Page 4 of The Undercover Billionaire's Baby

“You’re a lifesaver. Katie! Sit down.”

Katie froze halfway through climbing onto the table. She slid back down and sat on a cushion. I tipped her a little wink and she looked away shyly. I’d planned on kicking today off with Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, but I guessed Sharon didn’t need twenty minutes of the kids screaming “Noooooooo!” Instead, I went with fairy tales, good for quiet reading, though Puss in Boots soon had the kids asking questions.

“Wait, wait, Miss Stamey?” Daniel stuck up his hand.

“What is it, Daniel?”

“How does a cat wear boots?”

“Well, on its feet.”

“But, on all four feet, or only the back ones?”

I turned the book around to show the illustration. “Only the back feet. Don’t they look snazzy?”

“My dog has boots,” said Mike. “For when the sidewalk’s too hot. But he has to wear four of them, one on each paw.”

“Miss Stamey, can cats really walk on two feet?”

“Well, no. Not most cats. But this cat is special. Why don’t we keep reading and see what happens next?”

The kids mostly settled down after that, getting into the story and forgetting their questions. I read through Puss in Boots, then one more story, and by the time I was finished, half the kids had dozed off. Sharon woke them gently and got them on their feet, coaxing them out of the reading nook with promises of treats.

“Thank you,” she mouthed at me, over their heads. Then she was hustling them back out the door, back up the street, all clutching their tow rope. I tidied the reading nook and reshelved the book. Alice came up beside me, toting her purse.

“Thought I’d head out for lunch,” she said. “Can I bring you anything back?”

I thought for a moment, then shook my head. “No, thanks, not this time. I’ll grab something upstairs.” But I didn’t go up to my place when she left. Instead, I dug out the task I’d been dreading, next month’s book order list.

The thing was, my shop was small. Really small. I couldn’t stock every book, or anywhere close. I had to guess what the town would love — and in summer, the tourists — and only stock that. No room for error. Mom had always nailed it, month after month. She’d had this instinct, never went wrong. You always have what I’m looking for, Mrs. Schneiderman once told her. I come in every time, and boom, like magic. It’s like that store, y’know, from that story. The one where the shelves stock your heart’s desire.

I felt my eyes prickle. My vision swam. Mom had been magic, but now she was gone. And if I didn’t find myself a touch of her magic, I didn’t know what I was going to do. Sales were way down from this time last year, and still trending downward. I blinked back my tears.

If there was one thing I could count on, it was the rhythm of my work day — but if I couldn’t step up, I’d soon lose that too. I’d soon lose Mom’s legacy, my entire childhood. The only life I’d ever had, or ever wanted. Panic swelled in my chest and flapped behind my eyelids, and when I closed my eyes, the room pitched and yawed. When I tried to breathe, the air felt too thin. I gulped a huge breath, then gulped another. A cloud of bright sparks swarmed my head. I clutched at the counter.

“Lana? You okay?”

I jerked upright — Mom? — but it was just Alice. She ran up to catch me before I could fall.

“Hey, come sit down. What happened? You sick?”

I let her half-drag me back to the reading nook, into the beanbag I kept there for story hour. My knees went out from under me and I flopped down hard.

“I forgot my wallet,” said Alice, stroking my back. “Made it halfway to Baguettes, and that’s when it hit me. I took it out to show Sharon the pics of my niece and never put it back again. Hey, try and breathe.”

I sucked in a long breath, slow through my nose. When I let it out again, I felt my head clear.

“Was it the list again? Panic attack?”

I nodded, feeling silly. “Yeah. Freaking out.”

“We’ve all been there,” said Alice, and plopped down beside me. “Anything I could help with?”

I was about to say no, but maybe there was. “You like to read, yeah?”

“Book-a-day habit.”

“You could go through the catalogues. Pick out what you’d order. Maybe two heads are better than one.” I sighed. “Though, at this point, it might be too late. We’ve been bleeding cash since Mom got sick, and now she’s gone…” I closed my eyes to hold back fresh tears.

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