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“Not yet, but soon,” he replies. “Do you have someone in mind?”
“No, but Zach wants some afternoons off.”
“He’s a teenager. Of course he wants some time off.” Benji chuckles then glances out the window. “You know, decorating would probably bring in more customers too.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, running a hand through my hair. Now it’s Benji who’s distracted, and when I wave my hand in front of his face, he clears his throat. “Are you still good to watch the girls tonight? Jana’s gonna meet me here to help me pick out prizes.”
“Yeah, I’m good to watch them,” he says, his eyes going back to the front window. “Remind me again why Wren couldn’t watch them? Is everything okay with her mom?”
“I don’t know and I didn’t ask,” I say, turning to see what he’s looking so intently at. Wren stands on the sidewalk, her blonde hair flying around her face as she talks animatedly into her phone. “Why don’t you go ask her?”
“What?” he asks, his eyes darting to mine. He clears his throat again, shaking his head. “Oh, that’s fine. She’s obviously busy right now. What time do you want me to come get the girls?”
“Five o’clock. Is that okay?”
“Sure, we’ll go get dinner and then we’ll watch a movie or something.”
“Thanks, Benj. I owe you one.”
???
The sun is just setting when Jana shows up at the bookstore. Her dark curls are frizzy from the snow, but her eyes shine with excitement as she steps inside.
“Alex, hi!” She’s breathless, her chest heaving as she inhales a big lungful of air. Her round cheeks are flushed a pale pink, and the mere sight of her makes my heart race. “Sorry I’m late. I was just finishing up gift certificates for the bakery.”
She holds out a stack of papers for me to take. The Little Button Bakery logo takes up half the design, with the words ‘Harmony Christmas Festival: Valid for ONE free dessert’ taking up the rest.
“These are adorable,” I say. I smile at her, loving the way her blush deepens with the compliment. “I found some brown paper wrapping at Feldman’s. I figured we could pick out a few different books and then wrap them.”
“Great!” Her enthusiasm sparks something in me, and I laugh.
“So, how many books do you think we should do?” I ask, walking to the couch and setting her coupons on the coffee table.
“Better to have too many than not enough, right?” she says, glancing at the shelves closest to us. “You know, you could set up a cute little display right here for the extra ones.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Do you have an idea where you want to start, or do you just want to jump in?” she asks, shrugging her coat off. I’m glad to see it’s a new one, not the lightweight windbreaker she typically wears.
“I was thinking about twenty books. Do you think that’s enough?”
“Yeah, that’s probably fine,” she says. She lifts her hand to her mouth and chews on her thumb, thinking. “Like I said, whatever you don’t sell at the festival could go on a display up here by the checkout.”
“Alrighty, then. Why don’t you start there?” I gesture to the shelves behind her. “I’ll start over here.”
“Perfect. I’ll find ten, and you find ten, and then we’ll meet back here.”
???
I find my ten before Jana and decide to order Chinese takeout. It arrives as Jana is carrying her final selection to the front of the store, and I pay quickly. She sets the stack of books, precariously balanced, on the edge of the coffee table before sagging onto the couch.
“That smells delicious,” she says, glancing at the brown paper bag.
“I hope you’re hungry,” I say sheepishly, sinking to the floor as I start pulling out the boxes. “I haven’t eaten in hours.”
“I’m starved,” she admits. Her cheeks flush, and she bites her bottom lip. “Don’t tell Hadlee, but I forgot to eat lunch today.”
I look at her, my brows raising in surprise. “So you haven’t eaten since this morning?”
