Page 89 of His Heart

“Um, you do realize who you’re looking at, right?” I asked. “I was on the road with Sebastian after knowing him for less than twenty-four hours.”

“Good point,” she said. “I knew I liked you for a reason. I’m way less crazy compared to you. I’ll definitely use that argument on my mom when I tell her.”

I laughed. “I don’t think but Brooke did it is a very good argument.”

“You just said yourself, you did worse.” She smiled and tucked her legs up on the couch. “What is it about these big Iowa boys that makes us want to pack up and change our lives?”

“I don’t know, but they’re very persuasive.”

“Are you sure you’re not mad?” she asked. “Not even that I didn’t tell you at first? We were going to. We talked about it today, actually. He hasn’t said anything to Sebastian either.”

“No, I’m not mad,” I said. “You guys are two of my favorite people. This is fantastic.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I keep using you as an excuse to my parents for why I haven’t come home, but I’m going to need to tell them the truth soon. I was hoping to find a job first, though. You know, so I could soften the blow and make it sound less like I’m stupidly moving for a guy I’ve known for like a month.”

I gasped, feeling as if a light bulb had just lit up above my head. “Oh my god, O. You have a degree in business, right?”

“Yeah, business management with a minor in new media. Why?”

“And you worked at a coffee shop?”

She nodded. “All through college.”

“Hear me out on this,” I said. “The bookstore has space for a café, but it’s been closed for a while. It’s not much, I think they used to serve coffee and tea, plus maybe a little case with muffins or something. But I’m trying to talk Joe into reopening it, and getting some more seating in there. Doing little events and stuff, like readings and open mic nights. He’s interested, but he needs someone to handle the café. What if…”

Her eyes widened as I spoke. “Brooke, I could do that.”

I sat up taller. “And you were doing all that social media management stuff at your last job, weren’t you? Joe is hopeless at that. He tries to pretend the Internet doesn’t exist. You could work with him on that side of things. I know it would help us get the word out about the store and the events and stuff.”

“I’m kind of freaking out right now,” she said. “Is this a real possibility?”

“I’d have to talk to Joe,” I said. “But yeah, I think so.”

“Oh, Brooke, this would be amazing,” she said. “That bookstore is so cute, but you’re right. It needs seating. And maybe some cool art. Oh, and better lighting. You know what would be adorable? I saw these hanging lamps shaped like stars in a store downtown. They had different patterns and colors, and they weren’t expensive.”

“That’s perfect,” I said. My phone dinged, so I picked it up. “I’ll see Joe tomorrow at work and I’ll ask him. I bet he’ll be relieved he doesn’t have to look for someone.”

Sebastian: On my way.

I smiled down at my phone.

“You know, you have the prettiest smile,” Olivia said.

“Thanks,” I said. “But where did that come from?”

“You just seem really happy lately,” she said. “I kind of forgot what happy Brooke looked like.”

I lowered my phone. Obviously, Olivia knew what had happened between me and Sebastian. We hadn’t been hiding our new relationship from her, or Charlie. But it was difficult to talk about with her, beyond a little comment here and there. Liam had been her brother. I wasn’t sure if she’d think I was disloyal for being with someone else.

Although the truth was, I was afraid I was being disloyal.

“Does me being with Sebastian bother you?” I asked.

“No. Like I said, it’s great to see you happy.”

“Yeah, but…” I glanced down again, not sure how to put this into words. “You know, if things had been different—”

“I know,” she said. “But things aren’t different. We lost him. That doesn’t mean you have to be alone forever. It’s okay to move on. You should. That’s healthy.”

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