Page 20 of Estranged Heart
“A mixture.” He winks. “I couldn’t decide if I wanted to sell new or used so I chose both.”
“I like it. Gently worn pages can be just as satisfying as crisp new ones.”
“I agree. You have a look and I’ll be back with your drink.”
“Thanks.” As I’m perusing the shelves, not having any luck choosing a book, a woman enters the store with a man following behind her. He goes straight to the bar while she peeks through the large selection, softly humming as she takes a book out to flip through it.
Elijah comes up to me with my glass of wine. “Here, let me hold that book for you up at the front so you’re not having to carry so much at once.”
“That would be great,” I say, grabbing the glass from his hand, purposely wrapping my fingers far away from where his are. I don’t need any more weird zinging or tingling to happen.
“Can’t find anything good?”
Sipping my wine, I rest a hand on the shelf in front of me. “More like I can’t decide. It’s always a struggle of mine.”
“Are you needing to rock, paper, scissors it?” The corners of his eyes crinkle with humor.
“Ha. I’d have to narrow it down first.”
“Which ones have caught your eye so far?” He steps beside me, his arm so close it rubs against mine, the scent of pine and peaches wrapping around me like a warm hug. Why does he always smell so damn good? Since when do I pay attention to how other men smell? Since him apparently. I should have left the moment I saw him, but still can’t get my feet to go in the right direction.
Or is it the wrong direction? I don’t fucking know anymore. Where am I supposed to be going again? What am I doing? Oh right—picking out books, not sniffing strangers.
“I was looking at these four.” I point to the books that caught my eye with their colorful spines.
“Hmm. Those are good and all but how about this one.” Reaching in front of me, he snatches a book from the ones I picked out and hands it to me.
“The Unhoneymooners.” I read the title out loud, admiring the beachy feel cover with plants and a bird on the front.
“It’s light, fluffy, and a total mood booster. I think you’ll enjoy it.”
“And if I don’t?” I smirk.
“Then you can come back and try another until you’re satisfied.”
“Okay. I’ll take it then.” I hold the book to my chest, my stomach doing a weird flip thing. It’s not butterflies. It can’t be. It has to be from drinking alcohol on an empty stomach.
“Great, whenever you’re ready I’ll check you out.” He walks over to the counter where the woman from earlier waits for him with a handful of books in her hands.
I finish my wine and set the empty glass on the bar. Elijah hands the customer her bag and tells her to have a good day. Smiling, she calls over to her friend who’s spinning his empty glass around with his fingers and he gets up from his stool to follow her out the door.
“Ready?” He reaches under the counter and sets my books on top.
“Yup. This is really a cool place you have here. Is it new?”
“Yeah. I . . . uh, opened months ago but had to close because of personal reasons.” His husband’s death I’m assuming.
“I’m glad you’re open again. Never too many bookstores in this town.”
“No, there isn’t. How did you find it if you don’t mind me asking? I’m always curious to know what brings people here.” He scans my books and places them in a bag.
Reaching into my wallet, I pull out my card and hand it to him. “I was driving from work yesterday and saw it on my wayhome,” I lie. I can’t tell him how I really found it. He’d think I was crazy. I have to be at this point. I’m here because someone else’s memories led me here. I touch my chest. None of this happened until I had the transplant. At first I thought it was an odd coincidence, but after seeing the man in my dreams in person I’m not so sure. Something inside me led me to him.
“That’s the answer I usually get. Good to know I’m not too hidden back here. It was the only building available at the time, and Landon said it wouldn’t be a problem if I had the right signs. Looks like he was right.”
“Yeah. The bright yellow is definitely eye-catching and so is the cute store name.”
“He chose that too.” He smiles, handing me my card back. I take it and shove it in my pocket before reaching for the bag.
