Page 34 of Heart Strings

But before I can ponder further on our tangled emotions, the sudden clang of the bell above the door snaps us back to reality. I instinctively slide off Connor’s lap as Sophie bursts into the bookstore, her eyes wide with mischief and a smirk playing on her lips.

“Well, isn’t this a scene straight out of a romance novel?”

“Soph!” I exclaim, my cheeks heating up as I scramble to my feet. “What are you doing here?”

She saunters in, her smirk widening as she eyes both of us with an I-knew-it-all-along look. “Came to see how the cleanup was going, but it seems I’ve walked in on something far more interesting.”

Connor’s expression is a mix of embarrassment and annoyance, but he recovers quickly, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah, we were just taking a break,” he says, trying to sound casual. But even I can see the bulge in his sweats and I groan, covering my face.

Sophie chuckles, then digs into her purse, pulling out her phone. “Break or no break, you two might want to see this. It’s been out for a while,” she hands the phone to me.

I take it, my heart sinking as I see the screen displaying a tabloid website with a blurry photo of Connor and me kissing up the road from the restaurant from our first date night. The headline screams about a secret romance between the local bookstore owner and the town’s bad boy rockstar.

“Oh no,” I mutter, scrolling through article after article which speculates wildly about our relationship, piecing together a narrative from half-truths and outright guesses.

Connor leans over, his expression turning from surprised to worried as he reads over my shoulder. “Fuck, this isn’t good,” he murmurs, his hand instinctively finding mine and squeezing it. “I didn’t think anyone saw us. The vultures never follow me back here.”

“Apparently, someone did,” Sophie chimes in, not quite able to mask her concern despite her earlier teasing. “This went live a week ago, has anyone contacted you yet?”

I shake my head, my mind racing with the potential fallout. “No, not yet. But it’s only a matter of time, right? With this kind of exposure...”

I don’t even want to know what people think of me and how they know I own a bookstore. Did they do research on me? The more I think about it, the more my heart won’t stop pounding.

“I’ll handle it,” Connor says, and I watch his jaw work. “I can’t fucking believe my PR didn’t contact me about this.”

Connor’s frustration is palpable, and I feel a knot tighten in my stomach at the thought of the unwanted attention this could bring. He’s probably blaming himself since he is the famous one out of us, but like he’s said, he’s never had paparazzi follow him back to our town before.

I squeeze his hand, trying to calm the storm I see brewing in his eyes. “Connor, this isn’t your fault. These things happen, and we... we were just caught off guard.”

He lets out a heavy sigh, his eyes meeting mine. “I know, Gracie, but I should have been prepared. After all the years in the public eye, I should have expected something like this. Especially after... everything.”

“It was a simple dinner and a kiss,” I say softly, trying to keep things in perspective even as my heart races with a mix of fear and annoyance. “It’s not like we were hiding. We just didn’t announce it to the world.”

“Yeah, but now it feels like we’re on display,” he mutters, releasing my hand to rub the back of his neck, a telltale sign of his growing anxiety. “I’ll call my PR first thing and see what they know and what we can do to squash unnecessary rumors. We need to manage this before it spirals out of control.”

Sophie clears her throat and crosses her arms. “Now, I don’t want to sound like a bear with a sore tooth,” she says, glaring at me. “But when were you two going to tell me you went—“

“Tonight, Soph!” I say, pushing her toward the door, much to her amusement. “Bring some wine and I’ll have supper ready!”

“Fine, but you better make that pasta I love,” she says with a pout before she leaves, her departure leaving a tense silence in her wake. Connor and I sit down amid the chaos of the bookstore, the weight of the public’s eyes suddenly heavy on us.

“She’s going to be relentless because I forgot to tell her about our date and…” my cheeks warm and I turn to look at him, and my heart does a little flip.

He looks at me, his expression softening. “You’re amazing, you know that? You’re handling this better than most people who get put under the public’s scrutiny.”

I let out a wry laugh, not feeling particularly graceful. “Feels more like scrambling, but thank you. I just... I don’t want this to change things between us. Not when we’re just figuring it all out.”

“It won’t,” he assures me, reaching for my hand again. “We won’t let it. What we have is ours, and some gossip rag isn’t going to shake that.”

The resolve in his voice is comforting, and I find myself drawing strength from his certainty. We spend the next few minutes in silence, each lost in thought about the steps we’ll need to take next.

Chapter 26

Gracie

Sophie’s favorite pasta is on the menu—a spicy arrabbiata with garlic bread on the side. Cooking has always been a calming activity for me, and right now, I need all the calm I can muster.

As I start chopping tomatoes, the sound of my knife against the cutting board is rhythmic, meditative. By the time Sophie’s expected knock comes, I’ve got the sauce simmering and the garlic bread ready to go into the oven.

---