Page 10 of The Chances We Take

And no one had prepared me for how exhausted I would be. Admittedly, I was usually asleep before Colter got back to the hotel room.

“I’m originally from the DFW area, but I went to school in Austin. That’s where I met Ellison,” I replied. “Then when we graduated, she moved back home, and I found a job in Houston.”

Even with Reid walking slower, I still had to increase my pace to keep up with him.

“What do you do for work?”

“Right now, I’m working in marketing for a few bookstores around the area. Mostly social media, but occasionally I’ll help with signings and other events,” I explained.

“That’s actually really cool.” He tucked his hands into his pockets.

“Yeah, I really enjoy it. Reading is one of my favorite things to do. It makes me feel like I can escape for a moment and let the world around me pause. There’s no stress—no worries—because nothing else matters while I’m flipping through those pages.” I looked away for a moment, my cheeks flushing with warmth at how excited I sounded. “That’s stupid, isn’t it?”

“No, I get it. That’s what rodeo does for me. It’srefreshing, being able to only focus on one thing and forget about your problems.”

I glanced at him with curiosity. “Most people tell me reading is dumb, or at least, to them, the books I read are. They aren’t real, so what’s the point?”

“Anything that makes you happy—makes you who you are—isn’t dumb, Isa.”

I blinked a few times, utterly speechless.

“Whatcha two talking about?” Mikey nudged me with his elbow before I could respond to Reid.

“I was telling him what I do for work. I run social media accounts for bookstores.” I repeated the condensed version of what I told Reid.

“What kind of bookstores?”

I couldn’t tell if he was baiting me into a joke or not. “Just your normal bookstores. Most are independently owned, and that’s the big difference from, say, Barnes & Noble. A couple romance-only bookstores too.” I shrugged. “I read a lot of romance.”

“Maybe I need to read some romance books. Learn some moves. You have any recommendations?” He winked, and any excitement for talking about romance books drained out of me.

“Stop hitting on my best friend, Michael!” Ellison scolded him over her shoulder as she added, “You don’t want that one, Isa.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” I pursed my lips as my body shuddered. I’d heard many stories about Mikey Tucker and those were enough for me. I didn’t need to experience it for myself.

After walking for what seemed like ages, we stopped at a takeout pizza place so Colter and Reid could get some well-earned dinner. Well, a super-late, well-earned dinner.

“Tell me more about your books?” Reid asked as we waited in line.

“I’m a huge mood reader,” I admitted. “I’ll quit a book halfway through and start a new one if it doesn’t match the mood I’m in at that moment. I read emotional books when I’m sad, romance when I’m happy or needing a feel-good book, fantasy when I need to escape.”

“Damn, doesn’t that get hard to keep track of?” His eyes locked on mine, and he looked at me fully engrossed in what I was saying. Like it was the most interesting thing he’d ever heard.

I shrugged. “Sometimes, but I’d rather read a book I can fully immerse myself in. Reading is meant to elicit emotion. If I’m not feelingsomething, then I know it’s not the right book for me at the moment. It doesn’t matter what the emotion is. I’d rather feel anger or frustration with a character than feel nothing at all.”

“Ay, Reid, what do you want?” Colter asked over his shoulder.

“Meat lovers is good with me,” he replied. “Do you want anything?”

“Um.” I thought for a moment. “Get me a slice of Hawaiian.” My favorite type of pizza had pineapple on it. I knew it was a controversial topic, but if people knew my actual pizza order, they’d think I was weird. My go-to was pepperoni with pineapple and black olives.

“Ah, you’re one of those girls, huh?” He smiled as he teased me. “You look like a pineapple on pizza girl.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I wrinkled my nose.

“It’s not a bad thing.” He winked. “You’re sweet. It’s very fitting.”

“I mean, I like pepperoni too,” I offered then debated whether he would make fun of me for my full pizza order.

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