Page 46 of A Novel Love Story

I watched her go, unable to keep myself from grinning. What a sweet kid.I wondered if, when Pru and Jasper had children, I’d make a good eccentric aunt. The weird one who came over on weekends and brought with her even weirder gifts, and knew how to mend books and wore different-colored socks and had a story for every occasion. I never imagined myself with kids. It never felt likeme.

But this? I could do something like this.

Then, of course, Anders had to ruin it.

“I see you’re making friends,” he remarked dryly, putting his hands in his jean pockets, and inclining an eyebrow. He looked so cool, so composed, sogood-looking, it was infuriating.

I took my cross-body purse from the counter, and slung it over my shoulder. “Yes, well, I prefer to hang around people who like me.”

“I didn’t say I hated you.”

No, but he didn’tlikeme, either. I still needed to apologize to him, but would he just interrupt like last time, not wanting to hear it? “You’ve got a great romance selection,” I said instead, motioning to the shelf of paperbacks.

And then I left.

15

The Cemetery of Deleted Things

IGOT A LATE LUNCHat the café. Jake had just showed up, breezing in like he’d rolled out of bed two seconds ago, five-o’clock shadow and scruffy dark hair. He high-fived the teen behind the cash register, as if to tag him out, and slid over the counter to stand behind the bar. He put on his name tag, tied his apron around his waist, and got to work. I assumed that Ruby had already left, but I wanted to try to apologize for—well—telling her that she’d settled, because Jake really was doing his best, and he never really got enough time on the page doingthiswork—the work Ruby had settled with. And to be honest, he was great at it. He schmoozed up customers like he’d been doing it since he was born. He knew their orders, he knew their names, he knew how to smile and when to laugh, and he was very good at getting people to buy a little more than they originally came in for. Oh, just a coffee? Are you sure you can’t make room for a cheese Danish? They’re fresh and better than Starbucks could ever be.

It was truly a sight to behold.

As I finished the rest of my soda, Ruby tore out of the back office like a storm. She pecked a kiss on Jake’s cheek, and said hello to the customer he was attending, and quickly made her way for the door. Her shift must’ve been up.

“Ruby,” I called, putting down a ten for my lunch and scooting out of the booth. I probably could’ve just let her go, but I didn’t want her to think I was—well, I didn’t want Ruby Rivers to hate me because I’d been thoughtless.

She paused at her name, looking around for the source, but when her gaze settled on me, she frowned. “Oh, Anders’s friend.”

“Not quite friend,” I replied with a wince.

“Right, right, you slapped the shit of him. Poor guy,” she added, putting a hand on her hip. “What do you want?”

Blunt and to the point. I couldn’t blame her. “Can we talk?” I asked, twisting my fingers together. I glanced back at Jake, who was leaning against the counter, chatting with a customer. “Please?”

There was a defiant purse to her lips, but then she sighed and motioned out the door. “Can we walk, too? I just really wanna go home and crash for a bit.”

Relief swelled in my chest. “Sure.”

So I put a ten down on the table for my food and followed her out of the Grumpy Possum and down the sidewalk toward the center of town. Ruby and Jake shared an apartment above the old movie theater—the place had been vacant for years, until she and Jake decided to fix it up and move in together. The theater—THE GRAND, as the light-up sign said—was across the square from the inn, so old that it still had a marquee out front, and big bulb lights that needed constant replacements.

The early afternoon was hot, and rain clouds had already retreated to the edges of the valley, leaving behind puddles against the curbs of the streets, and muggy windows.

“So,” Ruby asked, digging into her purse for a mint, and offering one to me, but I declined. “What do you want?”

“I want to apologize,” I replied, “for saying those things to you. I was out of line and I barely know you, so … I’m sorry. Anders just told me about how you and Jake met and—I guess—I just … I’d seen it before. But I know my experiences aren’t yours and I was wrong. I’m sorry,” I repeated, and if I could say it a thousand more times, I would.

“You’re right,” she replied, rolling the mint around on her tongue, “my experiences are different, and I’m not you, and it was more than a bit uncalled-for.”

“Yeah …”

We walked together for a moment in silence. Was that it? Should I leave now or—

She sighed. “But you remind me of another do-gooder.”

“Oh?”

“Junie. You’re staying with her. Two in the same town is one thing, but in the same house?” She shivered. “It’s probably all sparkly rainbows and butterflies.”

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