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“And where is that?”
“Spread the Pages.”
***
“Thank you! Please come again!” Nora waves to a customer while I hold the door for them before stepping inside her bookstore.
Her surprised gaze lands on me. “Easton? What are you doing here?”
“Well, I heard you sell books, so…”
She grins as she rounds the front counter, walking over to me, her short stature forcing me to drip my head down to see her. Don’t tell the others, but Nora is my favorite of the Riley siblings. Maybe because she used to hang out with me and Lennon when she was younger, but she’s always been genuine and adores Lennon unabashedly. She was also in support of Lennon marrying me, so that definitely helps her favorite sibling status.
“You heard right.”
My gaze sweeps over the bookstore that Nora opened a few years ago, taking in all the details. Spread the Pages specializes in romance novels, which doesn’t surprise me given how the matriarch of the Riley family feels about women’s literature. But Nora also stocks several other genres and takes requests from customers.
Since she partners with the college, there are numerous stacks of textbooks behind the main counter assigned for various English classes, including her own mother’s.
I lean closer to her, dropping my voice. “I need some books on pregnancy.”
Her eyes drop down to my stomach. “Well, you’re not showing yet, so your secret is safe with me.”
Laughing, I follow her through the main room, which is full of jewel-toned cushioned chairs and couches. Potted plants hang from the ceiling and sit in corners between bookshelves along navy blue walls. In one corner, Nora hosts several monthly book clubs, including the romance one her mother and sisters attend.
We pass through several dark green shelves full of books in every sub-genre of romance you can imagine until she leads me to the nonfiction section and points to a shelf full of books related to pregnancy. “This is what I have in stock, but if there’s something else you need, I can always order it for you.”
I glance at the titles on the shelf, wondering if any are about supporting a pregnant partner. “Thanks. I’ll take a look.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and leans against the shelf behind me. “I take it these are for my sister?”
“No. They’re for me.”
Her brows lift. “Really?”
“Yeah. Your sister is quite stubborn. Did you know that?”
“Nope. I had no idea,” she says dryly.
I grin. “And she refuses to slow down, so I’m trying to make sure that I do my part as a father-to-be.”
Nora tilts her head. “What exactly is your part, then?”
Knowing that Nora is privy to the real circumstances of our arrangement, I feel more comfortable discussing my frustration with her than I did with Jake.
“There have to be things I can do to help her rest or ease her nausea. She’s hell-bent on finishing her nursing program early, so I need to find a way to support her since she’s too stubborn to prioritize herself and the baby.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Easton, but the only thing Lennon has ever focused on this intently in her life is getting her nursing degree,” Nora says, pulling my attention back to her.
“Okay…”
“You know her. She’s always been a free spirit, fluttering from one interest to another and avoiding anything that felt predictable or boring. The moment she settled on going to school to be a nurse, something in her shifted.”
“When was that?”
“After Dad had his heart attack,” Nora explains, a hint of sadness in her voice. “We were all scared shitless, but I think it impacted her the most because she wasn’t here for the years leading up to it.”
“I remember.” Memories of that day flood back: walking into the hospital and seeing the entire Riley family—minus Bruce, of course—sitting helpless and distraught in the waiting room.
