“Why the long face, Arch?”
He crosses his arms in response and looks out the window as we drive into town to the coffee shop where our book club will be meeting for the first time.
He huffs out a breath before throwing his hands up in the air, his huge frame taking up all the space in my small car. “Fine, I’ll tell you.” He picks at the fabric on his knee before continuing. “I love, love, and another one bites the dust, but it isn’t me. When is it going to be my turn?” He sounds so sad that my heart aches for him.
“I have a feeling, Arch, that when your love comes around, it is going to knock you off your feet and be worth the wait.” I take a quick look at him and see the corner of his mouth lift ever so slightly.
He shrugs. “Maybe.”
I shake my head. “There’s no maybe about it. I have faith it willallwork out, and any girl will be lucky to have you.”
His cheeks pinken ever so slightly as he smiles. “Thanks, Hayls, for being a best friend, and thank you for loving Nate; he needs it.”
We pull up to the coffee shop and see that it’s closed. “Archie, I thought you said the book club was here tonight?”
He points down the street. “Drive down there a minute and park up.”
I do as he says and park up down the street before getting out. Archie unfolds himself out of my car and rests his arms on the roof, smiling. “This building is empty.”
I nod my head. “I can see that. What are we doing here, and why aren’t we at book club?”
He waves his hand. “Book club is cancelled tonight. I wanted to bring you here because I have a proposition for you.”
I narrow my eyes. “Go on.”
“I want to open a bookstore, but I don’t want to do it by myself, and I was hoping thatmaybeyou’d like to go into business with me? I know Thea is good with numbers, so maybe she can help as well. I’m thinking that with the coffee shop down the road, it’s perfect; we could sell baked goods and host as many book clubs as we want. What do you say?”
I look up at the building and see it; the vision he has, and a thrill of excitement flows through me because this would be something crazy and new. I put my hands on my hips. “What would we call it?”
He claps his hands together, smiling. “We can throw names about, so is that a yes?”
I nod my head. “It’s a yes, partner.”
“Good, because I kind of already put an offer in on the building, and they’ve accepted it. They even gave me thekeys, wanna see inside?” He’s practically bouncing and already opening the door.
When I walk through, I imagine what it could look like: all the different types of books we could have, comfy seating, and decorations. It’s everything I never knew I needed, much like the whole Peterson family.
“So? Are you both bookstore owners now?” Nate’s voice sounds from the doorway, causing me to whirl around. He holds up two bags of takeout. “I brought food.”
A burst of laughter leaves my lips. “You knew about this?”
He nods. “Hehasn’t shut up about it for weeks. Plus, who do you think is going to make your bookcases?”
I saunter my way over to him. “You mean to say that I can watch you get all hot and sweaty making bookcases all day?” My voice drops, and Nate gulps, but before he can reply, Archie shouts from across the room.
“Nope, no way. There shall be none of that, thank you very much. Keep this place strictly professional.” He gives us both a pointed look before rolling his eyes and grabbing one of the takeout boxes from Nate.
I wrap my arms around Nate’s neck and smile up at him. “I love you.”
He smiles down at me before kissing the tip of my nose. “I love you more.”
The Beginning…
Epilogue
One Year Later
Hayleigh
