Page 11 of When the Angel Falls First

RockCollector89: Hi, yes! I do have a fondness for lithology. My buddies like to joke that I’m always between a rock and a hard place.

Josie: Haha, that’s a good one!

Josie: So, I’m going to be straight with you. How do you feel about family events?

RockCollector89: Family events? I usually dig those! They can be quite fun, much like unearthing a rare mineral.

Josie: Great! Because I have one coming up soon, and I’m debating whether to bring a plus one.

RockCollector89: Oh, really? That sounds exciting. Where will it be?

Josie: My great-grandmother’s house in Snoqualmie. It’s her 100th birthday.

RockCollector89: Snoqualmie, you say? Isn’t that near the foothills of the Cascade Range? I might get to see some classic metamorphic rock formations there.

Josie: Uh, I’m not sure. I was more focused on the birthday cake aspect.

RockCollector89: Haha, cake is good too! I suppose I can always eat my slice on a slab of gneiss.

Josie: A slab of what now?

RockCollector89: Gneiss! It’s a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes. The layering of minerals gives it a unique appearance!

Josie: Oh, you’re… really into the rock thing, aren’t you?

RockCollector89: Absolutely! All rocks, all the time.

Josie: Well, I would need you to promise not to replace the birthday candles with stalagmites.

RockCollector89: Can’t make any promises! But I would do my best.

Josie: Noted. I’ll keep you posted.

I told myself this was a normal exchange, that he wasprobablya normal guy who would talk about rocks. A lot. And maybe that was okay because then he could occupy my mother with various drab tales of quartz and who knew what else while I got some time with my distant cousins, who were the only fun members of the family.

As I drifted off, I tried to think of the rock collector, his mussed blond hair under a baseball cap, the way it was in his profile picture. But no matter how hard I tried, it was Caleb’s face that reappeared like a beacon and stayed with me while I slept.

The next day,as I was lost in thought amid the towering bookshelves, the familiar jingle of the shop’s entrance bell made me stop.

It can’t be him.

Before I could turn around, a voice came from behind me, the voice that still sent the butterflies in my stomach into a frenzy, even after all these years.

“Josie,” Caleb said, making my name sound like a sacred incantation.

“Oh, hello.” I wished that sounded more natural.

“You did something remarkable yesterday.”

I scrambled to stifle the grin that threatened to bloom across my face. Playing it cool was never my forte, but now was as good a time as any to try. I responded with a nonchalant, “Oh, did I?”

His laugh echoed through the room. He looked at me with newfound respect, a sparkle of excitement in his eyes that litsomething in the center of my chest, a wave of heat licking across my skin, and I had to hold myself back from doing something I’d regret. Like jumping into his arms and wrapping my legs around him the way I used to do.

“Those books you recommended—they were exactly what the couple needed. And you must have known they would be. You have an uncanny ability.”

“Well, that’s part of the bookseller’s job description, isn’t it?” I tried to keep my tone light, even as I fought off waves of desire.

“No, it’s more than that,” he insisted, stepping closer. “You’ve… you’ve really got something.”

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