Page 20

Chapter

Twelve

It’s a storybook Saturday afternoon.

Bluebonnet Books is nestled near the center of Heller, and I park far away so that I have an excuse to amble through the downtown area, decorated with perfectly manicured trees, bunches of flowers, and unlit strands of looping globe lights.

I meander behind a group of tan blondes tipsy from brunch, parents tugging along kids with strawberry and chocolate ice cream smeared across their chins, and elderly couples shuffling along hand in hand.

Clouds occasionally drift in front of the sun, offering brief periods of respite from the heat.

The bookstore is impossible to miss. Two windows stretch to either side of the double doors, showing off purple and pink pansies in the window boxes and thoughtfully curated book displays inside.

Upon entering, I hear the jingle of a bell hanging over the doorframe, and I’m immediately hit with a blast of cold AC and the comforting smell of hundreds of bound books.

“Welcome in,” Liam says cheerfully from his post at the information desk. His back is turned to me as he adjusts a stack of paperbacks on the shelf behind him. “Can I help you find anything today?”

“I’m looking for a how-to guide for breaking into a wizard’s tower.”

Liam swings around with a laugh. “Fresh out of those, sorry. Guess you’ll have to figure it out on your own.” He braces his palms on the desk. “But I’m glad you came, Sadie. She’s cute, right?” With a broad sweep of his arm, he gestures to Bluebonnet’s interior.

It’s very cute indeed. Every time I walk into a bookstore, I tell myself I ought to come more often.

Thanks to long runs, I prefer audiobooks to print, but still—there’s no atmosphere more welcoming than a beloved indie.

As I scan the shelves, I can tell where each genre is sectioned by the way they’re decorated.

Paper hearts are hung above the romance section, plastic starships and stuffed dragons prowl the shelves in sci-fi/fantasy, and embroidered tea towels and local hand-carved spoons are for sale near the cookbooks.

Themed displays stand out on separate tables, boasting staff-recommended summer reads, vacation guides, colorful Pride picks, and more.

A man with graying sideburns and a backward baseball cap frowns at one of the rainbow flags. “Ain’t that month over? It’s July now.”

Liam sucks in a breath as I stiffen beside him. But Morgan beats us both to the punch.

“Oh, they have that display year-round! It’s my favorite,” she says sunnily, walking up from the back of the store wearing a brightly patterned dress, cropped jean jacket, and wedge-heeled sandals that have her looming over the man.

She’s changed her hair, too, since Sunday; she’s taken out her long braids, and her tight curls surround her face like a halo.

Without her blue employee lanyard on, there’s no way this guy could know that she’s an off-duty bookseller.

Robbed of his chance to hassle an employee, the man mutters an excuse of needing to find his wife and shuffles away. Morgan rolls her eyes, though she keeps him in her line of sight.

Liam huffs a laugh. “Always appreciated, Morgan, but you’re off today. I’ve handled assholes before, I can do it again.”

“Well, if he comes back and asks to speak with a manager, ” she says, mimicking a nasally demand, “you know where to find me.” She fixes her smile on me. “Come on, Sadie, let me show you around. Jules said she’ll be running a little late.”

We do a lap around the store, and by the time we make it to the register, I’ve got a pile of unexpected purchases: two new leather-bound journals, a set of pens, one gorgeous graphic novel that Morgan swears is her favorite book of the year, a fantasy debut recommended by Liam, and a candle from a local business that is supposed to smell like a Brooding Love Interest. It was a tough decision between that and Incorrigible Rake—which I imagine is what Loren smells like—but I like the spicy scent of the one I picked.

Even with Morgan’s discount, it’s an extravagant purchase I wouldn’t have considered a few weeks ago.

But with the mural’s first payment sitting pretty in my bank account, some celebratory extravagance is warranted.

After we order iced coffees from the café near the back of the store, Morgan and I settle at a cozy table in the corner.

Morgan sits with her back to the wall so that she’s got the whole store in view.

Even though she’s not on the clock, I like to watch as the booksellers—Liam included—stand a little straighter, careful to be on their best behavior as they tend to their duties.

“How long have you been manager?” I ask, sipping my coffee. It’s delicious. It’s got cinnamon in it.

“For the last couple of years. I started while I was in college, worked my way up to the top.” She props her chin up in her hands, tapping her pink-and-purple acrylic nails against her jawline. “She’s my baby.”

With all of the personal touches and staff recommendation cards littering the shelves, I can tell Morgan and her booksellers put special care into Bluebonnet.

During the tour, I’d noticed that her recommendation cards were mainly reserved for highbrow literary fiction novels and wise memoirs—not rollicking adventure fantasy.

I’ve questioned both of the other players at this point, so I ask, “What made you want to play D the puzzle of Noah can wait.

There had been a brief moment this morning when I’d worried that today’s hangout was going to be awkward.

That maybe we were better off just being buds who met once a week, forging strong bonds between our D&D characters but holding one another at a distance as soon as our game was over.

I wasn’t sure that Morgan and Jules would have as much fun out with me as they might with a pile of dice forming a wall between us.

But they’re quick to prove me wrong.

Rays of sunshine shift and span across the bookshelves as we chat from afternoon into early evening.

I tell them how surprised I am by how much I’ve been enjoying Texas, and they quiz me about what it’s like to live in the big city.

“I’ve begged my husband to take me for years,” Jules says, sighing wistfully.

“I’m desperate to visit Broadway at least once before I die.

” I even catch her and Morgan up to speed about my current job—or lack thereof.

They’re sympathetic to my complicated feelings and excited to hear about my part-time project with Alchemist.

“That’s where Noah works, isn’t it?” Jules says musingly.

Morgan flashes me a sharp smile before seamlessly steering the conversation in a different direction.