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* * *

I avoidedmy phone for most of the night, getting ahead on my social media schedule, clearing out my inbox, and making lasagna to avoid it.

I’d calmed down from the strangeness of earlier, but I still didn’t want to go back and forth with James again so soon.

My parents had sent me a few messages, asking when I was coming to visit. I didn’t get over to see them as much as I should, considering they only lived ten minutes away. It had been a few weeks since I saw them, and I was more than overdue for a visit. I said I’d come by next Sunday, stopping at their favorite Italian place to bring dinner.

You really are the best daughterMom sent. It was nice to hear, but it also made my chest tight with anxiety.

I always envied anyone who had a sibling, but now that I’d been through the ringer with Connor, I wasn’t so sure. James had drawn a shitty hand in the sibling department, that was for sure.

James. She had responded again, and the notification was going to bother me like an itch I couldn’t scratch.

I didn’t open it until I had gotten into bed with a book.

Thanks for listening to me, Delaney. I really appreciate it.

It was still hard to tell if she was actually nice or if she was saying what she thought I wanted to hear. The only way to tell would be to spend more time with her, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to do that.

Right?

* * *

What’sthe weirdest suggestion that you’ve given someone for a name?

It was Monday and I was on my morning break at the bookstore and I was currently bored in line at the coffee shop while the people in front of me acted like they were new to the planet and had never ordered coffee before.

Ohhh so many. I really have to keep my personal judgment out of it. I’ve had a few clients that were insistent that they wanted all creative spellings for more common names. That’s always an adventure.

Her career absolutely fascinated me. It made sense with her getting an English degree. Names were words, after all. And she had the cachet of going through life with an unusual name, so she could talk down parents who were determined to name their kid Tayble or something.

What’s your favorite name?I asked her when the line still hadn’t moved. Everyone around me was starting to get pissed off as the person at the front stood there squinting at the menu as if no one else was in a rush.

I have way too many. Some are more special than others. Right now any name that one of my trans clients pick is my favorite. Because sometimes I’m the first person who they get to hear use it. Those moments get really emotional.

That was really beautiful. The line finally moved, and I had to remember what I was supposed to be doing. Right, coffee.

I started to give my order, but the cute barista finished it for me.

“Am I here that much?” I asked.

She grinned. “I just have a memory for certain orders.” We made eye contact for a little bit longer than was standard between barista and customer. I found myself fumbling for both my words and my card.

I managed to get my act together and move to the pickup line without making too much of a fool of myself. It wasn’t like she was flirting with me or anything. Right? She was just being nice and hoping I’d tip her better for remembering my order. She probably turned that charm on for people of all genders. Connor used to assume every female-appearing service worker was flirting with him when it was nothing of the kind.

I had to be better than Connor.

Read anything good lately?James asked me while I waited for my drink and the one I was taking back to Larison. Nearly every day we worked together one of us went out and got treats or coffee or something for the other.

James had no idea the door she’d opened with that seemingly simple question.

How much time and/or money do you have?I asked, half-joking and half-serious. I was capable of just recommending three books and then if given enough leeway, I could probably go for hours if not days. I had lists on lists on lists on spreadsheets of books. Yes, it was my job, but it was also my passion to find a book for every reader, from a bibliophile to the most reluctant reader. It was a calling, a joy, a mission.

Oh, did I start something with that question?She asked, and I couldn’t help but smile as I sipped my vanilla and toasted marshmallow ice coffee.

Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you. What kind of book are you looking for? What books have you read that you want to read something similar? Or, if you don’t know, what are the tropes or vibes you want?

That wasn’t too intense. I could keep it to a couple of recs. Possibly.