Page 74 of Hate You to Love You

I’m taken aback. ‘But Elliot… it’s a romance bookstore.’

‘Yeah,’ he says softly. ‘And it always reminded me of you.’

My heart flutters at Elliot’s words. I had been so sure that he never thought about me in the years we spent apart. But this, and everything he’s done for me in the past few weeks, suggests otherwise. Which is making hiding my feelings for him a lot harder.

The store is small, but it packs a punch. Flowers in bright pastels line the walls and there’s a small reading nook in the front window.

‘Elliot?’ A woman at the counter leans out from behind a computer. Her round glasses rest just beneath her eyes, on the tip of her nose.

‘Wendy!’ Elliot replies excitedly.

Wendy approaches us in the doorway. She’s got bright pink hair that shimmers underneath the store’s bright lighting. ‘It’s been a while! Thought we might have scared you away. Did you read the new Timothy Janovsky book yet?’

‘You nailed the recommendation, as always,’ Elliot says, then turns and gestures to me. ‘This is Carlos Reyes. He’s working with me on an author tour.’

‘It’s an absolute delight to meet you.’ Wendy slides her hand out of her pocket, takes something from the counter and hands it to me. ‘Here, a pin on the house for every first-time visitor.’

I take the pin from her. ‘Thank you,’ I say.

‘So, Carlos, what kind of romance do you like to read?’

‘Oh, uh…’ I hang back, too embarrassed to answer.

It’s been so long since I’ve thought about romantic comedies for pure joy, that there’s a part of me that wonders if I’ve lost my love for it. Was it possible to feel resentment towards a genre?

‘Anything by Emily Henry,’ Elliot cuts in. ‘Or ones that remind him of New York in autumn. He’s a big Nora Ephron fan.’

‘A classic romantic,’ Wendy says.

Elliot nods with a smile. ‘Completely. His favourite book is Pride and Prejudice.’

I’m speechless. I never thought Elliot would remember all these little details. I was so sure he’d left everything about me in the past.

‘Mmhmm, I can work with that,’ Wendy continues, leading us towards the bookshelves. She scans the spines, her finger travelling along each row until she finds a book and pulls it out. ‘Here. You, Again by Kate Goldbeck.’

I take the book from her hands.

‘It’s a retelling of When Harry Met Sally,’ Wendy explains. ‘Two opposites who hate each other but keep bumping into each other as the years go by.’

‘Thank you,’ I say, clutching the book to my chest.

‘Happy to help, give me a shout if you need any more recommendations.’ Wendy heads back to the counter, tapping Elliot on the shoulder as she passes. ‘And you! Don’t be a stranger. Keep in touch, okay?’

Elliot laughs and we’re left alone among the books to browse. There are so many authors that I used to read compulsively, but have been avoiding because of how I’ve felt about the genre. Lindsey Kelk has a new book, I notice. So does Emily Henry. The selection of queer books, featured in a prominent section of the store, warms my heart. If my younger self had been able to find books that represented me and so many others like me, maybe I wouldn’t have been so scared of love.

‘Decide on anything?’ Elliot asks as I’m hovering over a new Ashley Herring Blake book. She does the banter in enemies-to-lovers romance with such terrific tension.

I hold up the copy of You, Again. ‘I think I’ll go with this. What about you?’

‘I’m going to do a re-read,’ he says. ‘Beach Read by Emily Henry.’

I stare at him in astonishment. ‘Elliot Simpson reading Emily Henry?’

‘I’ve read them all.’

I snicker. ‘Sure.’

‘I have,’ he insists. ‘When Gus tells January he’s overwhelmed that she exists, it lives rent-free in my mind.’