Page 11 of To Fall or Not to Fall

Chapter Seven

A va

“I can't believe that it's been three days since I've seen Theo,” I mumble as I stare at Aria, who is sorting through some new Halloween-themed notebooks that have arrived and putting price tags on them. This is the third time we’ve had this conversation today, but I know she’s not going to judge me too harshly. At least I hope that she’s not going to.

"I mean, why not?" She looks at me while holding up a black notebook with a cute white ghost on it.

"I don't know. Because we had a moment, and I thought he would come into the store and maybe we would talk about it."

"Girl, he's a guy. And didn’t you say he was going to kiss you, and then Popsicle stopped it?”

“I mean, she didn't do it on purpose." I freeze and look at my dog, Popsicle.

"Did you get between me and Theo because you didn't want him to kiss me?"

She looks back at me with doubting brown eyes, then licks her mouth and nose before lying back on the rug with her legs in the air. I reach down and rub her soft, warm belly. She closes her eyes in bliss.

"Popsicle, do you not want a daddy?"

Aria bursts out laughing.

"Daddy? Really? Theo is not about to be her dad. I love you, Ava, but the man is from the city. For all we know, he's gone back, and that's why you haven't seen him."

"I guess so." I let out a deep sigh. "But didn’t you say he came the other night when I wasn't here?"

"I mean, maybe." She shrugs. "It was busy, and I was trying to make drinks for people. I did see someone I thought was him, but when I went to go talk to him, he was gone." She shrugs again. "It’s not like he came up to me and asked for you, and he hasn’t been back since."

"I should have just kissed him," I say. "What did I have to lose? I mean, obviously, Popsicle stopped it for a reason."

She gazes at me. "Maybe he would've been the worst kisser in the world, and it would've made you walk."

"I don't know," I mumble. "Maybe it would've made me not feel as passionately about him."

"What are you talking about?"

"I just mean, you have this image of this guy as being tall, dark, and handsome and super sexy?—"

"I never said he was super sexy! I do not think about those things."

"Give me a fat chance, Ava. We're not nuns here." She starts laughing. "Come on. You thought he was hot. You wanted to take his clothes off?—"

The bell rings above the door, and she presses her lips together.

"Welcome to Beachy Balls, Biscuits, it was likely he wasn’t even in town anymore.

I smile as I see that there are five love letters in the mailbox.

"People are really getting into this," I say out loud, even though Aria can't hear me.

I unfold the first letter.

"To Sabrina,

I think about you and the day we went for strawberry ice cream. I know you only see me as a friend, but one day, I hope you'll see me as more.

Your Chocolate Ice Cream-loving buddy."

There are a couple of Sabrinas in town. I'll have to figure out which one this is for. But whoever wrote this letter didn’t seem to want to stay anonymous for long, because how many ice cream buddies could Sabrina have?

I then open the second anonymous love letter and read:

"To Sandy Brody, who lives on Fifth Street,

I caught a glimpse of your pink bra, and I was hard. If you’re interested in a hookup ? —?

I don’t even continue reading. I groan at the crudeness of the letter.

I knew some guys would be idiots, but I had hoped I wouldn’t be met with perverts in this instance, as well.

I look down at Popsicle, who's still rolling on her back, and shake my head. "Popsicle, there are some real idiots in town."

She licks her lips, and I just laugh. She has no clue how lucky she is that she doesn’t have to deal with immature men who think with their dicks more often than their brains.

I open the next letter, and as I read quickly, something goes off in my brain.

Wait a minute, I think to myself. Someone has written a love note with a quote from Little Women.

The note is handwritten and feels oddly personal. Maybe it’s because it’s my favorite book. I get to the end of the page and see that it says:

"Go to the bookshelf and find the book. Turn to page 101, and another note shall await you."

I blink rapidly, my heart racing.

"What is going on?" I say, as I find myself walking from behind the counter to the bookshelves.

I look for Louisa May Alcott and pull out three copies of Little Women. The first book has nothing in it. My heart sinks slightly. The second book has nothing in it, and I wonder if Aria or Arabella is playing a silly joke on me.

But then I flick through the third book and find a note card. My heart races as I see my name at the top. Someone had written to me. This was for me.

I take a deep breath and read quickly.

"Ava,

With your curly hair and your big brown eyes,

You make me think of my own demise.

I'm not a poet, and I don't purport to be,

But what I would like is for you to give me the key.

I'd like to take you on a date.

I don't know if you'd be interested.

We don't really know each other,

But maybe this is kismet."

That’s all it says.

I read it a second time. And a third. And I can't stop myself from smiling.

I can’t believe that someone wrote a romantic, thoughtful, stunning love note to me—and hid it in my favorite book. This could be my soulmate, and I have absolutely no idea who did it.

Aria walks over to me with a curious expression on her face.

"You okay? You're standing there like a giddy idiot."

"Thanks, Aria.” I roll my eyes. "Someone left an anonymous love note for me."

"What?" she says, her jaw dropping.

I hold up the card. She takes it from me and reads it, her eyes widening.

"Wow, that is so cool. Who did it? Do you recognize the handwriting?"

"I don't recognize it. I'm not a handwriting expert. Nor am I with the FBI or the CIA. Man, who could it be?"

I pause for a moment. "Oh my gosh. I really hope it's not… Billy."

Aria bursts out laughing. "Billy the butcher is not writing a love note.

And he's not quoting Little Women. He is not doing any of these things. I mean, it's a really cute note, but it's not like the poem, or whatever it is, is super expert. It’s—Ava, it doesn’t matter. It’s the thought that counts.

This is one of the most romantic things I've ever seen. Whoever wrote this is really into you."

"But how do I find out who wrote it?"

"I don't know. I'm not a detective either," she says. "Man, I wish someone would write me an anonymous love note or fall in love with me."

"Girl, I’m sure that someone out there is waiting for you. I just hope that this guy lets me know who he is before the fall festival."

"Is there anyone you hope it would be?" she asks.

I shrug. "No. I mean, not really. At this point, there's no one I can think of who would write such a thing for me.

Sometimes I think being a bookstore owner has led me into a surreal life.

I get caught up in words every day, and I live my life expecting the fantastical, the magical, the mystical, and the romantic.

And up until now, nothing like this has ever happened. "

The bell above the door goes off, and I immediately turn.

"Welcome to Beachy Balls, Biscuits, & Books," I say.

Rupert walks in, smiling and looking surprisingly happy.

"Hi," I say. "Good to see you again."

I’m slightly disappointed because I’d hoped it would be Theo. If Theo had walked in after I’d found this letter, it would've been a sign to me—though I’m not really one to believe in signs all the time.

"I’d love to try your pumpkin spice latte," Rupert says, grinning.

"Ah, Little Women, " he says, looking at the books in my hands. "Love it."

He winks at me, and for a few moments, my heart races. Aria’s eyes widen, and she mouths, I think it ’ s him.

I turn away quickly and head back to the counter and to the espresso machine. "So, a pumpkin spice latte. Anything else?"

"Do you have anything sweet?" he asks, following me to the counter. "I mean, obviously, aside from yourself."

"I have some blueberry muffins, some special chocolate chip cookies. I also have an apple-cranberry muffin."

"Oh. Well, what’s your favorite?"

"I mean, right now, I’m really into the chocolate chip cookies," I say, laughing. "I added a little nutmeg to them, so they’re a little different."

"Then I’ll try one of those."

He stands back and looks around the store. "I see it’s not very busy again."

I nod slowly. "Yeah, it hasn’t picked up as much as I would like it to yet, but hopefully…"

"Yeah, hopefully," he says, nodding slowly. "I mean, have you ever thought about selling?"

"No." I shake my head, frowning. "Why would you ask me that?"

"I don’t know." He turns back with a dazzling smile. "Maybe you’d like to travel around the world with a special someone."

He winks again, and I can feel my face heating up.

Is he my mystery admirer?

He’s very friendly and handsome in his own way. And yet… he doesn’t spark electricity in me. I’m not captivated by him. I don’t feel like he is my soulmate. But maybe the feeling I’m waiting for doesn’t actually exist. Maybe?—

The bell goes off again, and I turn to the doorway.

"Welcome to—" I stop as I see him walk in.

It’s Theo.

Theo is here. And in that moment, my mouth goes dry because I don’t know what to say.

He looks at me, nods, and just heads to the back of the store.

I am taken aback by that. Is he mad at me? Is he pissed off that Popsicle interrupted the kiss? He can’t be. It wasn’t like we were going to make out in the middle of Main Street, lying on the dirty ground. He couldn’t have expected that anything was really going to go down. He couldn’t have?—

I look up as I realize Rupert asked me something.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I was just asking whether or not you ever have some time off." He leans forward on the counter. "Whether you ever get to go on dates."

I lick my lips nervously. He’s as good as telling me that he’s my secret admirer. But as I look past him at Theo, who’s just standing there, gazing at a bookshelf, I wonder to myself:

Maybe, just maybe, I don ’ t have to go for the guy who wants me. Maybe I can go for the guy that I want .