That wasn’t hard at all.”
She worried that the drive would be awkward.Their newfound ceasefire was tenuous, and the topics of discussion were limited.But she filled the time by complaining about her extensive list of to-dos around the shop, and Hawk actually listened to her.
More than that.He asked pointed questions about what she was going to do with extra inventory.How much time each task would take.And helped her prioritize.
He did it all in a tone that was patient and considerate.Before, when she’d talked to Margo or even Alex about the work of overhauling the bookstore, it became a one-way conversation.They were supportive, but their minds weren’t in it the same way Lilian’s was.
