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“You deserve a break, though, Memphis. And Mary seems like she has things under control. She’s amazing.”
A small smile plays on his lips. “Yeah, well, she was one of the few employees my parents ever hired and probably the best thing they ever did for the store. So…” His eyes land on me, full of something I can’t read. “Whoever I hire first has to stack up.”
I try to ignore the sting of his words, forcing a joke. “And be wildly unattractive.”
“That too,” he says. “I just need someone to help me get this right. It wasn’t personal, and I’m sure you’d be great.”
“Just these damn good looks.” My voice cracks as I try to fake confidence I don’t have. I don’t understand why I suddenly feel like crying. I don’t know what to say to that or how not being right because of the way I look could be less personal, but I don’t have to dwell on it, because as I’m searching for a response, I hear heavy footsteps heading our way from inside the house. Then the door opens and Mara and Austin are standing there, their upper arms touching in a way that feels intimate.
Mara grins at Austin, then at me. When her eyes land on Memphis, one brow quirks up, and she returns her attention to me. “Well, good morning. What an interesting little situation we have here.” It’s impossible that Memphis could miss the mischievous tone of her voice or what she’s hinting at. Her dark hair has been pulled back in a loose ponytail, face makeup free aside from a shine to her lips that must be lip balm.
“I could say the same thing,” I tease, eyeing her and Austin.
She rolls her eyes, brushing a stray strand of hair from her mouth as it fights to cling to the sticky balm on her lips. “Well, I had to recruit Austin to help me look for my best friend because I thought she’d gone missing. I checked your room and saw you weren’t there. We were very concerned.” Her lips pinch with a smile. “It was a very serious mission, wasn’t it, Austin?”
She tilts her head toward him, and he winks at me. “Oh, very serious.”
“Well, mission accomplished. You found me in my super-secret hiding spot,” I tease.
“That’s because we’re great spies.” Mara pats Austin’s shoulder.
“I don’t think great spies announce that they’re spies,” Memphis points out under his breath.
Mara either didn’t hear him or chooses to ignore him as she steps around Austin, moving toward me. “Why are you out here, for real? Is everything okay? Why are you even up this early?”
I lift the coffee mug in answer. “I couldn’t sleep. So…breakfast.”
“Well, we were thinking we could go on a trip today,” Austin says with a grin. “Mara found a small, local bookstore a town away, and we can get more groceries while we’re there, too.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say.
Memphis stands and walks inside, and I know we’re both going to have to pretend none of the heavy stuff that just went on between us ever happened.
“You sure you’re okay?” Mara asks, holding out a hand. “Was he bothering you?”
“No, I’m fine. We were just talking.” I slide my hand into hers, and she squeezes it, resting her head on my shoulder briefly.
“Okay.” She practically sings the word. “If you’re sure. Are you ready for an adventure, then?”
Ready as I’ll ever be.“Let’s go.”
CHAPTERSIX
Two hours later, the rideshare Austin booked drops us off in a town thirty minutes from ours. The city is small, but there’s a walkable downtown with a bookstore, coffee shop, and a few markets.
We hit the bookstore first, moving in a cloud of determination for the thrillers. To my surprise, even Memphis joins us, in a visibly better mood than before.
I choose two books I’ve been meaning to read and one that I’m nearly positive I don’t already own, tucking them under my arm as I peruse the rest of the aisles.
I could spend hours inside bookstores, never growing tired of being among the pages. It’s strange, but there’s a peace in them that I don’t find anywhere else. Shelves of possibilities. Of lives yet to be lived. Of loves yet to fall into. Terror yet to be experienced.
Mara has a single book tucked under her arm when she approaches me, ready to compare. “Oh, that one looks dark.” She points to the top book in my stack, a Mari Morgan novel everyone’s been raving about. “Have you read it yet?”
“Not yet, but it’s been on my list for a while. What’d you get?”
“Find anything good, ladies?” Austin asks, approaching the table we’re standing next to before Mara can show me the book she chose. He’s holding a book by an author named Tennessee Rivers and a pair of socks designed to look like crossword puzzles, wagging them around in front of him. “This place is pretty cool.”
“Check it out!” Paulette says, coming up behind me. She’s wearing thick eyeliner and a T-shirt with an opossum sporting a cowboy hat next to the words,Grant me the serenity to accept the vibes that aren’t rootin’ tootin’.In her hand, she’sholding a collection of Edgar Allen Poe stories.“They have a whole section in the back that’s forty percent off. Did you see?”
