Page 18 of This Heart
I shook my head. “I am not calling dibs.”
Her brow rose.
I folded my arms over my chest. “Fine, I’m calling dibs.”
She grinned. “I hope he’s got a big–”
“Hi, Aurora!”
I jumped and spun around to see Gary standing there. Thank God he hadn’t walked up two seconds later.
“Gary, what a pleasure to see you again. This is my sister, Lou, Lou, this is Gary…I’m so sorry. I forgot your last name.”
He laughed as he reached for Lou’s hand to shake it. “Gary Harris.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Gary Harris,” Lou practically purred. “Are you looking for a certain book?”
His gaze moved back to me. “No, just looking around.”
Lou cleared her throat. “Right, okay. Well, I’ve got some inventory to count in the back. Let me know if you need any help, Aurora.”
Looking at her, I frowned. There wasn’t any inventory in the back. When she winked, I rolled my eyes.
I focused back on Gary. “What brings you in today?”
He smiled again, and I was taken by those same kind eyes that I’d noticed the first time we met. “Well, I could lie and come up with some excuse about needing a new book, but I actually came in to see if you’re free for dinner this evening.”
I waited for my stomach to dip or my heart to flutter.Nothing. I wasn’t sure what in the world was wrong with me. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to date. I did. I wanted what all of my friends had. Love. Someone to spend my mornings and nights with. Someone to talk to about our day and to hold me while we fell asleep. I wanted to wake up and see a man looking at me like Declan looked at Harper. Or Gavin looked at Brystol. Kian, the way he hung on to everything Cadie did. I wanted that kind of love.
Gary was handsome. Kind. And from our little interaction, he seemed like a nice guy. So why did I feel nothing? Not even a spark.
“Dinner would be nice,” I heard myself saying.
His smile grew to a full-blown grin. “Wonderful. A new Chinese restaurant has opened near Lake Placid. It’s about a twenty-minute drive, if that’s okay with you.”
I nodded. “Sure! I haven’t had Chinese food in forever.”
“Should I pick you up at your place after you close the bookstore?”
“Lou is closing tonight, so I’m free any time after three.”
Gary nodded. “How about I pick you up around five? I can slip out of work a bit early.”
I raised my brows. “New to the job and slacking off already, huh?”
He laughed, and I liked the sound of it. It was warm. “Something like that. Then it’s a date?”
I bit down on my lip and nodded. “It’s a date.”
Gary lifted his hand and said goodbye as he walked backward, turned, and headed out of the bookstore. A moment later, Lou was by my side.
“Holy hotness, Aurora.”
I chuckled. “He’s cute.”
“He’s blond. I didn’t think you liked guys with blond hair.”
Facing my sister, I frowned. “I’ve dated guys with blond hair before.”
