“I was, though I’m sure I was fast asleep by the time they arrived.”
“You were. I checked in on you before we went down,” Aurelia said with a smile.
Max began asking another question about the shop, and this time Antonia answered him. As they talked, Aurelia looked over at Oliver. Here she was, able to talk about her secret with Max, Antonia, and her dad, and she wondered: was it fair that Oliver didn’t have someone of his own to talk to about the shop’s secret? Her family would be happy to talk to him about it, of course, but she thought there might be someone in his circle of friends or family that he’d want to share it with.
Aurelia’s thoughts were interrupted when Antonia stood and said they’d best get going. Julia looked tearful as she realized it was time to shift over to the flat they’d be renting for the next week, but she didn’t beg to stay. Again, Aurelia was grateful to her sister, thinking she must have warned Julia to go without a fuss. Aurelia wasn’t sure she’d have had the will to turn her down if Julia had asked to stay, but knew she and Oliver needed time on their own.
She reminded Julia that they’d see each other at her dress fitting in just three days’ time, which seemed to lift her mood. As Antonia conducted her crowd downstairs and out of the shop, Aurelia and Oliver followed, Biscuit at their heels. They stood in the open doorway and waved while her family moved through the square, then Aurelia turned to Oliver.
“Just you and me again.”
“And Biscuit and Fezz. And the characters you’ll be seeing tonight,” he teased as they passed the Recommended Reads table.
“Oh, that’s not for hours yet,” Aurelia said airily. “In the meantime, I have you all to myself.”
She kissed him and then started to lead the way up the spiral staircase when she remembered what she’d been thinking about earlier, when Max and Antonia were talking.
“Do you want to tell someone?” she blurted out as she stopped walking and turned to look at Oliver on the step below her.
Oliver frowned, trying to make sense of her question, and she went on to spare him the effort.
“We’ve told Antonia, Max, and my dad, but is there someone you want to tell about the shop and what happens here after midnight?”
Oliver’s frown deepened as he considered her question, then he reminded her, “We wanted to keep the circle small. We didn’t want to tell too many people.”
He put a hand on her hip and gave a gentle push, signaling that they should head to the mezzanine to continue their conversation, and she started walking up the stairs again. At the top, they both leaned against the railing.
“We could widen that circle by one more person. Or two. It doesn’t seem fair that only my people know. I mean, they’ll be your people soon enough, and they’d probably take your side if you needed them to right now—even without you being an official in-law just yet.”
He nodded with a soft chuckle, knowing that was true.
“You can talk to Antonia about how frustrating it is not to be able to see or talk to the characters, but sometimes you might want to talk to a friend. If there’s someone you want to know about it, then I think you should tell them.”
“That might be nice… I’ll think about it.”
Oliver took her hand as they walked up the stairs to the flat. She gave his hand two squeezes, and he gave hers two back, and she almost blushed at how happy that simple call and response made her. She felt proud of them for not trying to stick to a strict plan and for realizing early on that they wouldn’t be able to figure out how to incorporate the shop’s magic into their lives after just one conversation. They would still have good days and bad days, but she felt comfort in knowing they’d be able to manage both as long as they kept talking and checking in.
At the top of the stairs, they stood and looked around the flat, which was a bit of a mess after their family lunch and having three children running through it.
“What was I saying before? Right—we’ve got the place to ourselves again. No Julia, no customers, no family… However shall we fill the time?” she asked with a wicked smile.
“Cleaning up?” Oliver asked with a lift of his eyebrows, his innocent suggestion an echo of the phone call they’d had just weeks ago.
“That’s one option.”
“Last-minute organizing for the big day?”
“Another viable option,” Aurelia agreed. “But I was thinking of something a little different.”
“A way to fill the time that doesn’t involve cleaning or organizing,” Oliver said slowly, pulling her into his arms. “I’m almost out of ideas, but—” He paused for a long kiss. “Maybe if we put our heads together, we can think of something.”
56
Aureliadidn’tspendtimewith the characters that night. Instead, she and Oliver had a leisurely night at home, enjoying having the place to themselves once more. He asked if she wanted to see the characters that night, but she insisted—truthfully—that she’d be happy for a break. They went into the shop just before midnight and waited on the mezzanine until after the clock struck the hour, then filed back up the stairs to bed.
Although she missed Julia’s presence in the shop the next day, Aurelia did appreciate having the time—and quiet—to focus on finishing the last revisions to her book. She saw a few of her regular customers, including Mark, whose visits seemed to coincide with moments in the day when she was ready to take a break from writing. She was starting to feel as though she were under some sort of spell—a perfect evening with Oliver the night before and now a perfect day of writing and running the shop.
Oliver wasn’t due home until just after seven, so after closing the shop for the day at five o’clock, she decided she might as well reach out to Jack to return the camera they’d borrowed and say hello. Jack suggested they meet for a drink near his flat, which led to a plan to have Oliver meet them at the same spot for dinner once he’d finished his day.
