Page 21 of Accidental Blind Date

As the older sibling, Kai technically owns Way With Words, though he rarely comes around. For the most part, he’s passed it off to me. Like a hand-me-down he looked over once and decided he didn’t want it. He only comes around when he wants something.

“I found a buyer,” he states.

“That’s good,” I say, sliding the books onto the shelf. “For what?”

“The shop.”

“One of your shops?” I ask without looking back.

“This shop, Libby.”

With that, I turn. “What do you mean for this shop?”

Kai lets out an irritated sigh. “Come on, Libby. Don’t pretend you don’t know. I told dad for years that this place is an outdated black hole, and it would be better to sell it to a bigger name.”

“And dad told you he had no interest in that because it’s not about the money.”

“Wake up, little sister. Everything is about money. Dad was too much of an idealist to see it.”

Listening to my older brother talk about our late dad that way has me seeing red. “We don’t need a buyer. We aren’t under water, we are doing just fine. Not only that, we are doing what dadand momwould have wanted. We are fulfilling their legacy.”

“I don’t think he wanted his legacy to be two broke kids, Libs,” Kai says dryly.

“We aren’t broke,” I snap.

“We aren’t rich either. And I have a solution.”

I stand right in front of my brother. I may be younger and smaller than him, but he doesn’t scare me. I’m also a little pissed off that he’s ruining my day. A day of sunshine and flowers and post-sex bliss. In short, I want him to ride his high-horse right out of here.

“I think the solution is you backing off, letting me run our family store the way dad would have seen fit, and prospecting dollar signs somewhere else. The world is your oyster, Kai. This is the only pearl I care about.”

As I talk, Kai’s attention is more focused on his phone than my words, furthering the point that he doesn’t give two shits how I feel.

“Listen, Libs. I don’t know what you’re going on about but the reality of it is the will left the shop in my name. And if I say we are getting a buyer, we are getting a buyer. And you’re about to meet him.”

“What?” The word seeps out of my mouth like hot dragon breath because I am two seconds away from incinerating him. “You can’t just sell my shop to some money hungry rando, Kai!”

“It’s notyourshop, Libby. And that said…I kind of can. Legally I very much can.”

“Well, when this buyer guy gets here, we are going to have words.”

“Do what you want, sis. But try to be nice. He’s a friend of mine.”

“I don’t care if he’s the Pope himself. If he has the balls to walk in my shop, he’s going to get a piece of my–”

“Dax!” Kai talks over the top of me as the door chimes. I whip around, fully prepared to put the guy in his place before he can even get a word in edgewise. It’s one thing that Kai has been trying to sell my bookshop out from under me ever since our dad died. It’s another to gang up on me with one of his fellow sales bros from college to make it happen.

But the moment I see him, the fire goes out, and I stop.

I blink.

For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, I find myself asking if I am dreaming. Though if I am, this time is more of a nightmare.

“Jax?” I ask softly as the man stops in his tracks too.

“Libby?”

Kai steps between us with a quirky grin. “Wait. You two know each other?”