The Tannenbaum Tales Tree-Mendous Summer Reading Challenge was something I started when I opened the shop. Many adults, like me, had great memories of participating in similar events as children, but there are never any options for adults. So I made my own. There’s no personal pizza at the end, but I do have stickers and buttons.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” Carlyle grabs the card from my hand and tucks it into his bag. “Thanks.”
Once Carlyle’s gone, I bury myself in paperwork. No one warned me how much math would be involved in owning a bookstore.
Okay, they probably did. Repeatedly. But I was caught up in the vision of spending my days surrounded by books.
Thankfully, it’s not too difficult, though I’m grateful for all the advanced math courses I took in college. Balancing the books might not require calculus, but even opening the spreadsheet and seeing the numbers sends a pulse of dread into my system.
It shouldn’t. My life used to revolve around the law. When it came time to pick a career, I made the safe choice and went to law school. After all, what would I do with an English degree? Books brought me far more joy, but spending my days lost in fictional words didn’t pay the bills. At least that’s what my parents said.
Being a lawyer had promised a life filled with far less joy, but more security. It wasn’t until my great-aunt May passed away, leaving me her house and a sizeable nest egg, that I saw things differently.
The bells above the door jingle—literally, because they’re jingle bells. The kind you’d expect to find on Rudolph. It’s a bit annoying, but I’ve learned to tune it out. The kids love it, which is what really matters. Mondays are quiet around here, but a few people always pop in. “I’ll be right with you.” I want to finish this last entry before I look away. Otherwise, it’ll take me ten minutes to figure out where I was when I get back. “Look around and let me know if you need help finding anything. If we don’t have it, we can always order it for you.” It’s the standard spiel, one I say a few hundred times a week.
“Nix Jansen?”
It’s been years, but I’d recognize that voice anywhere. It haunted my dreams for years, hearing him whisper my name in my various fantasies.
“Chase?”
My feet are frozen as his footsteps get closer. It’s not until he’s standing in front of the register that he comes into full view.
I’d swear he hasn’t changed a bit. Okay, that’s not true. Somehow, he’s even more gorgeous than before. He’s always been fit, but his shoulders have filled out a lot since high school. Then he’d been muscular, but still a bit on the scrawny side. Now he’s put on several pounds of muscle. In the process, he’s also learned how to use hair gel appropriately.
“Hey, Nix. Chase, remember?” He sticks his hand out like he’s meeting me for the first time, as if I didn’t see him every day for half my life.
“Hi,” I squeak out. My mouth is completely dry.Shit. I knew he was coming; this shouldn’t be a surprise. I figured by now he’d have a beer gut and be balding, not look like the perfect specimen that haunts my dreams.
Fine. I’ve stalked his socials enough to know that none of those things happened.
“My brother told you I was coming, right?” The stricken look on his face is enough to snap me out of my stupor.
“Of course. Sorry, I was off in my own little world. You know me, always lost in a book.” I do my best imitation of my father’s voice, but it falls flat.
“Good, I was worried for a minute that you forgot.” His head moves on a swivel. It’s hard not to imagine what he thinks when he sees the place. It’s not a huge store. Large enough to carry a decent selection across genres and host a few events, but it’s still a small-town shop. “Thanks so much for letting me stay with you.”
“It’s no problem. I’ve been fixing the place up for years, but you’ll be my first official tenant. You can take it for a test run before it officially goes on the market.” The upstairs was in rough condition when I bought the building. Unfinished and covered in what must have been at least twenty years of dust. I initially thought I’d turn it into an event space, but when I realized how long it would take, I put in an event space downstairs. Nothing big, but room for tables and chairs. It’s great for book clubs and game nights. At least I think so.
“Is there somewhere I can…” Chase nods toward the suitcase he’s dragged in behind him.
“Shit. I mean, of course. This way.” Right, it’s good to make a fool of myself early on. At least that’ll squash any idea that I might’ve outgrown my awkward teen ways.
I get halfway to the back room when I realize the shop is technically still open. “Hang on a second.” I put my hand up, like I’m telling a dog to stay. Before he can see the embarrassment on my face, I jog to the front door and turn the sign on the door to let people know I’ll be right back. Locals are used to seeing the back in fifteen minutes sign. Most days, it’s just me here, so occasionally I close up for a few minutes to take care of something.
Like, show my longtime fantasy man around his apartment.
Okay, that one’s just today, but still.
“Ready?” I ask when I return. As requested, Chase hasn’t moved an inch.
“Let’s do it.”
I lead him through the back room of the shop to the staircase that leads to his apartment. “This is your entrance. Your key will let you in the back door there,” I explain, pointing toward a door that faces the back alley. “Be sure to pull it shut—hard—so nothing else gets in. Then this door up the stairs uses the same key.” Thankfully, the door is agreeable, and the key turnseasily in the lock. That’s not always the case. It’s a bit particular, depending on the weather. And the barometric pressure. And probably some other mystical reason that I don’t know about.
It’s on the list. Along with about seventy other things.
CHASE
