Page 99 of The Pumpkin Pie Book Nook

“Meg,” she said, voice trembling but clear, “I want to buy the bookstore.”

Meg blinked. “Robyn⁠—”

“I’m serious.” Robyn’s hands tightened at her sides, grounding herself. “This place should stay a bookstore. It’s… it’s not just retail. It’s community.” She gestured around them: the packed aisles, the books, the laughter. “It’s where people come to read and learn and meet. It’s where stories get shared.”

“And where people eat a truly unreasonable amount of pumpkin pie,” Tyler added.

“That’s true,” Robyn agreed. “This store is perfect as it is,” she said, meeting Meg’s eyes. “And I would love nothing more than to make it mine—so it can stay what Maple Falls needs it to be.”

Meg stared at her, mouth parted, emotion gathering in her eyes as the noise of the event swelled around them.

And somewhere behind the crowd, Robyn could sense Estevez waiting, willing to throw more money in, but Robyn had something he didn’t—heart. And a love for Maple Falls.

“I thought you weren’t staying,” Meg said, searching Robyn’s eyes.

“I didn’t think I was either,” Robyn admitted. “But then I fell in love.” With Maple Falls, with Tyler, with Emma. She could figure out Yale later. The university wasn’t going anywhere.

Tyler’s steady gaze met Robyn’s. Meg followed the look—and whatever she saw there softened her completely. Her eyes shone. “Okay,” she whispered. “Let’s figure something out.”

FORTY-FOUR

TYLER

Tyler turned the key in the front door and listened to the lock catch. The last of the crowd noise died outside, swallowed by the night, and the bookstore settled into its midnight hush. Lantern light flickered against the shelves; the stage with its chaise and candelabra looked like it was waiting for the next act.

Robyn moved about the store, closing the front curtains, still in corset and red skirt, cheeks still flushed from the night’s events, eyes bright and a little stunned—as if she couldn’t quite believe she’d made it through it all without collapsing. Tyler watched her breathe, watched her shoulders slowly drop, and thought: This is the part no one sees. The part where the adrenaline fades and what’s left is her—brave, exhausted, brilliant.

She let out a small, unsteady laugh that cracked in the middle. “I was this close to just… keeling over. Right there on the velvet chaise. Dramatic faint, full Victorian swoon. They would’ve loved it.”

Tyler crossed the floor in three quiet steps, stopping just outside her personal space. “You didn’t.”

“I know.” Another shaky exhale. “But God, this thing—” She plucked at the black satin lacing over her ribs. “It’s sexy until you have to breathe for real.”

He smiled, soft and private. “I noticed the exact second your voice stopped shaking. Two seconds in. You looked up, found me, and then the whole room leaned toward you like you were pulling strings. I felt it from thirty feet away.”

Robyn’s eyes glistened; she blinked hard. “You’re making that up.”

“I’m really not.” He nodded toward the little gothic reading nook, the velvet chaise, the low table still scattered with event programs, the string of lanterns dripping warm light. “Come here. Look.”

They walked together. The charity table sat abandoned. The only thing left was Mrs. C.’s fountain pen and a sign that read: Sold Out. Pre-orders Only!

They stood together on the stage.

“This,” he said, gesturing at the book nook, “is where you did it.”

She shook her head once, small and fierce. “Where we did it,” she corrected, rising onto her toes. “Together.”

She kissed him then. Tyler held on, his hands settling at her waist, feeling the softness of the black velvet corset beneath his palms—the tight lacing warm where it pressed against her back.

When they broke apart, Robyn stayed close, her hands still fisted in the front of his coat like she needed the contact to keep herself brave. She looked up at him, eyes shining in the lantern light. She looked nervous and certain at the same time.

“Tyler,” she whispered, like saying his name was a decision.

He brushed his thumb over her cheek, a quiet question. “Yeah?”

Robyn swallowed, her throat working. “I love you.”

The words landed soft and heavy all at once. Tyler felt like she’d placed something precious between them and was trusting him not to drop it.