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My exes, all three of them, took me to bookstores at the beginning of our relationships. They assumed because I work in publishing, I must love books and bookstores. They were coincidentally correct. But the dates never went the way they expected, because I’d get lost in the books and forget about my date.
One particularly disastrous first date ended when my date brought me a book he thought I might like. One of those books no one understands, but everyone pretends to love to seem smart. When he walked over, I was reading a passage from a book I’d been wanting to read for a while. Without looking up, I assumed he worked there and told him I didn’t need any help choosing books.
He’d been ridiculously insulted and stormed out. Sadie had introduced us and my biggest concern, watching him stalk away, had been how annoyed she would be.
I texted her to let her know I’d blown it. And she’d texted back with laugh emojis, saying she’d warned him about taking me to a bookstore.
In the end, I’d had a lovely evening browsing and the guest author he’d brought me there to see had been delightful. It was one of my better dates.
I dump more syrup on my pancakes and smile. “The bookstore would be amazing.”
“Hi, Noah,” a woman in a dress covered in small images of books, her long hair wild and loose around her face, stops next to our table. “I’m Ellery Green, Gentry’s friend.”
Noah’s mentioned Ellery. She’s the woman Gentry wants him to date.
Noah smiles like he’s genuinely happy to see her, and the weirdest feeling settles in my gut.
It’s the same feeling I got when Noah told me about Gentry’s insistence on him finding a wife. The same feeling I got when I pictured him with another woman.
Which is how I ended up fake dating my best friend.
“Ellery. You’re a children’s librarian, right?”
She has a lovely, warm smile, with delicate freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose. Of course she’s a children’s librarian. “That’s me. I have to run to set up for story time, but Gentry mentioned you needed to talk to me about something?”
Noah glances across the table at me, his expression oddly guilty. “Ellery, this is my girlfriend, Daisy Weston.”
Ellery spins to face me, her lips turning down for only a moment before she smiles and holds out a hand. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you from Honey.”
“You have?”If you’ve heard of me, why are you smiling at my husband like that?The ferocity of the thought shocks me.
I grit my teeth and smile harder.
“Tenth Avenue Books publishes some of my favorite children’s books.”
“That’s great.” Damn it, she actually seems nice. “I don’t work in the children’s division, but—”
“I know.” Ellery’s cheeks go the slightest bit pink. “Honey says you’re a literary editor. You’ll have to recommend some books for me. I spend so much time reading kids’ books, I don’t have much time to read anything else.”
“I’d be happy to.” Despite myself, I like this woman. I could see being friends with her, if I was a different person and staying in Catalpa Creek. “What sorts of things do you like to read when you have time to read adult books?”
“Thrillers, mostly. I love anything twisty, but with a ton of characterization. I want to be inside the character’s head and be shocked by them.”
I don’t read thrillers, but I know what she means. “I have a few ideas. I can—”
She pulls out her phone and scrolls before looking up at me. “Shoot.”
I stare at her. “What?”
“Give me your phone number. I’ll text you about the titles.”
This woman is a whirlwind in every conceivable way. It’s hardly surprising she likes twisty books when she herself is such a cyclone. I give her my number and my phone pings a moment later.
“I sent you a text so you don’t forget.” She turns back to Noah. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
Noah sighs. “That was Gentry’s idea. She wanted to set us up, but Daisy and I have been best friends forever and things have gotten serious pretty fast between us.”
Thank goodness I convinced Noah to pretend to date me. This woman is way too perfect for him, and she can’t have him while I’m in town.
