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This love story had ended even before it began and sitting alone in that bookshop, trying to nurse that hangover, Rory was miserable. There were bills to tally, financial adjustments to be made and worse, a bridesmaid’s dress to be tried on, but her mind was distracted by thoughts of Arsen.
Why couldn’t this moment have come earlier? The guy had been residing on the island for so long and it was only on his last day here that… Rory blamed it all on luck. The luck that she never seemed to have on her side. For the umpteenth time that morning she shook the thought out of her head.
The day was sunny so far and she had no doubt that she would be getting at least some walk-in customers today. At least she hoped to. Rory grabbed the bills that had been pending and started doing the math. It was the day of reckoning. She had to see how much trouble she was in. There was no doubt in her mind that she would have to ask for assistance from her parents. It was simply of matter of whether she should ask over the phone, or when she went to LA for the wedding.
It was not what she wanted to do, but what she had to do. The only other way out of this was to shut the bookstore altogether and get another job. The idea had crossed her mind before, considering that she would probably get a good price for the inventory. The kind of cash that would keep her going for a while at least. But what then?
She was sitting with her head in her hands as the door of the bookstore opened and the first of her walk-in customers for the day walked in. Time to make some money. Hopefully.
Rory looked up from the counter and confusion reigned on her face. Confusion and disbelief. Walking toward her in jeans and a T-shirt was Arsen Ford. If someone had told her this morning that Arsen would walk in, Rory would have been full of joy, but now a strong sense of shock rushed through her body.
“Why aren’t you on a plane?” she squealed.
“Wow, seems like you’re in a hurry to get me out of here.”
“No, I meant…”
“Well, the plane hasn’t left yet. I can always rush back,” he smirked, making a half turn.
“No, no. That’s not what I meant. I meant…” Rory exhaled to compose herself. “I meant, weren’t you guys supposed to leave today?”
“Yes. The departure is set for today.” He paused. Rory wanted to rush him to complete his sentence but didn’t. “But I wanted to say goodbye to you first,” he finished in a calm voice.
So this is goodbye. The confused joy that she felt when Arsen had walked in left her body in haste and was filled with that same old sense of loss.
“Well…” Rory was lost for words as she came out from behind the counter and stood in front of Arsen. Should I shake his hand or something?
“Also the thought of sharing a plane ride with Mickey was not very appealing to me. So I bailed.” He was grinning. Rory was positively confused. She wasn’t sure what was going on.
“So you came to say goodbye and then get on a plane?”
“No,” he grinned.
“Then…? I’m really confused here. Are you leaving or not?”
“As much as you want me flying off on a jet plane, I am not leaving as of yet.”
“I don’t want you to leave!” The words came out too fast for her taste. “I meant that I… or anyone else for that matter doesn’t, would not want, to be rid of you. You can stay for as long as you like.” What the hell am I even saying?
“That is good to hear. Then would it be too much to ask you to spend the day with me?”
“What?” Rory was distracted by the dimples that graced his face.
“Spend a day hanging out with me.” Arsen smiled and took a couple of steps toward her.
When she had woken up that morning Rory was certain that she had seen the last of this incredible man, and somehow, he was here, right in front of her, asking to hang out with her. This was more than she could’ve dreamed of. Her concerns about his departure and the fact that it would just break her heart disappeared in the excitement.
“Sure. Why not?” She tried to be nonchalant. “Lizzy hasn’t come in anyway. I could use an assistant for the day.
” Now it was her turn to smirk.
“Good. Works for me. I’d hate to go out in public and have the paparazzi ruin our day. This is a good place to hide.” He smiled.
Rory suddenly thought about how different their problems were from each other. They led such different lives as if they were living in two different worlds altogether.
“So what is it that you would like me to do?” he asked expectantly.
“Well…” Rory tried not to think too much about what she’d like him to do, lest it be written all over her face. She wanted to keep him around, in any case. “You can start by keeping me company till a customer walks in.”
