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My eyebrows drop and smash together in anger. “Yeah, I remember alright.”

Her hand gently taps on my shoulder before she says, “Now, dear, no need to get angry. We both know that approach wasn’t working and wouldn’t have led to anything productive. I merely stopped it from becoming another reason she wouldn’t take you back. Now, like I was saying about this book.” She lifts the book up between the both of us, pushing it towards my chest.

I grab the paperback from her and flip it around to face the correct way for me. It’s an illustrated couple on the cover with the guy clearly angry at the girl and the girl clearly happy as she can be. The title reads, “The Second Chance Makeup.” I look from the cover to Gail, who is staring at me like she expects some type of reaction.

The cover is cute and all, but I don’t get it. Flipping it over, I read through the blurb of the book to see that it’s about two people who dated in high school only to break up when the guy makes a dumb decision. Later, bumping into each other again as adults, the two decide to give it one more shot in hopes that maybe this time around would be better.Alright, I get it.

It doesn’t take much to figure out what she is trying to say here. The book that Aspen recommended looks suspiciously like our own story.

“I think you should read it, Warrick,” she says.

My hands drop to my side, pulling the book out of sight. “Gail, I don’t read books. I never could understand how people could spend hours reading them in the first place.”

She places her hand on my cheek. “Warrick, you have messed this up, and we all know that. But Aspen is a reader and, at heart, a hopeless romantic. If you want to understand her and how to win her over, maybe read a book she recommends.”

Sighing, I nod my head.

She continues, “Read this one first because I think you will see that there is hope for you both yet. It can happen and should happen.” The look on her face brokers no room for an argument. “She also recommended this one to me.” Gail pulls another book out of her purse, and it’s another illustrated cover, but this time the couple is wrapped together, and even I can see the love flowing between them. “I think if you really want to understand the kind of love that she is wanting, these two books would show you how to achieve that. Now, off you go. I kept you long enough. Poor girl is going to think you won’t be coming today with her coffee. And after that stunt she pulled yesterday, you are reallygoing to have to show her that you are here for the long run this time.”

My mouth drops open.How does she know about that?Literally, the only three people who know about it are the ones who were there. Surely, they didn’t run off to tell people about it. I watch Gail as she walks down the path toward You’re Bacon Me Crazy.I don’t get how she knows so much stuff.Shaking my head, I walk into the coffee shop to grab our morning coffees. I decided yesterday that since I am going to make a daily trip to the coffee shop, I would take up drinking one myself.

Hazel shakes her head at me as I walk in.

“What?” I ask her.

“I really didn’t think you would keep this up this long already, but I support it. Don’t tell Aspen that I want you to succeed. Girl code and all that. But she deserves to have her dreams come true.”

“Dreams come true?” I ask, out of curiosity.

She shoos me with her hand. “Forget that I said anything.” She quickly turns around to make our coffees. At this point, she doesn’t even ask me what I’m ordering, since it will be the same answer each day.

I move along the countertop, following her as she makes the coffee. “You can’t start something like that without finishing it. If you know something that could help me, you have to tell me.”

Sighing, her shoulders drop as she turns around with the coffees. “Do you know how mad she will be with me if she finds out I told you anything to win her over?”

I mime zipping my lips. “My lips are sealed. She won’t hear it from me.” My hands are held up in front of me as I shrug my shoulders slightly.

After setting the coffees down on the countertop between us, she points her finger at me not far from my chest. “Warrick, so help the goddess if I find out that you told her I helped you, I will make your life a living hell.”

“Not a single word.”

“Fine. She has always dreamed that her mate would do some kind of grand gesture for their courting. You know how the male is supposed to show his mate what he can provide?” I nod my head, so she continues. “She wanted hers to be some kind of over the top gesture. She never really elaborated or gave examples, just that she wanted the kind of love that she reads about in all those books.”

I slap down the two books that Gail handed me. “Love like these?” I ask as I point to the books.

Hazel shrugs her shoulders. “Beats me, Warrick. I don’t read those kinds of books. I am more into thrillers and murder mysteries. Not much romance happening in that.”

The stack of books and coffees sits between us on the counter. My finger traces along the couple in love on the cover. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I want this,” I say while tapping my finger on the cover.

Hazel places her hand on top of mine. “You can have it, too.” She smiles warmly at me.

With a curt nod, I grab the books and coffee to head over to Find Me Between the Pages. Thankfully, the coffee shop is onlya couple of doors down and across the street from the bookshop. That cold air is becoming more painful as the day progresses.

I’m hoping that today will be a better day, but I don’t have much reason to believe it will. The bell chimes above my head when I walk through the door. The soft tunes of music are playing around the shop.

“Good morning, Warrick. Didn’t think you were coming when you didn’t show up before I opened the door this morning,” Aspen says with humor in her voice. Almost like she assumed her stunt yesterday would have pushed me away for good.

Walking over to where she is standing by one of the display tables, I lean in close and our chests almost brush against each other. As I place her coffee down, I let my finger graze up her arm. She lets out a soft gasp when I lean in by her ear and whisper, “You can’t get rid of me that easy. Even when you are trying to make me jealous.” My nose runs down her neck, inhaling her scent as I go. Before she has a chance to say anything else, I lean back with a wink and head over to the lounge chairs.