Page 10 of A New Chapter

“Hey. I’m really sorry that we disrupted your story. We were on our way out the door when Gracie changed her mind about what to wear, and that’s why we were late.”

“No worries,” Emma said dismissively.

“Gracie, is it ok if Emma shows me some books while you’re coloring?”

“Ok,” she said.

They walked a few feet away before Zack placed his hand on Emma’s arm and swung her around. “Is something wrong?” he asked while maintaining a firm grip on her arm.

She attempted to pull her arm away, but the man had strong hands, and he wasn’t letting go. “Well, since you asked, I thought it was in poor taste that you flirted with Janice right in front of your daughter. What happened to keeping other women at a distance?”

Zack let go of her arm and rubbed his hand across his stubbled chin. “Let me get this straight. You thought that I was flirting with her?”

“That’s what it looked like to me.”

“Well, then maybe you need glasses, because it was the other way around. I was merely being polite.”

“Whatever. I just don’t want you to use my bookstore as a place to pick up women.”

“Ha! Believe me, a bookstore is the last place I’d think of to find a woman.”

Emma’s face fell, and Zack instantly realized his mistake. She turned on her heel and stomped off, leaving him stranded in the middle of the self-help section. Good place for himtoo, she seethed. Emma retreated into the small office behind the front counter and closed the door firmly behind her.

Kelly stood wide-eyed behind the register as Zack approached. “Would you please ask your boss to come out and talk to me?” he asked, his neck muscles taut with tension.

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Kelly replied. “She doesn’t get angry that often, but it’s probably best that you leave her alone right now.”

Zack sighed in defeat. “Do you have a scrap of paper and a pen back there?”

“Yeah, sure,” Kelly said, and she handed him a yellow notepad and pen.

Zack scrawled his phone number and the words Call Me on the pad, and then he handed them back to Kelly. “Please make sure she gets that,” he said before herding Gracie out the door.