Page 82 of The Pumpkin Pie Book Nook

“Nothing that concerns you,” he said.

Heat flashed through Robyn’s chest. “I doubt that. As the manager of this store⁠—”

“Not for much longer,” Estevez cut in smoothly, as if he were commenting on the weather. His gaze slid over her, landing with a strange, assessing weight. “Speaking of which… you’re the one who lives upstairs, correct?”

Robyn lifted her chin. “I am.”

“Good.” Estevez nodded once, like he’d checked something off a list. “Consider this your notice. You have thirty days to vacate the premises.”

Robyn went still. The words didn’t make sense at first. He was talking to her like she was some tenant who’d missed rent. Like she wasn’t a person standing right in front of him.

He kept going, voice maddeningly casual. “I’ll throw in a prorated bonus if you can get out sooner.”

Robyn’s mouth opened, but nothing came out.

Her body staggered backward on instinct, as if the floor had shifted beneath her. She forced her face to stay composed, even as her stomach dropped hard enough to make her dizzy.

Estevez turned away from her like he hadn’t just verbally slapped her in the middle of the bookstore she managed.

He and the contractor went back to discussing walls and wiring.

“Electrical will need replacing,” the contractor said, scribbling something down. “We could go for an exposed industrial look⁠—”

Robyn’s hands curled into fists at her sides.

Exposed industrial. In Maple Falls. In her bookstore.

She walked back behind the counter on legs that felt too light. Her fingers shook as she grabbed her phone.

Meg answered on the third ring, breathless. “Hey, Robyn.”

“What the hell is going on?” Robyn shot back.

“What do you mean?”

Robyn kept her voice low, but it came out tight. “Estevez is here—with a contractor. He just told me I have thirty days to move out.”

There was a pause. A grim one.

“Robyn…” Meg started, and the guilt in her tone made Robyn’s blood run colder. “I tried to reach you. I called a few times this week.”

“I was here,” Robyn snapped before she could soften it. Because Meg had called once or twice, but Robyn had other things occupying her thoughts. “Did you accept his offer?” she asked instead.

Meg exhaled. “Nothing is signed yet.”

Robyn clung to that. “Okay. Then he can’t just⁠—”

“But he raised it,” Meg blurted. “Significantly. And Robyn, I’m sorry, but I’d be a fool not to consider it. I’ve been trying to sell the place for months.”

Robyn squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the flare of panic. “Meg, we have the Halloween event coming up here. The book club that just started up again. We hoped with this event, with my great-grandma’s story… We want to bring the right buyer in. Someone who will keep the bookstore alive.” And the way Isabel had intended it to be, she wanted to add. Because that legacy was important to Robyn. More than she’d ever realized, until she’d known it could soon disappear. Robyn simply couldn’t stand the thought of the bookstore closing its doors forever.

“I know,” Meg said, and she did sound sorry. “I do. But Estevez is eager to move fast. He wants to start planning now.”

“He wants to turn the bookstore into an organic grocer,” Robyn hissed, glancing toward the front where the contractor was measuring her shelves like they were disposable. “And honestly? We don’t need one. We have the farmer’s market. We have Liam’s farm shop. We have farms that deliver. Maple Falls is practically farm-to-table already.”

Meg made a small, helpless sound. “I hear you.”

Robyn’s throat tightened. “Please. Just… wait. Let us have the Halloween event. It’s attracting people from far and wide. Maybe someone will come who wants to buy this place. Give us a chance, please.”