Page 70 of No Such Thing as Serendipity

I gave her a side eye.

“I mean, Vera pays me, and then I pay someone to be here since I’m not, so it’s a wash. But I love doing it—teaching, leading groups.”

“You’re good at it.”

Robyn paused in front of the history section. “Thank you. That means a lot, especially coming from you.”

Coming from me?I wasn’t sure what she meant by it but decided not to ask. “How long have you owned the store?”

“Almost eight years. Enough about me. We’ve got books to pick out.”

I thought I detected a shadow cross her eyes, but it was gone when I looked closer. It must have been the lighting.

When Emma found us in the stacks, it shocked me to discover I’d been with Robyn for over half an hour. Time had flown.

“I see you’ve found a few books.” Emma motioned toward the stack I carried.

“Uh, yeah.” I cupped my hand over my mouth and pretended to whisper. “The owner is worse than a used car salesman. I only intended to buy one.”

Robyn grinned and held out her hand. “I can put the rest back.”

In an exaggerated motion, I twisted and put my body between Robyn and my armload of books. “Keep your hands off my books.”

“All fun books?” Emma asked.

I sighed and let her examine the titles.

“I approve, so you better get them rung up. The program is going to start in ten minutes, and you’re going to buy me coffee,” Emma said.

“I am, huh?”

“Yep.” Emma winked at Robyn.

“I’ll leave you two to argue it out,” Robyn said.

“No, I didn’t mean to chase you away,” Emma said.

“Actually, the time got away from me. I should check in with Mary Lou, our speaker for today.” She gave me a huge smile. “It was fun showing you around.” She nodded toward the books in my arms. “When you finish those, come back, and I’ll hook you up with more.”

Before I could tell her how much I enjoyed her tour, she rushed off.

I’d sent Emma to get our coffee while I paid for my books. Eight in all. I’d been surprised that Robyn’s store had a lesbian romance section. The only time I’d read a lesbian romance had been in college when one of my girlfriends insisted on reading one aloud to me. This should be fun. I’d picked out two that Robyn recommended. Emma would be proud. I only bought two nonfiction books, the rest were for pleasure reading.

When I entered the café, I did a double take. Nearly all the chairs were full. After a quick count, I determined there must be at least fifty. This speaker must be good. Several other retreat participants were in attendance, but there was no sign of Dana. Not a surprise.

Emma waved at me from near the front of the room where she sat with the rest of our friends. I smiled at the thought. They were no longer just villa mates, but friends.

I slid into the chair next to Emma, and she handed me my coffee.

“Decaf,” she said.

I groaned. “I don’t even get a choice in coffee?”

“Nope.” She nudged me in the ribs. “I told you caffeine is the devil.”

“It helps me think.” I put a whine in my voice.

“Exercise, eating right, and eight hours of sleep does, too, yet I don’t hear you advocating for those.”