Page 13 of This Heart
“Hi, Gary,” I replied with a smile. “Welcome to Moose Village.”
He held out his hand. His hazel eyes looked kind, and he was even more handsome up close, that was for sure.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aurora. I’ve been in your bookstore. It’s charming. I can’t wait to bring my mother in when she comes to visit.”
That piqued my interest right up. “You like to read?”
He laughed. “I love reading, ever since I was a little kid. My mother was the one who got me hooked on it. She is an avid reader. I know she’s going to love your bookshop.”
I felt my chest swell with pride. “I hope she does. When will she be coming into town?”
He glanced at his watch. “Next week.”
“Does she like romantic suspense? Cadie’s husband will be reading from his new book, and we have another romantic suspense author scheduled for an exclusive signing the next day. I would love for you to bring her if she enjoys that genre.”
He smiled, and the way it lit up his eyes made me smile in return. “She loves romantic suspense. As she says, it’s her jam.”
Cadie and I both laughed.
“Then we’ll see you there,” I said.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
He turned from me to Cadie. “See you tomorrow morning.”
She waved. “See you then, Gary.”
When he turned and headed to the counter, Cadie and I both looked at one another. “He’s cute, isn’t he?”
I chuckled. “Yes, Cadie, he is cute.”
“If he asked you out, would you go out with him?”
My eyes landed back on Gary. He was handsome, polite, and had a love for books. Turning back to her, I replied, “I would. If he asked.”
A wide grin appeared on her face, and I pointed to her. “Don’t you dare. If he wants to ask me on his own, that’s one thing. Do not set us up.”
Holding up her hands, she said, “I promise not to be that friend.”
“Good. Oh, wait, that also means you can’t have Harper or Brystol do it either.”
She pouted. “Well, hell.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “I need to go check on Memory Lane Toys for Brystol, then head to the bookstore. Thanks for the chat.”
We both stood and hugged.
“Aurora, please don’t let what Liam said affect your friendship with him. He was hurting, and most likely lashed out at you because you were there. One of thoseat the wrong place at the wrong timekind of things.”
I sighed. “Probably.”
“Come on, I’ll walk you to check out the toy store, then to The Book Nook. I need to pick up Martha Stewart’s new gardening book, per Harper.”
As we walked out of the coffee shop, I chanced one more look in Gary’s direction. His eyes caught mine, and he smiled. I lifted my hand and quickly exited the coffee shop.
Liam
Winnie stared up at me with her big blue eyes and some homemade jam smeared all over her face.
