Page 129 of The Overtime Persuasive

Although maybe I can’t blame it on the letter. He seems different. Settled.

Every time he skated past our section last night, I felt another small thrill at the sight of him. The Dominion won, Liam had an assist, and Lucy nearly knocked me into the row below when she celebrated the final goal.

Someone turns up the television, and a cheerful voice carries across the patio.

“Okay, everyone,” Juliette calls. “It’s almost time.”

The conversations quiet as people gather around the screen. Liam brings me a fresh coffee and pulls a chair close enough that our knees touch when he sits.

On-screen, the hosts are wrapping up a segment about unusual airport luggage. I try to take a drink, but my stomach has apparently rejected coffee in favor of raw panic.

Beside me, Liam notices. His hand settles over mine. “Breathe.”

He squeezes my hand as the screen changes to a bright graphic announcing the competition results, and the air in my lungs disappears again.

“Here we go,” Vivian says.

More than four thousand businesses entered. I know this because the hosts remind us while showing clips of shop owners standing in bakeries, studios, bookstores, and workshops across the country.

My fingers tighten around Liam’s.

“Our first featured business is Twisted Sister Skincare in Tulsa, Oklahoma, run by sisters Carrie and June Harris.”

The screen fills with colorful bottles holding lotions and potions.

“Next, we’re heading to Savannah, Georgia, where Malik and Renee Carter have turned a family collection of recipes into Hearth and Jar, a small-batch spice company with a big story.”

Three more businesses follow in a quick montage. A ceramics studio. A children’s bookstore. A family-run candy company.

So far, no Side B. My hope doesn’t shatter. It may fold quietly in on itself, leaving behind the familiar ache of having wanted something enough for it to hurt, but then Liam’s thumb moves over my knuckles.

I force a smile. “They’re wonderful businesses. All of them.”

And they are. I can be disappointed for myself without wishing disappointment on someone else.

My stomach in knots, I move in my chair. On television, one of the hosts lifts another envelope.

“But this year, our judges couldn’t stop at five winners.”

Juliette grabs my shoulder at the same time Vivian grabs my elbow.

“The standard of entries was so extraordinary that, for the first time, we’re also awarding one business our grand prize.”

No one in the backyard moves and yes, I stop breathing entirely.

“This entry kept drawing our judges back because it wasn’t only about the products being sold. It was about the reason we search for stories, music, and places that make us feel known.”

“Oh—” Liam’s hand closes tighter around mine as the host smiles at the camera.

“Our grand-prize winner is Side B Books & Records in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, owned by Eva Barlow.”

For half a second, nothing happens.

My name hangs in the air, too enormous for me to understand.

Then the backyard erupts.

Lucy screams. Owen throws both arms in the air, catches Tripp beneath the chin, and immediately apologizes. Juliette launches herself at me from one side while Vivian reaches me from the other. Sawyer and Ty are shouting, Theo is jumping, and Dakota bangs a pair of metal tongs against the side of a tray as though she’s announcing the beginning of a boxing match.