Page 6 of The Pumpkin Pie Book Nook

Tyler’s pulse kicked hard. He could kiss her. He could, and he wanted to so badly it made his heart squeeze and his pulse thunder.

His mind flashed with pictures so vivid they felt real even if they only existed in his imagination. Robyn in his kitchen drinking coffee, Robyn laughing at Emma’s llama facts, Robyn sitting at the end of his couch with a book and her socked feet tucked under her—she fit in his life whether she realized it or not.

The alarm on his phone chose that exact second to beep.

Tyler’s hand dropped, and Robyn blinked as if she’d been pulled back into her own body.

“I—” Tyler cleared his throat, dragging his phone out of his pocket. The screen flashed: pick up emma.

Of course. Of course it was time.

“Sorry,” he said, voice rougher than he intended.

Robyn’s cheeks were pink.

“Right,” she whispered. “Emma.”

Tyler stood, suddenly aware of how tight his chest felt, how hot his skin was.

He set the empty plate aside, then hesitated.

“I’ll… see you at the book club,” he said, aiming for easy and landing somewhere near hopeful. “Assuming Mrs. C. has already picked a date.”

A small laugh slipped out of Robyn, and Tyler smiled because it was easier than admitting he felt shaken right down to his core.

“Try not to open the clue without me,” he added.

“I won’t,” she said softly.

Tyler held her gaze, then forced his feet to move.

He had to pick up Emma.

He had to be a dad.

He stepped out into the crisp autumn air and told himself the same thing he’d been telling himself all day. Get it together.

But the intention didn’t even make it to the sidewalk.

Because Robyn hadn’t simply walked into his life. She’d walked into the spaces he’d stopped believing anyone could fill. What the hell was he going to do when she left?

THREE

ROBYN

Maple Falls was slowly turning in for the night and the last golden rays of the sun had long since slipped below the horizon. A few locals were walking to The Kettle, the local tavern, for fire-roasted pizza, cold beers, and billiards. There’d be laughs, tales of bygone days, and the camaraderie that came from living in a small town.

But tonight, there was no place Robyn would rather be than in the bookstore with her black cat, Mr. Darcy, by her side. For the past three years, ever since she’d rescued him from a shelter back east, Mr. Darcy had stayed close wherever she went. He followed her everywhere, weaving between her legs and stealing her spot the moment she got up for a cup of tea.

When the store closed for the day, it became her home. She had Meg’s cozy studio apartment upstairs and all the reading nooks a book lover—and one spoiled kitty cat—could ask for.

Mr. Darcy had been slowly making the bookstore his own, climbing on the top of shelves for extended naps, or hiding behind the counter when the store got busy. Now, he was following her around the shop while she closed the shutters and switched off the overhead lights, waiting for their nightly ritual of reading and writing.

It had been painful leaving her towering TBR pile behind at her rented brownstone near campus, but it seemed silly to bring them when she’d literally have a bookstore at her fingertips. Now the only question was, which book to read next?

She sat in her favorite spot, curled into the oversized chair by the front window with a fluffy throw blanket tucked over her legs, hair braided loosely over her shoulder. Mr. Darcy was right on the back of the chair, already snoozing away. He didn’t even stir when Robyn scratched behind his ears.

The bookstore had a different kind of quiet after closing. It felt soft and safe, like the building itself exhaled once the last customer left.