Lilian held her breath as the group came closer… closer… and then one’s eyes found her shop.The girl stopped, looked down at a familiar piece of paper and grinned.“Guys, this is it.”
“Bodice and Brawn.”One laughed.“I love it.”
Lilian refused to breathe even as the group stepped into her shop, filling it entirely.They all exchanged polite smiles as the womenoohedandahhhed.Their eyes caught sight of the 18+ sign Hawk had made her install that first week, and they beamed.
“This is the right place,” a woman commented before making a beeline to the romance section.
“Oh, man, these are ancient!”a girl with an elaborate corset of what looked to be dragon scale said.She couldn’t have been older than twenty.
“Look at this.Pirates… Knights… Vikings.”Another laughed, tilting a crocheted witch cap up so she could get a better look.“This is amazing.”
“Excuse me!”A blond girl wearing pastel fairy wings called.It was the one who had pointed out the shop from the path.“Can you tell me how steamy these books are?They don't fade to black, do they?”
Lilian blinked at her.Fade to black?Her mind faded to black, because she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.Margo gave her a friendly nudge, and it rebooted her brain enough for her to remember to talk.“Oh!They are… um, definitely steamy,” she blurted out.What else could one say about the incomparable works of Johanna Lindsey?
There was so much.Yet she was drawing a blank.Sell!her brain screamed,You have to sell this to them!
She opened her mouth and began to babble, “I mean, that is romance history right there.The romance scenes might not be as graphic as modern-day novels, but they were a testament to their time.Oh my god, the euphemisms.”
The girl was staring at her and didn’t exactly tell her to stop.Lilian did what she did best.Talk about books.
“What kind of stories are you looking for?”
“I don’t know.I guess I like darker romances.I haven’t really read much of these bodice rippers.”
“Well, the one you're holding is definitely what one might consider a dark romance,” Lilian said.
The girl glanced at the cover, which had beautiful curling script and a picture of a castle in the mist.“Really?”
“Oh, yeah.Her stepbrother kidnaps the hero and forces her to have sex with him.And then when the hero breaks free, he reverse captures her and basically holds her hostage.”
The other women in the store stopped talking and stared at her.Only when Margo muttered a quiet “Jesus” did Lilian realize how insane the whole plot sounded out loud.God, she was going to scare these customers away.Or worse, give Hawk a conniption when someone accused her of peddling rape fantasies.
She almost excused herself when the girl smiled at her.“All right, you’ve convinced me.”
Really?She managed not to utter her disbelief out loud before the other women were on her, each stating the tropes and subplots that they were drawn to.And for the next hour, Lilian found herself scanning the shelves for the perfect book for each woman.
The day only got busier from there.A steady flow of visitors began to make their way to the back of the faire and into her small shop.Mostly women, all clinging to the flyers as they scanned the shelves.By noon, there were beautiful book-sized spaces on her shelves.
“Looks like the flyers are working,” she told Margo with a smile.
“Of course they're working.They were a great idea and a great design.”Margo winked, but even she looked giddy to see the customers coming in and out of their space.
“Excuse me,” one woman said from the fantasy wall.
Lilian scuttled over to assist her.
“What happens if I find the knight?”
“I’m sorry?”Lilian blinked before she realized that she wasn’t hovering near the fantasy books but by the wall with Margo’s wanted posters.The woman was pointing directly at the poster of David in his knight garb.
“It saysHunt the Hunk.What happens if I find him?”
“Oh.”She had no clue.Lilian turned to Margo, who gave a confused shrug.No one had asked them that before.Her friend’s posters had been a fun way to decorate the space.But that answer wouldn’t impress the guest.
“Don’t let opportunities pass you by.”Hawk’s advice from the other day echoed in her mind like medieval church bells.
“If you take a picture with him, we’ll… give you a twenty percent discount,” she offered.
